Which Head Gasket? - Diesel Forum

ericjack · 03-21-2009, 10:44 PM

I'm in process of doing studs, and I was wondering which gaskets to use. Factory Ford or aftermarket? If aftermarket, where to buy?

Ive got my heads at the machine shop... they say they are warped and several valve guides are worn out. This really sucks with only 42K miles.

Any ideas appreciated. Thanks

Smiley1 · 03-22-2009, 12:24 AM

The factory headgaskets are good to around 500 hp.

Sorry to hear about your heads. I would assume it is a warranty repair.

ericjack · 03-22-2009, 09:47 AM

Well, yes it is under warranty....but...I did a delete and they won't touch it now. They are going to supply the gaskets, and pay to have the heads repaired. So, I guess thats ok. I'm doing the work. By the way, you CAN pull the heads WITHOUT pulling the cab...for anyone who wonders. I even left the heater/ac intact. Its a *****, but I did it. What other gaskets can I get besids the factory Ford gaskets?

SMOKESKULL · 03-22-2009, 12:32 PM

In what way are the guides worn out? Sounds rather suspicious to me. I would take the heads to another shop for a second opinion. If you let some bimbo grind your valves, you may be asking for even more problems down the road. Some shops just want to keeps everyone busy and get enough money from you in case they do something wrong, they at least got enough money from you to either make it right or pay for a lawyer to attend small claims court. I have very little faith in a lot of small business anymore.

ericjack · 03-22-2009, 06:45 PM

I don't think so. This machine shop does the work for my local Ford dealer. He didn't go into detail, he just said some of the guides were wore. The heads were also warped to the tune of somewhere around 4-5 thousandths. You can see where the sealing ring had eroded the head in places. They coincide with the head bolts that seemed looser than the others when I pulled on them.

My local dealer did'nt want to do the job because of some deleted stuff I had done. They did offer to buy all the gaskets and pay to have the heads repaired. Now they say (after I have pulled it apart) that they will not pay for any parts. They will do the job if I have it towed in. Then they will take pictures and send to Ford to get approval. Sounds like bull to me, I don't know.

I'm going back Monday to talk to them again. I need to call Ford, I guess.