LLY: Head R&R Cost

C

Cougar281

Well-known member
Sep 11, 2006
1,809
253
83
St Louis, MO
As you may or may not have read about in my "Blowby Question" thread, I have a messed up glow plug that won't come out, and high balance rate on the same cylinder (only when it's been driven; if I shut it down after driving, like home from work, and ten minutes later start it up, 9 out of 10 times it's within the normal range). I suspect SOMETHING is wrong there, but I have no idea what. I don't have a borescope to look in through the injector hole, so my only way to see what's wrong would be to pull the head and hope all that's wrong is a messed up glow plug. In order to R&R the head to get the stuck plug out, assuming nothing else is wrong, what would the approximate cost of parts be? Obviously, I'd need the head gasket and either bolts or studs (although it would seem kinda dumb to stud one side). What other gaskets might I need to replace?

OR should I leave it be and hope it doesn't blow up while saving for either a complete LBZ engine to tear down and build up, or an LBZ block, crank and cam (and send the crank and cam to Eric to be keyed, of course)?
 
Last edited:
sweetdiesel

sweetdiesel

That's better
Aug 6, 2006
10,390
0
0
52
Thailand
Im in the process right now of removing heads and you will proabably want to replace most of the gaskets...maybe not?

there is the coolant lines at the front of the heads,turbo gaskets,injector seals and o-rings
I dunno there is a fair bit of work to get the heads off + coolant and oil
 
duratothemax

duratothemax

<--- slippery roads
Aug 28, 2006
7,139
10
0
Wyoming
dave if its not pushing coolant, I would leave it be IMHO. Save up for parts on the side.

Not to scare you, but that wierd balance rate thing is what mine started doing like 1-2 months before it let go. :(
 
C

Cougar281

Well-known member
Sep 11, 2006
1,809
253
83
St Louis, MO
duratothemax said:
dave if its not pushing coolant, I would leave it be IMHO. Save up for parts on the side.

Not to scare you, but that wierd balance rate thing is what mine started doing like 1-2 months before it let go. :(
Click to expand...

Where ya been Ben? Well... I've backed off the tune, so we'll see how long before it goes POP! Better get my car back together... Wish I had $4k laying around; I'd grab one of those motors that Diesel Power had for sale here... Coolant HAS been going somewhere, but slowly. about two months ago, the "Low Coolant" message started coming up on the DIC; I added coolant and it hasn't come back, and last time I looked, it didn't appear to have dropped. Wish I could get my hands on a bore scope to pull the injector and have a look inside.
 
Last edited:
Jared Duramax

Jared Duramax

<---- $$$ Whore!!
Feb 13, 2008
1,052
0
0
34
Matthews NC
how is the upper radiator hose? Hard, soft? also any smoke on start up in the morning? is it only that one cylinder or is it more?

if you do pull the heads off be sure to get the heads pressure tested and also have a clean up cut done if necessary
 
C

Cougar281

Well-known member
Sep 11, 2006
1,809
253
83
St Louis, MO
No smoke on startup; Upper hose will get hard, but I'm pretty sure it's just from being hot. It's soft in the AM, and doesn't get hard soon after starting. I'm planning on converting to LBZ controls when the time comes; I found a relatively local junkyard that would let me pull the truck harness out, so we'll see what it'll take...
 
slowlmm

slowlmm

New member
Mar 2, 2008
2,582
0
0
46
so cal
Cougar281 said:
Where ya been Ben? Well... I've backed off the tune, so we'll see how long before it goes POP! Better get my car back together... Wish I had $4k laying around; I'd grab one of those motors that Diesel Power had for sale here... Coolant HAS been going somewhere, but slowly. about two months ago, the "Low Coolant" message started coming up on the DIC; I added coolant and it hasn't come back, and last time I looked, it didn't appear to have dropped. Wish I could get my hands on a bore scope to pull the injector and have a look inside.
Click to expand...

could be your egr cooler leaking as well. you could also do a compresion test to kind of help diagnose if something weird is going on
 
C

Cougar281

Well-known member
Sep 11, 2006
1,809
253
83
St Louis, MO
Well, the truck's been sitting for about three hours and I was able to squeeze the hose flat with three fingers, so I don't think there's a leak into the system. EGR cooler could be leaking, I suppose; it'll be going away soon.
 
C

Cougar281

Well-known member
Sep 11, 2006
1,809
253
83
St Louis, MO
Jared Duramax said:
:confused: im not really sure what would be causing the wacked out balance rates
Click to expand...

I don't know either, but I find it an interesting coincidence that it's the same cylinder with a stuck glow plug, but it could be just that: a coincidence. What's even stranger is the rate usually only gets whacked out after driving it (and not nessicarily hard). Once the truck is shut down and sits for a few minutes, it's back within a normal range :confused:

Anyone have any ideas why my GPCM isn't complaining about the disconnected plug?
 
C

Cougar281

Well-known member
Sep 11, 2006
1,809
253
83
St Louis, MO
Well, I've switched back to stock tuning to try to postpone the enevitable... I noticed something different, though. Sometimes when I'm getting one it, I'll get a large puff of blackish smoke. Don't recall ever seeing black smoke on stock tuning before... This weekend I'm going to try to swap the #5 injector with one on the other side of the engine and see if the crazy balance rate follows he injector or stay with the cylinder per Ben's suggestion.
 
Jared Duramax

Jared Duramax

<---- $$$ Whore!!
Feb 13, 2008
1,052
0
0
34
Matthews NC
that is what it sounds like. there is a set of LBZ injectors for sale some place either here or dieselplace
 
Last edited:
C

Cougar281

Well-known member
Sep 11, 2006
1,809
253
83
St Louis, MO
Jared Duramax said:
:eek: Oops!!....... I knew that:joker: what if you did throw in a set of LBZ injectors will the electronics still work?
Click to expand...

Nope. First, they wouldn't fit in the head. Second, the FICM would nuke them pretty quick (the LLY injectors run on something like 46 volts, the LBZ/LMM's run on either 12 or 24 volts, I think).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom