I have been nursing my Dodge truck for the last couple of months, trying to keep it in operation despite a coolant leak that was going through about 1/2-gallon every 500 miles. It was an insidious thing, because no evidence of coolant was appearing in my oil analyses, and I couldn't find a coolant leak under the truck when I stopped, and I never smelled coolant when driving. I finally took the truck to my local trusted mechanic, and he isolated the leak coming at the back of the engine, coming out between the block and head. The leak was hard to find because it was at the very rear of the engine, and the coolant was weeping down the back of the block, and around the clutch housing, finally dripping off at the very bottom. I could drive all day, then stop, and only a few drops of coolant would reach the ground, making a spot about the size of a 50-cent piece. Most of the coolant was being blown off the bottom of the clutch housing and out from under the truck as it travelled down the highway.
I drove the truck for a couple more weeks, but it was inevitable that the head had to come off. I took the truck into the shop on Monday this week, and I heard from them today that the cylinder head is cracked in multiple places. Doing some searching on the net, I find that cylinder head cracking is pretty common on the B engine. So, what to do?
a. Put the engine back together with the cracked head. Hey, it was running fine when I didn't know it had cracks, and maybe they won't progress any farther. I asked my mechanic to send me pictures of the cracks so I could decide whether or not they were in critical areas. He hasn't sent any pictures yet, and that may be unrealistic, as it probably isn't easy to get good pictures of Magnaflux indications.
b. Get a reconditioned head and put it on. If it's a recon head, obviously it has some miles on it, but has passed a crack test. But that is no assurance that it won't crack soon after it is put into service on my truck.
c. Get a new head and put it on. There are aftermarket heads available that claim to have fixed the problem areas where cracks occur, but what quality level are they? I would prefer a genuine Cummins head. A new head is more expensive, and may be extravagant to put on a shortblock with 448k miles, and in a truck that is worth ~$4000.
What knowledge, experience, and otherwise useful thoughts can the BITOG community offer?
I drove the truck for a couple more weeks, but it was inevitable that the head had to come off. I took the truck into the shop on Monday this week, and I heard from them today that the cylinder head is cracked in multiple places. Doing some searching on the net, I find that cylinder head cracking is pretty common on the B engine. So, what to do?
a. Put the engine back together with the cracked head. Hey, it was running fine when I didn't know it had cracks, and maybe they won't progress any farther. I asked my mechanic to send me pictures of the cracks so I could decide whether or not they were in critical areas. He hasn't sent any pictures yet, and that may be unrealistic, as it probably isn't easy to get good pictures of Magnaflux indications.
b. Get a reconditioned head and put it on. If it's a recon head, obviously it has some miles on it, but has passed a crack test. But that is no assurance that it won't crack soon after it is put into service on my truck.
c. Get a new head and put it on. There are aftermarket heads available that claim to have fixed the problem areas where cracks occur, but what quality level are they? I would prefer a genuine Cummins head. A new head is more expensive, and may be extravagant to put on a shortblock with 448k miles, and in a truck that is worth ~$4000.
What knowledge, experience, and otherwise useful thoughts can the BITOG community offer?
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