12v Head Gasket

Mountainman234

Mountainman234

HillBilly
Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Messages
259
I need a head gasket for my 12v but im not sure which one is the best for my application. My budget for this project isnt real high, so i need one that will give me the best value and performance. The truck is a 98 3500 2x4 with a nv4500. It is tasked to haul my 50' enclosed goose neck race trailer with my 99 2500 pull truck in it. The trailer loaded weighs any where from 15,000# to 21,000# depending on the trip distance. My goal for the truck is 450 hp. At the moment the stock head is cracked over number 6 through the water jacket, i have a head off a 95 marine 12v that i want to put on it, as well as a BW s362 turbo. I ultimately want to run 45 - 50 pounds of boost but i need that to be well inside the tolerance of the gasket for ultimate reliability, as this truck has to get me home and it is my daily driver. A year or so ago i remember reading about a grooveless fire ring head gasket but i cant seem to find anything about it now, it seemed like it might be the best of both worlds without the expense of having the head cut. Any input would be great.
 
Mountainman234 said:
I need a head gasket for my 12v but im not sure which one is the best for my application. My budget for this project isnt real high, so i need one that will give me the best value and performance. The truck is a 98 3500 2x4 with a nv4500. It is tasked to haul my 50' enclosed goose neck race trailer with my 99 2500 pull truck in it. The trailer loaded weighs any where from 15,000# to 21,000# depending on the trip distance. My goal for the truck is 450 hp. At the moment the stock head is cracked over number 6 through the water jacket, i have a head off a 95 marine 12v that i want to put on it, as well as a BW s362 turbo. I ultimately want to run 45 - 50 pounds of boost but i need that to be well inside the tolerance of the gasket for ultimate reliability, as this truck has to get me home and it is my daily driver. A year or so ago i remember reading about a grooveless fire ring head gasket but i cant seem to find anything about it now, it seemed like it might be the best of both worlds without the expense of having the head cut. Any input would be great.
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I'm sure at that hp level you should go with studs. Someone else will chime in on machine work, gasket, etc.
 
I would get a head gasket set from Haisley that has the fire rings. Machine work should be less than $200 for the fire rings. Then, buy a set of head studs. You may get by without the fire rings, but with the boost level you are aiming for and the fact that you are swapping heads, it would be a good time to do it now.
 
Well I had been thinking about studs too but it wasn't a real priority because they are easy to do later and my budget isn't very high right now. Basically I can throw a little money at the truck every month till its where I want it to be. I'm at the gasket stage right now because of the coolant leak, the horsepower and boost goals are long term. I just want to set it up right while I have this apart. Does any body know about the marine gasket?
 
if you got to get a new head i would have someone put in the orings and crank down on the stock head bolts. that will be plenty for what your shooting for at the moment. every time i have read about fire rings they say that they are not good for daily driving cause of the heat cycles.

when running orings i believe the most common head gasket is the .20 over one.
 
I think the new stock Cummins head gasket is the old marine gasket.
 
o rings or no orings everyone i talk to is still using a stock gasket. and the fire ring gasket is just a modified stock gasket.
 
Has anyone else heard that about daily driving with a fire ringed head gasket? I believe that some of the larger semi truck engines have fire ringed heads but i could be wrong.
 
some folks say fire rings are not good for dd, some say they are. i was told persoanlly the scheid will not o ring a head, they only fire ring.

o ring is a safe street bet imo, that will still hold serious numbers
 
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