Nates1999

I bit the bullet and ordered an injector puller and crossover tube puller. They should be here today.

TFaoro (or anyone) ,you mentioned removing the insulation from the firewall. Do you mean remove as in rip it all out, or is there a way to carefully remove it so it can be reinstalled after finishing the job? Is it going to affect cab Temps and noise if it's gone?

Well... It turned out to be an axle seal. I was short on time and nobody had the right axle nut socket in stock, so I had a local shop do the job and the brakes.... Until they couldn't. Turns out they couldn't get the nut off the threads. Somehow it got stuck at the end, and they didn't want to risk ruining the threads. Now I've got to get it to our local high end differential shop (who values their time quite highly) and pray they get it sorted out.

So normally I find gear oil to be the most nauseating smell on earth, and I didn't notice any particular familiar odor with this (does synthetic gear oil reek too). Though I didn't smell it real close,before buttoning it back up. Would it smell noticeably just being near it at handling distance. I know my brake reservoir is at the add level, but it doesn't seem like that would be enough fluid to do all of this.

So I pulled off my drum to adjust my brakes and this is what I found. Does this look like a hub seal or wheel cylinder? Please say wheel cylinder... I already have new oversized ones to go in.

............ err, forget the leak. Why the heck would the cam need to come out?

Could anyone tell me... Is it appreciably easier to do the Injection pump or the front seal when doing the headgasket. I'm not that excited to add more to the pile, but if it's a lot easier I might try to do more stuff at once. Injection Pump - Not cared for by previous owner, who allowed the factory lift pump to wear out to the point that when I changed the fuel filter, it wasn't strong enough to even pull prime (didn't have FP gauge at that time). I've since put on a Fuel Boss, which is doing great, but still managed to throw a P0216 a few weeks back pulling up a pretty good grade. The lift pump history or the code on their own wouldn't scare me so much, but both.... well I'm thinking it's probably time. Front seal - Not actually sure which seal it is, but I'm definitely leaking a little oil out the front of the motor, which leaks down with regularity. Probably crank or timing case. Thanks

I would never pull in double OD, and fully recognize that 1500 rpm is too low to tow with (my exhaust temps would start creeping up pretty quick too). 1500 is only a question for me unloaded.

That's what I've used when towing my 7k trailer on flats.

GV on OD off bumps me to almost 2200

So given the choice, unloaded on the flat freeway of either 1975 at 70 with trans overdrive only or 1500 at 70 with double overdrive The higher rpm is the better choice?

So this is my first diesel. I've had it about a year and am getting to know it pretty good, but one thing I've always wondered about is my second overdrive's effectiveness with my high gearing. I've got a Unitrax/Gear Vendor/Laycox divorced overdrive with an auto and 3.55 rear end gears. It all came with the truck when I bought it. I know that when I'm driving in double overdrive it seems to run fine and smooth, but it also runs at pretty low rpm. I think around 1500 at 70. I'm generally on relatively flat freeways, so it doesn't seem to stress the drive train, but I wanted to get any input you guys have on this. Is it hard on the truck? A good thing? It's really nice to have the flexibility of the GV overdrive when towing with the transmission overdrive off.

Turns out I've got a calibration shop locally too. I'll finally be able to get my 3/8" Matco wrench that my buddy gave me up to snuff. I think I'm going to get a Precision Instruments wrench (who used to make Snap on's) for my 1/2" work, as I'm tired of my cheapie. Looks like about $135 and they are good if not outstanding quality. http://www.tooldiscounter.com/ItemDisplay.cfm?lookup=PREC3FR250F&source=froogle&kw=PREC3FR250F&gclid=Cj0KEQjwqe-rBRCv_J6qs6isp6EBEiQAmbctFltGQiqvZzN5rc248djnrHyWX_arYSVyJlm7MhJ8XncaAj2X8P8HAQ

I defer to your experience. It would normally not be my way of doing things, but I'm definitely giving it some consideration. I think I've got a couple of shops that I trust will give me an honest assessment, and not do more work than the head needs if I take it in, and given that I've already got the gasket kit (got the whole top end kit for a big discount from my local cummins shop), I think ultimately I will likely go ahead and do the job, just to know it's done and done... We'll see. I suppose if it needs more machining than just a surfacing, than it's probably better that it gets done anyway.

Yikes!! I guess after gaskets and studs I could be there too if I go that direction.

