New Heads

[gsimpson]

I bought new heads for my 6.5 they are raw. Where is the best place to get valve guides and should I reuse my old valves and spring etc.?
The engine has a water jacket leak(head gaskets) that burns the water. There is no water in my oil when the engine is running its runs like a sewing machine it just uses water like crazy. Hence the new heads and gaskets and bolts.

Thanks in advance for all the help and advice from people more experienced with diesels than I am.

[Yukon6.2]

Hi
Where did you get raw heads?
There is a company that Robyn recommends called Clearwater.
They use off shore castings and reuse springs,valves.They send a shipping label for you old heads.
I would expect getting raw heads and taking them to a machine shop to put in valve guides,seats and grind valves will cost you more than getting finished heads from Clearwater.
The company that makes replacement 6.5 engines in the USA also sells complete heads but they are expensive.
I got some rebuilt heads 9-10 yrs ago through a Quebec company,they seem to be working fine.
Get Felpro gaskets and bolts.
Thomas

[Robyn]

Where did these RAW heads come from ???

I have seen a lot of 6.5 stuff, but never RAW castings ???????


The clearwater heads are pretty good for the $$$$

I have used a couple sets of them over the years

As mentioned they are "turn key" out of the box..


Best heads are the ones from AM General (the real deal)

[gsimpson]

Ebay seller Lavoyroad, may be chinese cant tell but they are supposed to be made with a higher nickel content.

[Yukon6.2]

Ebay seller Lavoyroad, may be chinese cant tell but they are supposed to be made with a higher nickel content.
Send them back and order some Clearwater heads.
Then at least you will have a proven product with warranty.

[john8662]

There are several versions of reproduction heads out there. Can't tell if any are better than one another, have heard of failures from Clearwater heads too cracking in places none of the GM heads ever did.

You already have what you have, make a go at them and find out.

The heads should already have the guides machined.

You should re-use your valves from the old heads, the springs can be used too.

Only thing you should have to buy is the valve stem seals and o-rings.

Just take the heads to an automotive machine shop with your old heads in hand and have them break the old ones down, inspect the valves, grind the valves, check the springs, then install seals and check the instal height and recession in the deck.

The castings are intended for machine shop use.

John

[More Power]

6.5L heads have been around for 25 years. That's a long time to accumulate a reputation and generate some failures.

Some of the earliest Chinese heads have been around for ... 10 years? No one knows for sure. Question #1: I wonder how many Chinese head failures have been blamed on GM. Question #2: Even if you identify a Chinese head failure, what company in China do you blame? Who knows how many Chinese knock-offs there are out there? It's exceedingly difficult to hold anyone accountable for a failure. Accountability is in short supply.

But... I understand why people buy the Chinese heads... Let me explain.

I bought a set of used 6.5 heads about 2 years ago that I intended to have rebuilt for my 6.5 project. While at a local engine shop this past August to buy a 6.5L crankshaft I asked about cost to rebuild these heads. Sticker shock x 10!

I paid $350 for the used set of GM heads. If the otherwise perfectly rebuildable heads need all guides & seats and both decks skimmed, the shop charges will total $1210, producing a total of $1560 for a set of reman'ed factory heads. I can buy brand new AM General heads for $1600/set.

So... I understand why people buy the Chinese heads...

[sctrailrider]

And @ 1600$ for GM you could add 400$ more and get real a set of P400 heads that are a totally different casting, cooling passage between seats, seats under BOTH valves, not induction hardened, more material in the seat area, and a few other notable differences I won't go into here... I have cut a new P400 head into sections and found they aren't like GM castings....