Blown Head Gasket / Cracked Cylinder Head V10 E450 Cost?

[Isaac-1]

Don't be afraid to just have a new head installed, just get the pistons inspected first with a fiber optic camera through the spark plug holes. This should be much cheaper than a new long block.

[sibe]

I was going to say that, I am a mechanic 40+years, engine builder, cars,bikes etc...

Just that, the root of the cause of this crack can bother me, i look for the WHY and it kills me.. This is also why many will say long block it BUT,, the cause .....

If this motor has a cylinder head design flaw or so so issue like the early rangers with a head bold update or intake seal issue.... these v10's dont seem to have head crack issue as a Top offender but there are a few reports, a few.. now exhaust studs, manifolds, the varible timing issues in it's smaller kin...... are well known.,..

Mechanics can chase tail here and never find the flaw.. or you replace it and next trip out it gets a lean cylinder and poops itself.. OOPS whose fault now...

SO, bits of the story or fault would nice... I think the OP said this was a higher miles v10.. no report of maintence records etc..

I speak riddles here but a motive of caution.

Years back my shop towed for a large FEDX garage.. It was interesting the schedule of PM and refitting.. The parts they changed.. back then it was ford 300 I6 motors with efi.. each truck had a budget and motor replace shedule...

on the routine side if the truck was a good unit, ran without issue and had its normal refit called it.. Motor was long block, new injecters,railes etc, new rad, WP, reco n trans and rear axle.. This truck would be slated for another 170K plus,, some chassis had over 500k .. point was lots got changed..

I did a car recently for myself.. 167K Murano , noted for bad trans,cvt.. yep it died at 173K , Nissan helped thru my supplier since it was less than 10years and under a class action..blah blah..
You need to drop the intire craddle /motortrans..
So while I was there,, All new hoses, belts,plugs,injecter,o2 sensors, al easy to get at now and they had 9 years and lots of miles. exhaust, struts rotors brakes, etc..
1500 for NEW trans and ecu updates, new drive by wire stuff, plus I added another 700 in misc stuff.. job was 17 hours plus for trans.. alone and I am a DYI guy..

Car is at 268K now and runs great, it is my knock around work car, AWD, siberian husky transport when shedding etc,, etc,,,

Moral here was the Murano had CVT wows but the drive by wire system, a bad ground harness and TransECU updates.. ALL played a part in this success story... lots of research on my part and open mind..

I gave no answers but be cautious of what may have started this issue unless your mechanic can say yep the head was a design or fatigue flaw, a new setup will be better than what you had...

[Woo10-210]

Originally Posted by HJLowell

And by reading this forum you would think only DPs crashed and failed.

From my observation mile for mile its the other way around over the years.

No real need to make this a gas versus diesel debate, is there?

[Jyrocharlie]

In my case , my V10 was using more oil than I wanted and I was going to keep this RV for a while.

[Kraken]

A couple folks have alluded to pulling the engine. You can use a standard engine hoist to pull out the engine on a class C. There is an adapter that slides in the end of the hoist, and then the adapter bolts on to the front of the engine and you pull the engine straight out. Of course the radiator and all that stuff has to be out of the way. The name of one adapter is the "Steck engine out" I haven't needed to use one yet(thank god)

[TripleClamp]

"Life happens", so actually we can't keep the RV right now so it has to go but it looks like we aren't going to spend anymore money on it and let it go to the salvage yard or craiglist it to see if there are any DIY'ers out there wanting to tackle the engine. The unit overall is in good shape as we put new front brakes and rotors on it, new starter, new radiator, spark plugs, coils, awning, mattress, generator replaced @ 1000 hours. Thanks for the good info! Happy Veterans Day to all those irv2'ers who have or are currently serving!

[OlYeller]

Originally Posted by Jyrocharlie

In my case , my V10 was using more oil than I wanted and I was going to keep this RV for a while.

Check your PCV valve. look in the vacuum line for evidence of oil. When replacing use a genuine Motorcraft part. Off brands are junk.

