to anyone that has to change a head gasket on 6.5
 

after doing a bunch of research on the right way to do it, i have finally found it and figured i would post it.


Disconnect battery ground cable.
Remove intake manifold.
Label, then remove injection lines.
Remove rocker arm covers.
Drain cooling system, then raise and support vehicle.
Disconnect exhaust pipe from manifold.
Lower vehicle. Remove A/C compressor from right side cylinder head, then disconnect ground strap.
Remove following components from the left/right cylinder heads:

Remove power steering pump and position aside.
Remove alternator and rear bracket and position aside.
Remove A/C compressor and bracket.
Remove upper radiator hose, wiring harness/clips and position aside.
Remove glow plug relay and dipstick tube.
Disconnect coolant sensor electrical connector from cylinder head.
Disconnect and remove glow plug wires using tool No. J-39083, or equivalent, as the connectors cannot be reached by hand. Do not pull on glow plug wire harness.
Remove rocker arm assemblies and pushrods. Place components on a workbench in order removed for installation in cylinders from which they were removed.
Disconnect radiator, bypass and heater hoses.
Remove ground straps.
Remove water crossover pipe and thermostat housing assembly.
Remove cylinder head attaching bolts. The rear bolt in the left side cylinder head may have to remain in the head during removal.
Remove cylinder head.
INSTALLATION

Install the cylinder head bolts using the installation and tightening sequence shown.


In sequence tighten all of the cylinder head bolts to 25 Nm (20 lb ft) .
In sequence tighten all of the cylinder head bolts to 75 Nm (55 lb ft) .
In sequence retighten all of the cylinder head bolts to 75 Nm (55 lb ft) .
In sequence tighten all of the cylinder head bolts and additional 90 degrees - 100 degrees (1/4 plus turn) .
Reverse removal procedure.

The pass side exhaust manifold is a pia. I ended up havin to put the picker on the pass side , take the bolt out of the motor mount, and pick the motor up to get enough clearance to get the gasket in properly.

even with the turbo pulled?

Ya the back bolts hit the frame and there was no way to get a bolt in even with the turbo pulled and a shorter bolt.

hm intresting. ill keep that in mind:c:

my heads cracked!!?
 

Hoping I blew head gasket on 94 w\ 286k miles, I got quote of $1400 min labor and parts. est of $2500 when done. there was water in 2 cylinders but not in oil and visable failure between back pass side cylinders.
Called for O2, We had rebuilt a 302 for a 68 stang and just dropped a 258 in 81 Jeep J-10. About 15 hours later the heads were off. We cleaned them up and took to referred shop in JAX. I was thinking of having them Pressure tested but shown small cracks between valves. Their estimate about $400 each if most components still good. It was burning/ leaking about a quart every thousand miles. heads were flat with a straitedge, guides had no apparent side play, and after a quick hand lapping, valve and seats were consistent.

my questions are 3.
1) Bolt it down and hope that was it and run it to the Auction before diesel hits $4 again, the budget is tight.
2) Do the heads, and worry about Rings being next weakest link?
3) Part out what I can and crush the rest.
I bought the truck to carry Tball team in Jan 1997 with 120k miles. Son now uses as commuter to college (30 mile round trip).:s:

i would pull the heads and go from there

You had something weird going on there friend.

I pulled my turbo and manifold off the engine without touching a thing other than pulling the inner fender well for more comfort while working in there.

The 6.5 also doesn't need exhaust gaskets on the manifold to block connection if that's what you're referring to.

They're only going to eventually blow out and require removal.

My manifolds have no gaskets on them and they are just fine. They sell 'em, but they don't need 'em.

Bill Heath also told me the same thing; no gaskets required.

Now, if your manifolds are warped......different story.

But you should be replacing them or having them trued up if that is the case.

Warped manifolds will seal at first with gaskets, but will bow them out even sooner than good manifolds....

Reading the first post, an important point was missed;
The pushrods have an "up and down". The top that mates with the rocker arm is hardened. If you get them in upside-down on installation, accelerated wear, excessive clearance and eventual failure will result...

What I do when pulling a head is grab a piece of scrap 2x6, drill 2 rows of 8 holes with the press, group them as "intake/exhaust" in pairs of twos and then label them cylinders 1-8. This gives me a nice holder to pop the pushrods into as I take them out and it keeps them organized, in order and proper orientation until I'm ready to put it all back together.

Just make sure your drilled holes are clean and you don't get a piece of sawdust stuck in the pushrod oiling hole...

I also usually put a small dab of paint on the "up" side of the pushrod. IIRC, the 6.5 comes from the factory with a green dab on the "up" side.

But, this often wears off by the time it is pulled apart. Make sure your dab of paint (if you do) of marker goes on the side of the pushrod and not the bearing surface at the ends...


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Is there any other marks on the pushrods besides paint? I put mine back in the same way they came out but after you said that ya got me a little worried lol ( I do the same with the drilled piece of wood to hold everything)