Had to choose between a full rebuild or just swapping the head on a 6.7 Powerstroke

Last week, a regular customer brought in his F-250 with a bad coolant leak and low compression on cylinder 3. The block was fine, but the head was warped. I had to pick between pulling the whole engine for a full in-frame rebuild or just pulling the cab to swap the head. The full job would have taken three days and cost him a lot more in labor. I went with the cab-off head swap. It took me and my apprentice a full day just to get the cab in the air, but having that wide-open space to work made the head gasket and bolt torque so much easier. We got it buttoned up in two days total, and the truck runs quiet now. Has anyone else found the cab-off method saves more time than it seems like it would on these newer rigs?

2 comments

2 Comments

irisp674d ago

Absolute no-brainer on the cab-off. Did the same job on a 6.7 last month. Pulling the engine is a total fight. Once the cab is up, everything is right there. You can actually see what you're doing. Saves your back, too. That open space is worth the extra few hours of lift time.

the_drew4d ago

Man, you're not wrong. That open space is a game changer. I remember the first time I saw a cab come off for a heater core job, it blew my mind. Went from a three-day knuckle-buster with the dash out to just having the whole thing right there. Felt like cheating.