Rob i can understand the that you just bought this truck and just want it run well.
At this point if you have a dealer buying the parts you should do both sides,.
The cost wont be significantly more and you will know what you have.
I hope that you dont have any cracked heads or worse a cracked cylinder, use the Block checker ( From NAPA) before you take it apart to see if there are hydrocarbons leaking into the coolant, and do a compression check this additional info will prove useful with a complete diagnosis. Goodluck

 

Yeah, frustrating to be into head gaskets this early in the game (6 days), especially since I started the 60k service on day one, and have been way easy on the truck.

 

Man I don't care what your reasons are for not doing both head gaskets but thats just completely stupid. If you want a half assed job then do one side. I have no idea why you would go to all that work and only do one side. Man up and do it all. I have worked at a mechanic shop for 5 years now and NEVER have a done one head gasket lol.

 

Don't know about the 8 pt socket... that's a new one to me.
The head bolts are TTY. They don't use a specific torque value. Probably a contributor to the head gasket failures

Aluminum heads are not magnafluxed (only iron can be) but they can be pressure tested or use a different (more expensive) process to look for cracks but I forgot what it is called.

Material removal is based on how warped or decroded the head is, it's usually done on a case by case basis. I usually pay $100 per head for a resurfacing and valve job

It is a very, very bad idea to just replace just one head gasket. You will be doing the job twice just to save a hundred bucks or so. The balance of the motor will be off (higher compression) on one side, not just because of the material taken off but also because the valves will have less leakdown (you are doing a valve job, right?). When your other head gasket goes out, you'll have to pay for all new gaskets, not to mention have to take off 75% of the parts that were taken off the first time.

If you are in doubt about what someone is saying to you, ask questions. The first person who responded to your post didn't really say anything incorrect and you attacked him for simply trying to help.

 

Even on an inline engine??? Sorry, couldn't help it...

 

I just got my head gaskets done like last week. I hate to pile on here but these guys are 100% correct I only had one side leaking and decided to just do both sides for the reasons they listed. If you are taking it to a shop it is a complete scam to charge you extra for the other side cause the dang top of your engine is already off! If you're gonna do it yourself i would add to the list degreaser, plenty of engine coolant and shop towels, also plastic sandwich bags that way you can label the things you take off and keep them seperated. Anf F.Y.I. this forum has been extremely helpful for me and i'm sure for thousands of others so the next time you ask a question try not to attack the people that are here to help you.

 

I think that he meant an 8mm 12 point socket for the valve cover bolts. You will want to find on in a 1/4 inch drive. The 3/8ths drive is a little fat to slip on the inside bolts. I couldn't find one at Sears, so I ordered one through Sears online. A day after I ordered it Sears cancelled the order. I ended up finding one at a local specialty hardware supply store. Good luck. Phil
1999 DI
2001 DII

 

The other side had already been done. Jeez guys this thread is 3 months old.

BTW, aluminum must be penetrate tested to look for cracks. Magnafluxed (brand name for Magnaflux magnetic particle testing) is only done on iron or other ferromagnetic metals. It's cheap for either, I do it for a living; it's how i figured initially that my exhaust manifolds weren't cracked.

Colbaybay,
Thanks for your input, looks like you'll be a fine contributor to the forum.

 

The head bolts take a 5/8" 6pt. socket. The bolt closest to the firewall are hard to get to. I bought a short wobble extension. I had to use a long 1/2" breaker bar with a jack handle over it to get them loose. Luckily I did not round any heads off. Clean or replace your oil seperator while your at it. It it in the valve cover breather port. They get clogged and cause oil to blow out through the valve cover gaskets. Use loctite on the Valve Cover bolts, they vibrate loose. The new head gaskets are improved over the originals, less likely to blow out or leak coolant.

Willie