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[bismic]

Plenty of folks running stock trucks and no head bolt/gasket failures. I know it does happen, but not that common. Head studs usually mean a truck has been tuned and driven hard. Buying a used truck w/ head studs and gauges, etc is risky unless you know the person selling the truck. These heavy mods also mean there is no warranty.

You are much better off buying a late model year truck that is stock and has warranty left.

IMO - 99% of the stock trucks have no need for studs as long as the owner watches boost, EGT's and signs of plugged oil coolers.

The better question is why don't I have gauges. These are essential in minimizing the impact of any problems that MIGHT develop. I am just not that worried about it, but I will have gauges soon because it is wise. I know what to look for and I know many mechanics and I am still under warranty.

I appreciate your calm responses since I am not trying to be personal w/ the disagreements. However, I have a fair amount of experience in troubleshooting and the root causes of the big issues are fairly well known. I also have too much data to accept the opinion that major problems are inevitable - at least for the vast majority.

I do know that heavy mods hugely increase the risk of problems and buying a used truck that has been heavily modded is asking for trouble. Why would most people spend thousands on modding their truck and then sell it? The answer is - they were having problems and the repair shops were nailing them w/ the repair costs.

As far as the major issues go, they have been well discussed from the very beginning of the thread. That is why the recommendation for the reliability mods AND making sure you still have warranty (a very smart thing to do WHENEVER you buy a used vehicle - any used vehicle).