I sold my 02 Dakota 5.9 quad cab 4x4 to a buddy a while back and now it's got a blown head gasket. Fun times...

I understand the 5.9 heads have a history of cracking, so I'm expecting to find that when we yank them off, no biggie.

Anyone have any heads-up type things?


Materials list off the cuff:

head gaskets
intake manifold gasket
timing chain cover gasket (it's leaking too)
head bolts (TTY, right?)
intake manifold bolts (tty as well)
exhaust manifold/header gaskets (one side is done) - I'm aware the OEM manifolds don't have gaskets, but I put Edelbrock shorty headers on it so this one does have gaskets.
oil
coolant

the 'since we're in there' parts:
timing chain
serpentine belt


Anything else you guys can think of? It's got 115k miles on it and he was quoted $2400 to do the job by a local shop so I told him I'd do it for $500 plus materials. I've done heads before on a 73 Power Wagon so I'm not too concerned with being able to do it, just wondering if anyone has anything to toss up so I'm not surprised by anything.

Are there any weird fasteners that I may have to buy tools to deal with?

This guy also bought my 86 power ram too. Not to worry though, I've still got 2 Jeeps in the driveway - I'm a diehard Mopar fan.

 

Your best bet is to get a master gasket kit. These will have everything. Even o-rings for the injectors. I would say replace all of those small things like that and even the thermostat. I can't remember off hand but I believe the timing chain cover is under the oil pan. Also since you would have your heads off I would say take it to a machine shop to have them examined. The heads have a tenancy to crack in between the valves. It happened to me, I had to replace mine. If you can afford it too replace the valve seals. They are included in the master kit. I believe It was around $80 for inspection and replace seals for me. If you don't get the master kit get the intake gaskets as well as the intake plenum gasket.

 

Intake plenum shouldn't be an issue, it was blown when I bought the truck, the dealer replaced it under warranty, then it blew again so I bought the Hughes fix in a while back.

I already told him that there's a good chance that the heads are either warped or cracked, and heads are around $700 for a set of OEM (new). I told him once we get them off we'll take them to a machine shop to see if they're true.