just want to get a feel from the ones that have replaced their head gaskets. was it worth it or is it time to trade and let someone else do it? my 05 lly got a new tranny in may with a ppe stage 5. ive done the pcv reroute, homemade lift pump, crank chopper wheel fix, egr valve/cooler delete with a profab intake pipe. ive just been doing some small things along the way. but this one is not minor. jus curious of everyones ideas!!
head gaskets...fix or not
- Thread starter mamu
- Start date
Perfect time to do studs,if your hapyy with the truck keep it and fix it gaskets are a pita but not worth getting rid of the truck,you have some cash wraped up in that trans and you know the truck and what you have oh and head porting would be nice while your in there also 
just my 2 cents
just my 2 cents
if you trade, you will be starting all over again with a stock trans. Thats one of the biggest investments when you start getting more power out of these trucks.
overlook this if its retarded. but port and polish, same as how you do the old school small block heads? lay the gasket on it and port out to the size of the gasket? btu im thinking about doing studs, sending my injectors to be tested and replace as needed and a down pipe.
on another note.....pull the cab? front cap? motor? what seems to be the easiest way?
on another note.....pull the cab? front cap? motor? what seems to be the easiest way?
what your talking about is port matching which is part of porting and polishing,a motor is a big pump the beter cfm in and out makes more power and it enhances all your other mods and and lowers your egts Also behive springs for save reving up a little higher talk to Henry he can hook you up :thumb:
I wouldnt pull the cab but i did a thread on what was needed to pull the cab if you decide to go that route.Pulling is just that much more work you have to do besides all the shit you have to remove to do the job also check out busted knuckles thread on here he is preparing to do head studs and gaskets rite now on an lb7
Just slap in new head gaskets, its pretty easy/cheap fix. I don't know why everyone gets so excite about a head gasket failure. Seen way worse.
no need to remove the grill and stuff like that remove the inner fenders put some fender covers on and get to it if you want to remove other suff i guess you could remove the hood to let more lite in,the down pipe is a good idea but you dont have to take the down pipe off i dont believe you dont have to on an lb7,once you get to the valve cover unbolt the exhaust manifold from the head take the y bridge out unbolt the the head and pull it with the clam shell still on ityou dont have to mess with uppipes or down pipe or any of that if you dont want to.I know the turbos are different but i believe you can still do it this way
it sure was a pain to do.. but i think it was worth it over paying somebody to do it for me.. and on the up side i know every part in that damn engine now.. lol
where she blew
where she blew
Wtf!!!! took the batts out and the entire front end to do head gaskets???? thats funny:roflmao: we did 1 with a 6 inch left and didnt remove the front end WOW!
x2. Looks about like everyone I do, except for the front end. Nothing wrong with the cooling stack out, I just dont do it.
After pulling the motor a few times already I pretty much got it down to a small chore With that said I personally would pull the motor and do studs and gaskets at the same time and slap it back in the truck in a day Even if it takes a weekend its not worth getting rid of a truck you enjoy/like IMO..
With that said I personally would pull the motor and do studs and gaskets at the same time and slap it back in the truck in a day Even if it takes a weekend its not worth getting rid of a truck you enjoy/like IMO..can someone explain to me how the "pressure cap" can be the cause for the coolant coming out of the tank? my hose is pretty hard that i can remember. but i might be reading too much into this? and i figure ill leave the motor in and just work around everything, ive put multiple sets of lb7 injectors and cp3s in so surely it can be all that worse..........:dontknow:
If the cap doesn't hold pressure it will allow the coolant to boil (increased pressure raises boiling point) which will create air in the system and cause it to overflow. It is unlikely that that is the problem you are having. If the head gasket is blown, it will usually leave a lot of crap (soot) in the coolant surge tank and the upper radiator hose will stay hard after it has been parked and cooled off.
dont see any crappy soot in the tank. but it has seemed to hold pressure longer than normal. but our service truck (lb7) i was hauling hay with this weekend and the more boost it built the more water it lost, so im deff thinkng that one has hg probs too.
Just pull the fenderwells and the grill so you can kneel on the bumper and start taking off everything in the road, directions are for *****s. lol I will say there are a crazy amount of parts and fuel lines and little brackets to find a home for!