what i did was pull the air intake, turbo, exhaust manifold and down pipe off completely, i then disconnected the drive shafts and put a floor jack under the tranny, disconnected the slave cylinder from bellhousing and removed shifters for t-case and tranny from inside cab, drained anti-freeze and oil and take off the oil filter houses and electrical connections, remove intercooler lines,loosened the motor mounts( later on, youll unbolt the passenger side one completely.) after the motor mounts are loose, i jacked up on the right side of the motor only, allowing the motor to rotate slightly towards the drivers side, this allowed me access to the plugs with room to spare. put a block or a jack stand under the right side to help support the motor,. now from here, i took a 3/8 drill bit and drilled a whole into the plug, then took a long punch and pryed it out(warning: expect a little antifreeze to drain out.), used the digital diacaliper and measured it. Once youve got your measurement, replace the old plug with a new one from cummins, tap it in gently and re-install everything in reverse order that you took it off. This is a multi-day project. take you time. I took me about 2 days per truck. now with an auto, youll have to drain fluid, disconnect lines from tranny and the cooler. so it may take more time. I would NOT reccomend this to anyone who is not mechanically sound. By mechanically sound i mean being abel to do way more then just change a belt or do an oil change. Also, having a friend or two to help is adviseable.

Thanks Dukeboy I did not realize the motor would have to be laid over . Well how did you come out on your measurement ? I'm guessing it wasn't any trouble to get the MIC into the right area right below the radius where the block curves out ? Where is the 53 at on your block just curious . Did you just measure the one one between 5&6 only ?

Also You guys can pick up STORM Blocks AG Blocks and Marine Blocks they are the strongest. Storm blocks come with O Rings standard.

I read somewhere how much heavier some of those blocks are does 300lbs sound right ? An I thought if it was that much a person might have to think about different springs up front . Maybe it was the AG block can,t recall .

mine all came out thicker then .254, i measured all of the plugs on that side, i was replacing all of them plugs anyway, why not

Lucky Dawg where is the 53 imbossed on your block at ?

ill get you pics today, the number is located on the drivers side underneath the power steering pump. easiest way to find it:U:

mid atlantic diesel built a p pumped 24valve thats make over 800 on fuel and wraps a 100psi oost guage like nothin and its got a 53 block with no issues so far

It can be on both sides. At least mine is.

Go to the first page of this thread and check out the links I posted .

Mine is also stamped on the very front corner on the drivers side. You can't miss it.:tu: