So i have found out my head gaskets are shot, officially. So now i am having to decide whether i truely want to further my performance later down the road or stay at the current level i am at.... Options are..... Replace gaskets, add studs, htt 66, and modded cp3 too say 620ish hp... OR Built motor with no more go fast goodies for a year or two. Once i get the funds add a set of biggish twins, dual cp3's, and all that jazz... I have priced out both. Built motor total including r&R 14,000 or just studs and gasket with no goodies for 4100.... HMMMM My funds are low as of now so the gaskets are looking good but i know i will want more performance later down the road... Anyone ever been here?
build motor or replace head gaskets.....
- Thread starter JShe8918
- Start date
Where are you located? You can do a very nice motor build for less than 14k. Problem with putting studs, turbo and cp3 is that your stock rods wont like it long and you will be in the same boat again.
I just went through the same scenario 5 months ago, I decided to go ahead and do a mild build. My suggestion is, if funds are tight? do the gaskets and studs and start piecing together parts for a build as the $$ allows... My :2cents:
I am located in Alabama... The motor build i was thinking consisted of: h bearings, main bearings, girdle, cut and coating my pistons, machine work, balancing, deck block, 75 over injectors, keyed crank and cam, standard arp studs, crowers, springs retainers and guides for the heads, grade c gaskets, new oil pump, ummmm i am sure there is more i am forgetting... But to pull my motor ship it to the builder i have been talking to and have him drive to Alabama and install it in the truck totals about 14,000. I have not budgeted any money for my truck lately so my funds for it are 0! So it means taking out a loan against the truck either way i look at it or waiting till fall when my landscape jobs hit. One or the other.
BUT i don't know if i am willing to sink that kind of money into it... I mean are their people here who did a built motor and now wish they hadden just because it might have been a waste of money. DOn't get me wrong i love this and love diesel performance to a point that i want to make a living out of owning a diesel performance shop. BUT i just don't know if i can cope with a built motor that may go at anytime because of a injector stuck or something like that. 14000 gamble is all it truely is.
then don't build it simple as that ... you aren't making enough power to test the limits of the engine.
i sold all my go fast goodies to do a mild build. i dont think you would need a gridle tho.. dont know of any one who has ran one and there are more then enough guys on here makin more power then what you will be.
go for it...:thumb: i was in the same exact boat back in december and i went the expensive route... its finally coming together in the next few weeks :happy2: haha sry im a little excited... and ur 14k doesnt seem too far off, good estimate
I would scap the girdle injectors and oil pump unless there is something wrong with yours now?
Injectors could be done anytime
keying the crank and cam is a good idea hell I would even do the water pump.
Building a motor is costly though especially if you don't do it yourself
there are a lot of lil extras that people tend to forget about and they really add up fast!
I would just put studs in run a nice lil turbo and mild tune untill you can afford to build a motor
Injectors could be done anytime
keying the crank and cam is a good idea hell I would even do the water pump.
Building a motor is costly though especially if you don't do it yourself
there are a lot of lil extras that people tend to forget about and they really add up fast!
I would just put studs in run a nice lil turbo and mild tune untill you can afford to build a motor
Yup
While I believe Torque honing is definetly the way to go during a build, I dont think its essential when just doing H.G. When I did my build the machine shop used a honing plate and it was amazing the distortion in the cylinder walls but on the other hand, most people running studs never TRQ honed, and one of them I know of is currently running 9's:thumb:
I haven't heard of any one that its happened to yet and a lot of people are running studs on bone stock motors ( non built/ stock assembly's ) but in theory the piston skirt could "scuff" the cylinder wall if it was bad enough , IMOP if the motor is getting a hone job then you would be stupid to skip using a torque plate , but i do how ever know for a fact that both my trucks ( tow and race ) are running studs with no torque hone job and both are running just fine !! Bottom line its the best way to do it but to say its mandatory is a pretty big stretch IMOP .
don't think it's mandatory and if I were to stud my motor I'd do it how you did. But there hve been trucks with fresh head studs that crack pistons. Jeff (stingpuller) was one of the first people I've seen say this. If you are down on compression due to bore distortion I can't imagine that's a good thing.