If they're are two of you there you could try coming up from under the front of the truck with a 2x2 or something similar and catch one of the ears on the head with it (keeping it aimed to where it's pushing in the meaty part of the head), then tap in it with a hammer while a guy up above prys on the head. Never tried it but might work.

 

Might wanna leave a couple bolts in, just thread in an inch or two, so the head doesn't leap off, and trash something (someone?) else.

 

Thought they were aluminum (I did say I wasn't familiar with the V10s :b). If that's the case just beat them into submission. I had to on an old 318 poly engine. I just wrapped a cloth around a Sledge and beat them loose. Make sure to thread a few bolts in though. Been there and done that

 

All good advice! We are Alaskans! We will give it a good bush fix!

 

Like I said. The engineer will show up and figure it out. Took him longer to grab the crow bar then it did to pop the heads off!

All 10 cylinders have water in them?!?! Passenger side head gasket looks like a few of the cylinders were sharing compression?

We gotta test the heads for cracks now!

 

Welcome to the island of Ketchikan, Alaska! Nobody pressure tests cylinder heads!?!? Now what?

 

So I'm inspecting the heads. All 10 cylinders had water in them. But the front two cylinders. The valves were rust free on the front cylinder of each head. The other 8 were all rusty? One head the valves clean. The other head, they are dirty?

Driver side

Passenger side

 

Anyone do Magnaflux? Is there an automotive machine shop anywhere around? I know they are rare around here, and I live in Michigan, not to far from Detroit...... and the nearest machine shop is 40 miles away. (and VERY popular, as there just aren't many left any more....)

I would almost suspect the heads were warped...... or, someone else was in there previously, and didn't do a very good job. Think I would be putting a straightedge on the block surfaces as well......

How long have you owned the truck? Has it ever overheated to your knowledge???? I have seen headgaskets blow on one or two cylinders before, but, ALL of them???? Something ain't right there.

 

I'm stumped? I've owned the truck since 2005. Never seen it over heat, ever! However, I'm pretty sure the culprit is a bad radiator! It's plastic on the edges and the seam split a leak, I think, when I bought it? This truck was a company rig for an electrical company and I've never had a problem with this V10 until now. Pretty sure I let the coolant level get too low before the cold snap kicked in.

My engineer thinks the driverside gasket went first. Truck still ran. Then the passenger side went out and thats when the real problems started? All speculation? We just haven't found any cracks yet? I called my Detroit diesel guy and he said he uses that etching method as well! I will call some of the other mechanics today to see if they test heads. I ran into a craftsman buddy of mine yesterday and he said put it back together. Change the gaskets and if the problem still exists. Go to the pharmacy and get a bottle of liquid glass. Flush the radiator real good. Fill it with just water and pour the (sodium silicate) into the radiator. He bought a D8 Cat the owner said had a blown engine. He used the liquid glass in the engine and got five more years out of it and sold it. It's still running today, he said!

Yeah I'm wondering if both heads didn't warp? They are some heavy suckers! Needed two people to remove them!

 

I had the radiator hose pop off while I was driving and the system emptied itself out for the most part. I ended up driving it further than I should have to get it off the road where I could deal with it. My temp gauge never read much over 210 through the ordeal. Thinking the way these things read doesn't tell the whole story of what's going on.