After weeks of losing water and oil and not seeing leaks, I noticed a trail of rusty water running from my head gasket. I went through the process of finding uncracked heads for my sister's Ford, and after four trucks I found none that were undamaged. After a bit of research, it seems R/T heads had hardended valve seats that are far less prone to cracking. Does this mean if I find a Dakota R/T in the local junkyard, I can use these? I have no money for new ones....

 

Same motor so yes shoudlnt be an issue. Why'd they crack, any idea? No point in replacing without looking for the cause.

 

Check for the R/T mark on the heads to be sure. Unlikely you will find R/T heads in a JY.

 

R/T heads are marked as such in the casting process, that can be seen when hunting for them. No just because the truck says R/T on it does not mean it has R/T heads.

Some say they crack from plugged cat, improper intake tq, weak castings when they were made. I had 1,7,2,8 all cracked and never had a cat on it from day one, followed the tq pattern and specs always, it just happens thats all. At least the valve seats don't fall out like the Hemis do.

 

Where would the casting mark be? And are they actually less likely to crack? These had no excuse to crack. I followed torque specs, and never ran her hot. She just went from using a quart of oil every 3,000 miles to needing a quart every 200 or so, and never losing water to needing a gallon every week and overheating at a standstill.

 

Did you do a cooling system pressure test? I haven't seen these heads leak coolant. What I have seen is the intake manifold gaskets, freeze plugs and thermostat housings.

 

R/T heads are aluminum I think. In time they will crack easier then the stock cast iron heads.

 

You could be right, But I thought the heads were cast Iron.

 

No, I can't pressure test, don't have the tester. All I saw was a trail of rust from the head gasket.