[Treker Vic]

The only known facts are; There is an internal coolant leak.
Possible causes are; blown head gasket , cracked head, cracked block.
Blown head gasket and or cracked head are relatively easy fixes without excessive cost.
A cracked block would require another engine.
To make an intelligent decision, the engine has to be opened up and determine what is needed.

[Mile Marker 42]

I am sure there are many mobile RV guys in your neck of the woods that could do an engine swap for you at a reasonable price. Spend a few hours online and find a good used low mileage V-10 motor. I bet you could get er done for $5K!

[Ken Thompson]

Originally Posted by TripleClamp

Diagnostics came back as our last trip we had to stop every hour and add coolant. Hooked up pressure tester to where cap went, testing with engine on and off, normal. No hose leaks. Engine however was vibrating. You can actually feel the slight vibration sitting at idle in the driver seat. 2011, 117K miles, E450 V10.

* Engine light on, Engine vibration, mechanic said coolant in crankcase.
* Coolant loss
* Blowing smoke out exhaust.

Said either cracked cylinder or blown head gasket. What we talking here in rough estimates? Any ideas. We are thinking about just selling as is and parting ways.

1. New Engine; $6K-8K engine and labor ???
2. Head gasket replacement $3K-$4K ???

Been there , done that! Have a 2005 duramax that blew a head gasket at 101,000 miles with a 100,000 mile warranty. Go figure! I was told there are so many different metals in the duramax, it creates corrosion. After a lot of research, I was encouraged to get rid of the GM antifreeze and use Caterpillar lifetime antifreeze. Since then, when checking the antifreeze make up with the test strips, it never goes to an unhealthy level. I now have over 350,000 miles on the same (replaced) headgaskets.

[R.Wold]

Originally Posted by TripleClamp

Diagnostics came back as our last trip we had to stop every hour and add coolant. Hooked up pressure tester to where cap went, testing with engine on and off, normal. No hose leaks. Engine however was vibrating. You can actually feel the slight vibration sitting at idle in the driver seat. 2011, 117K miles, E450 V10.

* Engine light on, Engine vibration, mechanic said coolant in crankcase.
* Coolant loss
* Blowing smoke out exhaust.

Said either cracked cylinder or blown head gasket. What we talking here in rough estimates? Any ideas. We are thinking about just selling as is and parting ways.

1. New Engine; $6K-8K engine and labor ???
2. Head gasket replacement $3K-$4K ???

A crate motor from Summit is between $3800 and $4700

[Excell]

I worked at Ford dealer for 35 years .Most antifreeze leaks into engines were intake manifold gaskets .If that was mine I would pull the intake and see if there is any sign
of intake gasket leak .That has been a weak spot on the V10.
Just my opinion.I am not interested in debating this with any one .

[R.Wold]

[QUOTE=Excell;5039057
Just my opinion.I am not interested in debating this with any one .[/QUOTE]

Hope you don't mind, but Im going to be stealing this line in the future. I hope it will reduce the volume of needless point-counter point posts.

[Jchemie]

As a mechanic, there is a simple test to determine if you have a blown head gasket that only requires removal of the radiator cap. A large clear plastic clyinder with a rubber cap on both ends is placed over the open radiator neck with the engine running, with the thremostat open but not so hot that it is pressurized. A specific liquid (one for gas motors, one for diesel) is put in the tube and then a hand pump vacuum is applied to it. If the liquid changes color, then you have exhaust gas in the coolant and thus a blown head gasket. To find out where it is blown, or which head is affected, a pressure test at each spark plug hole is needed. Have these tests done first, a code reader will only tell you what is being afffected by the blown gasket. Note: your check engine light (MIL lamp) is only telling you an emission related item is kaput. Example: It won’t tell you a fuel pump is bad, just that there is an imbalance in the fuel estimates it feels it should be getting. Problem could be a clogged filter or leaking fuel line, bad injector. Get it?.
Estimated price? Shops charge around $90- $110 an hour, car dealers around $125 & up. Looking at 8 hours, 10 for well hidden engine (that’s for gas motors, diesels $$ higher). Gasket, studs, new fluids, enviromental fees, misc parts about $200. That is just for one side of a V8-10 engine. Shop around for estimates and recomended shops.