dieseldoc Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Well guys I need to step back in time here to 1983. A local volunteer fire department came to me over the weekend for a quote. They have a back up tender truck that is a 1983 S1600 with a 6.9 in it. They feel it needs a head gasket because there is coolant dripping out the left side exhaust manifold. I am thinking it may be more than a head gasket( cracked head perhaps). Anyway I am looking for a fair labor time as well as anything I should quote along with this. Thanks for the insights and advice guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Amacker Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Book time isn't going to be very accurate due to rust and age, I'd quote it at T&M. They were bad on HG back then and we did hundreds of them but time fades my memory and I can't remember many tips. I don't remember heads as being a problem back then. Get o-rings and return lines for the injectors, a couple of spare head bolts as sometimes they felt rubbery when you were torquing them, and the heads rotted off the lower ones. Pop test the injectors if you pull them. (Pop test? WTF??) The LP pumps were usually bad and I tested them out of the truck by holding the outlet with my thumb and stroking the lever, if it hissed through the inlet the check valve was bad. Don't pull the horseshoe shaped casting off that the HP pump bolts to or the gear loses its time requiring the face of the engine to be removed. Pull the HP pump and HP lines as an assy, it should have the oil fill (or cover plate) bolted to the front of the horseshoe to access the three pump gear bolts. Remove the return fitting from the HPP and look for debris in it showing the pump is going bad. Turning the timing up a tad made them run better. If it has the early flat blade glow plugs upgrade it to the later bullet style and eliminate the complex and poorly engineered early GP system. The bullet connectors are available from Terminal Supply, reuse the harness. Don't mix up the two power wires on the pump. If anyone wants to chime in or correct me, that's fine..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Clayton Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Nope, everything sounds good to me. I lost count of how many head gaskets I did on the old IDI's. When you look at the replacement gasket where it seals the water jacket you'll know why. The intake manifold can be a bit aggravating lining up all the bolts if it is not sitting nice and flat on the engine. If the fuel system looses it's prime, just crack the number 1 injector line loose or number 2 until fuel bubbles out and it should bust off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blown99 Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 We used to get 8hrs to r&r both head gaskets. 6.9 were known for cracking inside the cylinder allowing coolant into the cylinder. Head gaskets were somewhat common. Check the precombustion chambers and make sure they are snug in the head - ether will loosen them up. Set the pump timing at 5 degrees with a timing light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Clayton Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Gonna need a fuel pulse pickup box in order to use a regular automotive timing light. Mac tools makes a nice one #ET18dpm. It has a clamp that hooks to the number 1 fuel line and an inductive loop on the box that the timing light hooks to. All the ones I set, roll out the door at 8 degrees, (a timing light with an advance knob or adjustment keys needs to be used). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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