All right... Here goes nothin'. I blew my head gasket this weekend and I'm lookin for some advice. I'm for sure getting head studs and while the head is off I'm going to do valve springs shims and retainers. What I don't know is what I want to do for a gasket? i.e. fire ring, o-ring, Marine head gasket, ect. I am thinking about maybe stepping up to a "Big Stick" cam and a set of DDP140s within the next year or so. But other than that The truck is just the way I want it. At full throttle I'm hittin 46 psi. Thanks in advance.

 

i would o-ring the head, save you time an money in long runn!!! good luck with build!!

 

Make sure you have the head checked for flatness.

 

fire ring it. then torque it down to 140lbs. make sure to do a hot re torque as well. then every couple of months just go over the studs again with your torque wrench

 

 

i say if you are on a budget, check the head for flat. then .020 over cummins marine gasket and then our allen bolts. tq at 90 lb and 90degs.

 

I got the bolts from mighty diesel and seem to be working good

 

my head has never been off. they were replaced 1 at a time.

 

i wouldnt mess with fire rings, i heard their junk on the street.

 

Fire rings won't last on the street, O rings are your best bet.

Diesel Paps head bolts are much better than stock, but if your head is off, do studs.

If you already have studs and O rings, you want the stock thickness gasket at 46 psi.