Sadly, I took my jeep into the dealer for an oil leak which I'm pretty sure was coming from just the intake manifold gasket, along the lifter valley, but they've decided that it could be the head gaskets as well, so they are replacing them too. Assuming they change oil and filter after doing this, how long do you guys think I should run that oil afterwards? Should I do another oil change after that one as well? I'm sure they are going to get some dirt in the engine, and I'm pretty sure you cant fully drain those blocks of coolant, so there may even be some coolant that finds its way into the crank case. If they dont' change the oil, i will do it as soon as i get it home, but hopefully they are somewhat competent. I'm a diesel mechanic for a living and I'm the type that doesn't feel comfortable having someone else work on his stuff.
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OCI after headgaskets
- Thread starter afoulk
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afoulk
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Oh, I almost forgot, does anyone know if these engines (3.8 v6) need the heads retorqued after a certain amount of time or mileage?
Nope, tty, Torque to yield ,(in sequence of course) thats it.
afoulk
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Ok, I figured, but I just wanted to make sure. Most everything is torque to yield these days. Anyone have an OCI recommendation?
Consevatively? 5k thats assuming normal driving ,trail abuse, water fjordings etc ,thats another story.Ive been up to my headlights before, no water intrusion though (Believe me I looked).
afoulk
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No, I just ment how long should I go before changing oil after I get it back from the head gasket job? I figure they are gonna manage to get some dirt in there and maybe even some coolant from pulling the heads. If they don't change it themselves when they do the head gaskets, I'll change it right away, but I wondered if I should change it again soon after that to help flush anything out they might have gotten in there. Hopefully they are careful, but I just wanna be on the safe side.
I always changed after a 30 minute to 1 hour warmup to check for leaks. Then back to the original oci.
Also take note of your coolant system - the overflow tank and take a peek under the radiator cap. But wait 500 miles or more first.
Not just the level, but all sorts of stuff may have gotten in there also - oil at a minimum.
I hope they changed the oil with their work, but nowadays don't count on it. I'd make sure so you get a good start.
Water or coolant will evaporate or boil off readily unless there is a lot in the system, but that leaves antifreeze additives to contend with.
If it was mine, I'd change it at 2k or so. Plus, this will give you time to see if everything else is OK. Sure, you can go longer, but what do you have to gain or prove? Impress some internet people who get indignant if you don't go at least 5k on dino? You are fixing the car to be right and to drive it.
Not just the level, but all sorts of stuff may have gotten in there also - oil at a minimum.
I hope they changed the oil with their work, but nowadays don't count on it. I'd make sure so you get a good start.
Water or coolant will evaporate or boil off readily unless there is a lot in the system, but that leaves antifreeze additives to contend with.
If it was mine, I'd change it at 2k or so. Plus, this will give you time to see if everything else is OK. Sure, you can go longer, but what do you have to gain or prove? Impress some internet people who get indignant if you don't go at least 5k on dino? You are fixing the car to be right and to drive it.
What about a cheap dino flush like with motorcraft 5w20, run it for 5 min.,in driveway then refill with your usual brand? no good?
Personally when I replaced my head gaskets I drained the oil and then the first flush I idled it for like 15 minutes. Then I drained and filled with another change of cheap dino and ran it like 300 miles. Drain that and then back to standard OCI. Maybe overkill, but I wanted to get all of that coolant out of there.
afoulk
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thanks for the recommendations guys. I've gotta drive it about 30mins. to get it home from the dealer, and then I was thinking of changing the oil right away. I've got some Mobil Clean 5000 that I've had sitting around for awhile, maybe I'll put that in it with a purolator classic filter. I was thinking about running that for 1,000miles and then dropping it, but maybe I'll cut it even shorter. If I can go back to my normal oci after that, i have some Pennzoil Ultra I wanna try.
afoulk
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well looks like I don't have to worry about flushing things out. They called me today and said it was done, sooner then I was told it would be done. They said they replaced the intake gasket and just the left side head gasket. well, they didn't have either head off. Theres no witness marks on the external head bolts on either head where they would have had an impact gun on them to take them off, and they are rusty. Theres also a tab sticking out from under the left head thats part of the head gasket and thats still oily and dusty. If it wasn't leaking, then thats fine, I don't care, but to lie and say they did it, its kinda upsetting. And to top it off, my breather hose to the air cleaner was off, a clamp to the pcv hose was off, and hes got atf everywhere from replacing my power steering pump. He also over filled the resevoir and some of that puked out on the way home. Oh well, guess I wont be back there again. I think I'm gonna take it into work, clean it off and just do my normal oil change with Pennzoil Ultra and just run my normal oci.
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