Jambbii

Well I had about 50 miles on the gasket and it started leaking water out of th exact same place it did before, except this time it was really pooring, not just drooling out like last time. I used arp studs, had the head resurfaced what did I do wrong? Torqued using proper procedure. I didnt even get to the retorque and I was babying the truck around town everywhere. I am not looking forward to doing this again. I am going with a stock gasket this time because nobody in town has a marine and I dont have the cash anyways.

Any suggestions for a very frustrated person?

Thanks,

Josh

joefarmer

Triple check the flatness of the block. Measure it diagonally, sideways and front-to-back in multiple places. The re-torque should be done after 1-3 heat cycles. So, get the truck to operating temp, let it cool, get it warm again and retorque while hot. Make sure the studs aren't bottomed out in the holes... they need to expand in the bottom of the hole when the engine warms up. Do all the similar studs measure the same length? Maybe there's one that failed during manufacturing?

brandon.

Jambbii

Well crap, all of my studs where bottomed out. I guess I learned an expensive lesson today

Don M

Where did you get the studs? Who helped you on the proper installation of them?

Head surface is very important. Many machine shops cant get the surface as good as I like to see when you are pushing the performance up.

Don~

Jambbii

Don, I helped myself with the install There are not many cummins gusy out here so I was pretty much on my own. I have built gas engines so I figured I would have no problem with this ordeal in the first place. The head was done by a very reputable shop and I trust that it was done right. I am switching to a stock gasket tomorrow. I got the studs from summit racing. I talked to someone at F1 and they told me to just pick up the summit studs because everyone was pretty much out.

Don M

Stock gasket? Yuk. They may actually hand you a stock thickness marine gasket for the 95 at Cummins.

Marine part numbers are :

stock is 3283335
.010 is 3283337
.020 is 3283339

I really like the .020 marine and have exceptional luck with it. Having the studs bottomed out is not the best way, but for every guy you find who doesnt like the practice you will find one that does like it.

Maybe a good straight edge on the block will find your trouble.

Tq the studs past the 96lbs after an initial warm up and few hours of cooldown. I like 120 ft lbs. Then again in a week or so.

Check the surface conditions of head. It must be very smooth, not just flat. I dont like the surface of the heads cut with carbide, but sometimes that is all you have access to. A rough finish will have a hard time sealing.

Don~

acdc

Why do you prefer the .020 gasket Don, I am just curious as to why a thicker gasket

Thanks Ted

AlpineRAM

Don:
Which surface do you recommend? I can have mine machined to extreme flatness (max tolerance 0.004mm), and they asked me what surface roughness I want. It can go from mirror finish to somewhat looking like a graveled road

Thanks!

AlpineRAM

Forrest Nearing

thicker gasket = more room for oxygen (boost)

mkubacak

Since we are forcing air into our engines, if you want to make more power, you go with a lower compression ratio therefore you can generate more boost safely. Example being Top Fuel Nitro engines run something like a 7 to 1 compression ratio. They are using an oxygen bearing fuel + they are compressing the heck out of the fuel air mixture with the blower. Turbo gasser guys will run lower compression ratios to build more boost too. This is one of the issues with the HO motors. Chevrolet 6.5 diesel motors can make a lot more power if they drop their compression ratio and add an aftercooler. Makes you wonder why the engineers never tried to add one. Probably cause they had longevity issues as they were and were afraid to add any power.

Rhino

What are the disadvantages to a thicker gasket?