Mike

Mine was built 3/06 - would that still be the "older stuff"?

 

I took the injectors and Turbo to B&G in Washington DC Fuel Injectors, Temple Hills, MD, B & D Fuel Injection Service is the outstanding east coast operation for diesel pumps, diesel and gas injectors, and turbochargers. I have heard good things about them here from the limousine guys in town. I will give you an update on the 06 heads which i took to NAPA machine shop here in Fairfax VA. I have the 04 heads which will be checked tomorrow and hopefully they don't come out cracked or worse. The machine shop guy told me that its extremely rare for him to find any 6.0 head that is not cracked! As far as the 06 heads go, I checked the dowel size and it was 20mm so I'm kinda stumped as to why the glow plugs are the same length. I will take a picture of the head and the glow plug from the 06 and 04. the build date of my vehicle is 08/06 as stated on the door sticker. It is an e450 2006 shuttle bus cutaway.
If the 04 heads come out cracked I will bawl my guts out on this forum! However if they do come out bad - what do I do?
The first photo shows the 04 head on the left and the 06 head on the right.
The second picture shows the 06 head in detail with the exhaust manifold still attached.

 

From what I see now from the P/N's, the early longer glow plugs were 03/early 04 only. 04.25 and up got the new shorter glow plug, so chances are you have late build 04 heads. So the glow plugs are the same, despite them being 18mm dowels.

bkmac - I believe you'd have the 18mm setup too, but I will look around and see. So many different things changed in that short amount of time it's hard keeping track of all of it.

 

Thanks for the clarification mdub. The machine shop showed me a hairline crack in almost one intake /exhaust valves across almost each cylinder. It was quite disappointing to hear since this bus basically went empty from stop to stop and barely had 80k on it. To top it off the oil used to be changed every 2500 miles because we knew of the issues with this motor. You can see how clean the head is as compared to the 2004. In any case I am trying my luck with the 04 heads.I have dropped of the heads and waiting for the machine shop to get back to me. I hope this nightmare ends soon!

 

So the valves themselves are cracked, or the heads near the exhaust valves are cracked? If it's just the valves, get new valves. I've heard of some shops repairing these cracks (in the heads) too if the heads themselves are cracked, as long as they're not too bad.

Unfortunately this is common with our crummy heads. New heads from Ford are about $1k a piece, and they come with all of the valvetrain already in them (valves/springs etc). Just FYI.

 

Hi Mdub, The hairline cracks were visible to the eye once the valves were removed. They are in the heads themselves. The machine shop here in Fairfax says it cannot repair those. He was saying that in order to repair them some shops heat them to cherry red and then put some molten iron in them ~ i don't know if this is correct but it straight from the horses mouth! I was looking on ebay, just in case the 04 heads heads come back cracked, and the odessa heads are for about $1100 for a pair. I'm still waiting on the machine shop to give me a report on the 04 heads.
If the 04 heads do come out damaged - what should I do? The block is an 04. Should I get 04 heads with 18mm or the 06 heads with the 20mm? I have the 06 engine from which I cannibalized all the parts. I am using the 06 injectors.

 

I would get whatever heads you can get your hands on. Probably look for a set on the boards in good shape. I'm cheap like that. Just find a set someone has already gone through. Unfortunately finding cracked heads is about as easy as finding a blown EGR cooler.

 

Just got a report from the machine shop- the 04 heads were cracked! No surprise-I have another set of heads that I'll send in for testing and then just go for rebuilt heads. There is a shop in Atlanta called Allied motors that repairs cracked heads and brings them to like new for $425 a piece. I might go that route should this set of heads turn out toast! I got my turbo fixed for $650. The variable vanes were frozen. This is from that same shop I mentioned in my earlier post. There was a bit of miscommunication on my part as far as the injectors. They charge $50 to check and if they find something wrong they wont charge the check fee and sell you a rebuilt for $225. Well 7 of them checked out fine and 1 needs to be replaced. This engine really costs! I'll keep you updated

 

I have been searching the web inside and out for this forum.. a friend of mine bought a 6.0 replacement with black Onyx head gaskets and ARP head studs.. to my surprise I unwrapped engine and found it had newer style oil branch, instead of replacing branch I opted to upgrade Hpop to later one , found one with cover that I bought and will upgrade fitting before I install it, I have ICP on right valve cover so that wont be an issue, so what Im reading I should be able to bolt new pump in , install cover and plug IPR in, will 03-04 turbo pedestal fit ok as well as EGR cooler? just trying to get what info I can.. Thank you for any help ,Bill Rice

 

You are in good shape, bolt it up and go. If you have a late 04 then the swap is easy to convert especially if you got the later branch tube.
I just did the same thing and it was on an early 04, had to swap rocker boxes,valve covers,branch tube, oil rails, stand pipes,HPOP, hpop cover,new rear main seal,.
the turbo pedestal you have is the same as 05 and later so it is a non issue. you have a late 04/because you have icp on pass side valve cover/ the only difference in a late 04 and the 05 and up is the HPOP,hpop cover, and branch tube, the rest of the engine is the same.