I just can't afford a shop doing this and it doesn't even seem reasonable that I would invest half of what I can get for my truck in this. I may as well trade in! At this moment in time they wouldn't be able to tell and sure I would lose out on the trade but not near what I would pay to get a shop to do this for me. My truck has just been repainted last year with the rocker replaced, got the bed line-x, etc. I have invested a large chunk of cash into it so far but none of this seems to be worth continuing forward if I have to pay anywhere near 5000$ to get this done. So either way I need help... first to rule out any other possible options and to determine exactly what has gone wrong. Second any information on how to do this would be greatly appreciated. By this I mean injector cups and head gaskets. I am sure I am not the first one who did this from all the stories I have read so someone out there had to write something to help poor folks like me.
LB7 Coolant overflowing from reservoir tank...
- Thread starter fishv12
- Start date
- Status
I hear what your saying. 5000 is ridiculously high to what i pay and like i said it was exactly half that minus about few 100 so it really around $2000 if you find good private little shop. dealerships take off the front cab and take as much time as possible to do the job to get the most money as possible hence y ppl call them stealerships. if you are thinking about doin your self im not saying its impossible but i would do alot of reading and call few guys and talk to them about it. where are you located at?
Is it normal to have pressure in the hose while the engine is still hot? What about when it's running. If it is normal to have pressure how would the upper rad hose feel. I don't know but the fluid level is down a little not enough to throw the coolant light and it hasn't spilled anything as of putting the new cap on and running it at operating temps pushing it. After this driving session it's been 2 hours now and I have checked the hose and it's rock hard but really really warm. I will check it again in a couple hours and again in the morning. This time when I start it I will also check for bubbles out of the overflow. I don't know but it not spilling out more coolant makes me think the rad cap might of been the problem. The old one didn't look all that dirty but who knows.
Wow man that stinks man bonomax is right try to find a garage that specialize in duramaxes there probly way cheaper than the stealership. Good luck.
It's not that bad, just time consuming. The heads on Duramaxes rarely need to have any machineing unless the motor was overheated. My mechanic has it down to 10 hrs. The only thing to watch out for is removing the high pressure fuel lines bc they can and will break sometimes when removed and are a dealer part only. So have the truck somewhere that it can sit if you have to order parts. When you do fix it or get it fixed make sure you use head studs instead of torque to yield bolts and you shoud not have to do it ever again...
I'd pay closer attention to the valve guides when you have them off, almost every head ive pulled has needed several guides replaced. A clean flat deck is crucial also, those little rolock disc grinders reak havoc on aluminum if you're not super careful. I still use them for other parts but not a surface of a head, ive watched guys destroy parts with those.
How common of an issue is this with the lb7 motors? I have mine tuned and I am not easy on it. I was going to wait until the injectors go to do head studs, question is should I stud it now? It has 102k miles on it never had injectors.
Check your balance rates on the injectors before you pull the heads, since you will be there anyways. They are a pain to do, but nothing cosmic. take your time and be careful, if you have never had heads off before might be a 3 weekend job going slow. there is a left and right HG, don't get them mixed up. I would take the heads to a shop and let them check them, it is cheap to get them shaved if they need it.
Thanks for the tips guys! Right now I am balancing my options in my head. On one side it's a 2002 granted I have gotten many things fixed up since purchasing it a year and a half ago and invested more than 10 grand in it... but they are still other issues to look into after this. Brake/fuel lines rusted to all hell just waiting to get replaced, calipers near due for replacement, pump rub lurking in the shadows, and whatever else it can be... There is no denying it's getting old and so far has been in the shop quite a bit. I love the darn thing and I could invest another couple thousand dollars into it doing the work myself in my heated garage with possibly all the tools for the job and learn in the process but where does it end which is what is ringing in my ears. Should I keep on forward with this or just suck it up and take a car loan and get myself a newer truck in the ~2008 year range with lower mileage like an LMM and be in dept but enjoy cheap wine with my wife and play in the sand with my kid. I would still need to transfer my head unit/sub into the new truck and all but I would be free of major issues for the next little while which would please my wife. On another note this new truck could also break down and I would be caught further into dept at least right now I own the darn thing. As you can tell I am deeply processing all this.
There is no denying that if I am going to do this work I will need help from all you good folks. As far as shops around here there is none that i know of that could check my heads/injectors. I would probably have to send them out by mail and get them back checked which doesn't really bother me. This can't be that hard...
There is no denying that if I am going to do this work I will need help from all you good folks. As far as shops around here there is none that i know of that could check my heads/injectors. I would probably have to send them out by mail and get them back checked which doesn't really bother me. This can't be that hard...
what the hell are you talking about?? They are hardened steel....
BTW quit being a weasel and answer your PM's on Diesel Place.
It seems to just be an LB7 thing. Never seen 1 break on an LLY, LBZ or LMM come to think of it...
At least you're consistently inconsistent...:thumb:
NC-smokinlmm:
Thanks for the tips
Your friend is too hard on you. I broke rusty fuel lines before which caused me some aggravation and had to come up with earls custom fittings to replace a 1000$ dealer only fuel pump assembly on a Dodge Stealth not fun! I learned to be careful around steel brake or fuel lines.
Adeso:
In my case that would probably mean that I would have to send them by mail. In my area there is no shop that I know that specializes in that stuff unless you tell me I can go to the stealership just to get them checked. I wouldn't mind while I am at it but it seems complicated in my case.
Thanks for the tips
Your friend is too hard on you. I broke rusty fuel lines before which caused me some aggravation and had to come up with earls custom fittings to replace a 1000$ dealer only fuel pump assembly on a Dodge Stealth not fun! I learned to be careful around steel brake or fuel lines.Adeso:
In my case that would probably mean that I would have to send them by mail. In my area there is no shop that I know that specializes in that stuff unless you tell me I can go to the stealership just to get them checked. I wouldn't mind while I am at it but it seems complicated in my case.
Alright well I am researching on how to do this which doesn't mean I will but it helps to see many people are having the same issues and it makes me feel better lol. Tonight I am going to get myself a beater car just to run while I deal with this whole situation. The price I am going to save on fuel will probably make for the price I will loose over the ownership of the beater car and it beats renting a car. Buying the car from a friend who owns a dealership so I am getting auction pricing which helps since I hope to sell it back the same price I paid for it.
God your pathectic...
Your boyfriend can defend himself, he dosen't need your help...
- Status