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LB7 Head Gaskets

trailshredder

trailshredder

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Has anyone tackled this job themselves? I am about 99% certain I have a blown gasket on one side if not both. I have white smoke at idle, pressure in my coolant system and now a puddle of coolant on the drivers side rear of the engine. Anthing else I should do since it needs torn down to the block? 136K miles now. Got an estimate of $3600 today! Ouch!
 
it is a big job to do. in car is even tougher. it can be done, just alot of things to do while the engine is in the truck. i would order all the parts first and have them in hand before you touch it. i know some of the stuff is on back order. also have a machine shop in mind to have the heads looked at. make sure they are straight and not cracked any where.

on a side note, try putting a new cap on first. it may be the best 15 or so bucks you ever spent. you could also add some dye to the coolant and see if it provides you with a more visible source of a leak using a black light. good luck. if you need any more help just ask.
 
Have 2 estimates from a diesel shop and a dealer for around 3700. They said 1500 in parts. What more than, head gaskets, head bolt and injector cups seals do you need?
 
Man after reading some of this stuff I was thinking about a dmax but I can do headgaskets on my 6.5 in a day for about 100$. Is this a known issue with dmax ?
 
Acesneights1 said:
Man after reading some of this stuff I was thinking about a dmax but I can do headgaskets on my 6.5 in a day for about 100$. Is this a known issue with dmax ?
Click to expand...

I've heard of a few LB7s having them go out now. I actually just had mine replaced on my '05...luckily it was under warranty but it seems to be very uncommon for the LLYs. I don't know if it was a fluke thing or what.
 
It was common becasue of the crappy air intake causing overheating. A kit came out to prevent hot air coming off the radiator from entering the air intake, as well as some aftermarket air intake parts that really helped the overheating issue. Yes the air was causing overheating, not the water. As hotter air entered ait intake the engine kept getting hotter and hotter, but with cool air the way its supposed to be the engine will stay cool.

Well it looks like that was on 04-05 LLY and involves retrofitting the LBZ intake onto it, some baffles and the inlet duct. In service bulletin 06-06-04-036D
 
buddy said:
It was common becasue of the crappy air intake causing overheating. A kit came out to prevent hot air coming off the radiator from entering the air intake, as well as some aftermarket air intake parts that really helped the overheating issue. Yes the air was causing overheating, not the water. As hotter air entered ait intake the engine kept getting hotter and hotter, but with cool air the way its supposed to be the engine will stay cool.

Well it looks like that was on 04-05 LLY and involves retrofitting the LBZ intake onto it, some baffles and the inlet duct. In service bulletin 06-06-04-036D
Click to expand...


My truck has never come close to overheating...I live in Michigan.
 
You may have been lucky, the service bulletin came out in 07, most problems seen when towing in hot climate up grades, the normal hot time. If you dont do that then wouldnt be an issue. After making the mods people were able to maintain interstate speed up long steep grades and not overheating.
 
buddy said:
You may have been lucky, the service bulletin came out in 07, most problems seen when towing in hot climate up grades, the normal hot time. If you dont do that then wouldnt be an issue. After making the mods people were able to maintain interstate speed up long steep grades and not overheating.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know all about it. Some people still had problems after the '06 airbox was put in by the dealers. People with the v2 mod don't have the problem but that's a $1,000 upgrade. The LBZ turbo mouthpiece is supposed to help but I haven't heard if people still overheated with that.

Sorry to steal the thread guys. :hijacked:
 
No this is good, so if the guys truck doesn't have a headgasket problem now nd I don't tow with it or tow but do nthe mods the headgaskets should be fine ? Are there any early tell talle signs of a possible headgasket problem to look for other than the usual stuff(hard rad hose, steaming ex, black gook in coolant bottle, low coolant etc)
 
Acesneights1 said:
No this is good, so if the guys truck doesn't have a headgasket problem now nd I don't tow with it or tow but do nthe mods the headgaskets should be fine ? Are there any early tell talle signs of a possible headgasket problem to look for other than the usual stuff(hard rad hose, steaming ex, black gook in coolant bottle, low coolant etc)
Click to expand...

Just take it for a test drive and smell the engine bay afterward. If you smell coolant there is probably a leak somewhere in the system. If the head gaskets are bad and leaking into the cylinders...the overflow tank will pressurize and push coolant out...that's what mine was doing. I think it was a fluke thing...not due to overheating.
 
Max Attitude said:
Just take it for a test drive and smell the engine bay afterward. If you smell coolant there is probably a leak somewhere in the system. If the head gaskets are bad and leaking into the cylinders...the overflow tank will pressurize and push coolant out...that's what mine was doing. I think it was a fluke thing...not due to overheating.
Click to expand...

So you have had a blown headgasket? Maybe a fluke, maybe it got hotter than you think.

I would do the intake mod with the baffle pieces, instead of just converting to an LBZ intake box completely. The air may enter in different places, so the baffles were specifically made for the LLY intake to prevent radiator air from getting in intake.
 
buddy said:
So you have had a blown headgasket? Maybe a fluke, maybe it got hotter than you think.

I would do the intake mod with the baffle pieces, instead of just converting to an LBZ intake box completely. The air may enter in different places, so the baffles were specifically made for the LLY intake to prevent radiator air from getting in intake.
Click to expand...

max Attitude said:
I've heard of a few LB7s having them go out now. I actually just had mine replaced on my '05...luckily it was under warranty but it seems to be very uncommon for the LLYs. I don't know if it was a fluke thing or what.
Click to expand...

Ok, my truck did not overheat...quit trying to convince me cause you won't. :D From what I've read...and I've read a lot...The only people having the OH problems are the guys towing heavy loads (10k or more) out west on the big hills/mountains when it's 90* or better. I have never towed anything out there or in any hot weather for that matter. I hope it was a fluke thing. It's also wierd because it happened about 2 weeks after i put the LBZ turbo pipe on it...coincidence?? I don't know but I'm just glad it was under warranty!!
 
I did mine last year, and I did it myself. Don't remember how much it was all together. Gaskets were just over $100each, the ARP head studs were $580 shipped, then some anti-freeze and fuel line gaskets ( I think those were about $20-30) and some misc o-rings. It wasn't too bad, actually I did most of it out of a 125 piece craftsman tool kit.
 
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