Hey guys I've worked with a few 7.3 but not many 6.0's is there a way to instil better headstuds without taking off the heads? And if anyone knows of any ways to billet proof a 6.0 without removing the cab?

 

You can do all the work with the cab on the truck. Just makes it a little harder but can be done. Thats the way i did it. The head studs can be done without taking the heads off but isnt recommended. Its done by taking one out at a time and replacing it with the new one. Its not recommended because you should always take your heads to have them checked for flatness. Ford specs are not the greatest out of the factory for flatness. So its up to you if you think you can get away with it. Good luck

 

I would never EVER do studs on a 6.0 without taking the heads off. How do you know they're even flat? Take them off, get them decked and completely checked out, new OEM gaskets, and stud it. You can do all of it with the cab on, it's just more work.

 

I read that if you jack the transmisssion off the mount it will make the clearance to remove the back two bolts on the driver side. This makes sense and it beats the heck out of taking the hammer to the firewall or trying to pull them with the head.

Back on track here. If you don't have any indication of a bad head gaskets, where would the issue be? Don't get me wrong, if you have popped an HG, pull the heads. But if they're good what would be the harm?

 

The biggest issue with trying to stud them in the truck is as stated above. How know how flat they are to begin with. You could do all that work to stud the truck and start it up drive down the road and pop the gaskets. Then your out a whole lot of work and time when a little bit of patience and extar for gaskets and machine work for a solid reliable set up!

 

I just want to save myself the $8,000 down the road to have the guys do the head gaskets. Mine are just stock and has 271xxx km on it, I want to chip it but worrying about having to do the hg if I do. I also heard that the 04 6.0 are worse for hg then the 06 is this true?

 

I wouldn't say the 04 is worse than an 06, they all kind of suck in that regard. A tuner is definitely going to increase the risk of blowing them.

$8k sounds absurd.

If you are confident enough to dive in to the point to swap the bolts for studs, why not just pull the heads off at that point? It's not terribly much more work...

 

im thinking about doing the studs for the first time, any suggestions?

 

Get everything needed before starting the job. Check to make sure you have all the parts ready. Its really not that hard of a job probably 2 days of pulling apart and 2 days reinstalling and a few days in the machine shop. could be faster with help and a little less beer . Just look around here and there should be step by step procedures to do it. Any questions just ask and someone will help you out. good luck

 

Thanks guys for the help