Here's a couple of pics of the leak

Man the local prices for a valve job, and general head rebuild are killing me... Been quoted 500-750 dollars. This is going to be one darn expensive gasket. Interestingly, in talking with a lot of the local guys (including my local cummins shop) they generally recommend reusing the stock bolts if they are not bad (as has been mentioned here).

One other question. How likely am I to need a valve job with 150k on the clock?

The Problem: My head gasket seems to have sprung an external leak right under my thermostat. I've got a big trip coming up next month with a pregnant wife, a 4 year old, and a 7k trailer on mountain roads, so I've got to get this squared up, and done correctly (though not overkill). I'm very capable with a wrench, and have been through every facet of gassers over the last 20 years, so I'm not worried too much about tackling it (other than the 200lb weight of the head). As I move forward I have a couple of planning questions to ask. What tools will I need other than the basics (I've got a decently stocked roll away with the basics)? I don't mind spending up to 50 dollars for a job, or engine, specific tool that I'll someday need again that will make the job appreciably easier, but I don't mind making do to save some cash either. I have a barring tool, but that's the limit of my Cummins specific stuff. Should I get an injector puller? Anything else? What gaskets will I need? I'm planning on buying Genuine Cummins (have a local dealer). I figure I'll need a full top end set (PN 4090035), are there any additional gaskets or parts that I'll need other than head fasteners (see next question)? Injector seals? Anything? Bolts or Studs? I know studs aren't truly needed unless I'm pushing higher boost numbers than I'm likely to ever hit, but I don't mind springing for it if there is an appreciable level of genuine peace of mind to be had from it. I hear that bolts can be reused, and often are, but there seems to be a lot of voices saying not to, which is pushing me to at least replace the bolts (approx $120 for a set). I would really be bummed to shell out for that, when a new set of studs is not a whole lot more ($405 for ARP 425 series). Tips? I've got an alldata subscription which will give me most of the steps that I need, but I welcome any tips, shortcuts or encouragement you can offer. Other things of note: - Currently my oil is not milky, and I can't see any evidence of oil in my coolant, so I think my leak is external only. - I won't start this job until the end of next week. - Once off, I AM planning to get the head surfaced, and checked for cracks... Is there anything else I should have them do? - To do this job carefully, and on the slow side, what should I ballpark for time spent on actual work (not waiting for machining, etc)? - My truck is my daily driver. I don't ever plan on making it a beast. At this point I'm happy with it's current power output, and really only could imagine going up to 400 hp on the outside. - I'm the sort of person who wants to do things the right way, the first time. I don't go overkill nuts, but I also don't need to skimp to save $20 that I may regret later. All help is appreciated

Well.... I guess it's time for a little closure on this thread. I'll create another for my newly discovered head gasket challenges. Boost leak: Apparently turned out to be a boost elbow adjustment issue. After turning in the allen adjuster about 3-4 turns I'm now boosting away. Thanks a ton for everyone's input. Lesson learned... my ebay "pre-adjusted" elbow, was not adjusted properly as best I can tell. Turbo Noise above 20psi: I think it's just the sound of it spinning faster than I've ever heard before, because before today I've never heard my truck boost over 21 psi, and now it's doing up to 30. After pulling the boot on the intake side I checked the turbine, and had very little side to side movement (the kind it's supposed to have), and absolutely no front to back movement that I could tell. All in all seems to be a pretty tight turbo. My thanks to all who helped. I think this thread must have saved me a bit of cash somewhere along the line, so I think it only fair to up my donation a bit.

I know... Just going to go ahead and do studs at the same time.

I'll get the elbow squared up. May just be adjustment. Now I just noticed I've got a pretty good stream of dried coolant coming out of the head to block connection below the thermostat... UGH! Anyone have a set of studs they aren't using? Guess I know what my next thread will be.

Yeah it's an hx35. Good news. Put a clamp on the line and now I get to 29 psi easy (and that was unloaded just ripping on it for one freeway on ramp) so it looks like an elbow issue. Egts are way down on the high end too. Thanks. I did notice that after 25psi my turbo sounded a little different than normal. Kind of a little (really little) shrieky. Is that normal?

Ok. Still might be wise to check the filter depending on where you are getting your readings. If it's before the filter (and the filter happened to be an issue) it would seem you would not register a drop in pressure before the filter if it was the bottleneck but could potentially be starving for fuel on the other side of the filter under load. Probably not the issue but easy enough to check,before looking at more expensive stuff.

My fuel boss has no issues keeping rock solid pressure. If you are having that big of a drop at idle I would get on the horn with Rich at Glacier. You may have a regulator issue of some sort. Might also want to peek at your filter and make sure it's not fouled.