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1987 Ford 6.9L diesels?

7K views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  jackblack99 
#1 ·
I know this is kind of off the topic I own a Cummins powered Dodge and I'm a Cummins diesel tech. A guy I work with was givin a 1987 Ford F250 6.9L Diesel pickup, and he was told it overheats and he has found it has some water in the oil. He wants to pay me to replace the head gaskets which from what I've found is a typical problem with these engines.

I was wanting to find out what to expect here, I've never worked on Ford diesels or looked at his, are there any parts that should be replaced while in there? And how difficult is this job? And I have already agreed on a price but wanted to know what others would charge for a head gasket job like this?

Thanks,
Tony
 
#2 ·
The only help I have for ya is , often times the heads will be warped badly on those old 6.9l so you will most likely want to have the heads planned before you re install them.
Have fun!:thumbsup:
 
#3 ·
X2. ive done this exact job on that exact year of truck buy new head bolts. soak the manifold bolts with some good penetrating oil. and then plan on spending some time getting the bolts out without breaking one off. i took the heads out with the manifold still on and worked on getting the bolts out with the head on the bench cause it was alot easier than laying across the engine standing on your head ya know. we also put in bigger injectors, custom made oversize lines and cranked the injection pump. that thing would smoke more than any other diesel ive ever seen because it didnt have a turbo to provide more air. we end up putting propane to it to get it too clean up and it still wouldnt clean up all the way. it ran hot on the EGT's too. tell your friend to get an EGT guage as those idi's will run hot.
 
#4 ·
Yeah, I was expecting some warping since it was overheated. The guy that I will be doing the work for is a farmer and dosent want to spend alot since the truck is not worth much (you know how ford's hold value). But reserfacing is pretty cheap for a truck you diddent have to buy.

I've heard the head bolts should be replaced, and that the bolts should be retorqued after 30,000 miles or so? Because of that I was going to retorque the head bolts after running it through a couple of heat cycles (like on my old small block chevy). Is this accurate or at least makes sense?

Thanks,
Tony
 
#7 ·
i would bet money its the heads i have a 86 6.9 and it is sittin right now bad trans but they are known for head gaskets, and warpage issues kida like a 6.0 :lol4:
 
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