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New Black Onyx Head Gaskets

18K views 92 replies 25 participants last post by  LoxDiesel 
#1 ·
I am Studding out the "War Wagon" and was told that the NEW Black Onyx head gaskets are thicker than the OEM gaskets. They said they have changed their gaskets and fixed the problem of them being too thin. Has anyone else heard this?

Thanks,
 
#5 ·
Oem is the way to too much of a headache to replace if it goes south
 
#35 ·
where the hell is there a ford logo on factory headgaskets? I have lined them up side by side with international head gaskets and they are in fact the same. why would ford go through the trouble of stamping a logo?



you can get them from international without the bolts
 
#7 ·
I also say why risk it.

The OEM gaskets and ARP studs have built 1,000HP 6.0L trucks without issues. As long as you take the time to get the heads to a machine shop, you won't have any issues.
 
#8 ·
^^^ This is absolutly true if the prep work is done right....
There are trucks out there with BO gaskets that have not failed. That being said they most likley will. VR discontinued the BO gaskets and has replaced them with the new verison that sinister is calling Black Diamond. My opinion get them from custom diesel. They are not re-packed and cost 150 for both gaskets. I think people need to do a little research before they jump on the dont use band wagon. You can get just the gaskets from an international dealer, or quick tricks, but at a cost of 150.00 a piece. I did the research on the BO gaskets the first time I studded mine and decided not to go with them and this was when everybody swore by them. I have done the research on these new ones and feel confident they will last. By the way the dealer, and international for that matter will stop making these gaskets and turn over the tools and rights to the highest bidder. From what the VR rep I talked to hinted this may have happened already, but couldnt say for sure. My point is the BO gaskets were badly made for the mass public. If your deck surface was perfect and your heads were perfect they might have made a good replacment. THE BO GASKETS HAD NO SEALANT!!! This is the biggest issue with them, and they relied on the metal crush rings to seal them. Only time will tell but if you put a "black diamond" gasket next to a ford I challange you to find a diffrence between them besides the sealant color.
 
#11 ·
They are not re-packed and cost 150 for both gaskets. You can get just the gaskets from an international dealer, or quick tricks, but at a cost of 150.00 a piece.
we have been installing the new VR's for the past couple months. our shop turns out about 20 HG jobs per month on average. it's a fair amount of savings. the gaskets are identical. VR, like any good company that pulls a blunder, is going to go above and beyond to regain customer support. while they didn't offer any refunds for the difficulties on the BO gaskets, they're offering an oe equivalent at half the cost. clearly, they don't want the same mistake being made twice. people should really be trying to cash in on this. but that's just my opinion
 
#9 · (Edited)
Just FYI the Platinums are made on the same line as OEM from Strictly deisel

VR never admitted fault on the BO's so I won't trust the "fixed" gaskets they have set their track record for Me but the RCD's platinum I would use

Rivery City Diesel Platinum Series™ head gaskets are manufactured side-by-side, in the same facility as the factory Ford OEM head gaskets. Platinum Series™ head gaskets are built to the exact same specifications and tollerances, using the exact same materials, as the OEM head gaskets. The only difference between the Platinum Series™ head gaskets and the OEM head gaskets is the color of the sealant applied to the gasket surface and the fact that you are not paying for torque-to-yield bolts that you are just going to throw away anyway. These head gaskets have held over 800hp when used with head studs and proper cylinder head milling (to ensure a perfect gasket surface). If you want the best head gaskets available for your 6.0L Powerstroke Diesel, without spending money on parts you have to throw in the trash, Platinum Series™ head gaskets are what you've been looking for!

These gaskets are available for both the early "pre-commonized" 18mm dowel (up to 01/10/2006 build date / engine serial number 6,000,000 - 6,723,721 or 1 - 299,092) and the later "commonized" 20mm dowel (01/11/2006 and later build date / engine serial number 6,723,722 and higher or 299,093 and higher) 6.0L engines. The different serial number series represent the different plants where the engines were assembled. Just make sure you select the correct dowel size below when ordering!

Gaskets are sold in INDIVIDUALLY (with 2 dowels each). We highly recommend doing both gaskets at the same time, but we allow you to order them individually in case you only need one for some reason. If you are doing both sides, MAKE SURE YOU SET THE QUANTITY TO "2"!
 
#10 ·
Just FYI the Platinums are made on the same line as OEM from Strictly deisel
The platiums are made by VR just re-boxed like the sinister black diamond. The easy way to tell is there is a serial number in the bottom left corner just like the factory gaskets. There will be a stamp next to it. On the OE gaskets it is a ford oval, on the VR gaskets it is a oval with VR in it.
 
#12 ·
why would anyone trust VR when u can get RCD OEM for 99 bucks each and "Above and Beyond" ?? you can't tell Me VR is loosing any Money on the
" Fixed" gasket

I would feel compelled to tell my customer ( Hey I am saving you some money by using a cheap gasket that just had a boatload of failures but they claim to have fixed the issue but never admitted there was an issue LOL
 
#32 ·
FYI the new RCD "OEM" gaskets are the VR gaskets
 
#17 ·
Exactly! It's only $150! Look at how much you're spending to do or have HG's done, if you're gonna cheap out to save the cost of a tank of fuel, then you get what you deserve. You can go with what works, OR gamble, it's your money. In this case DON'T BET ON BLACK (onyx)
 
#18 ·
saying to trust the new BO gaskets are like saying trust this 25 year old guy taking your 16 year old daughter on a date! sorry i will spend the extra 150$ on my 3k stud job...
 
#27 · (Edited)
holy god there has been arse loads of thread about BO fail even polls have been done

hell MKM /Sinister still sells them on their site also //Why?

They then turn over the gasket and part making equipment to the highest bidder
They don't own the Gasket Makers equipment for instance WARN makes the OEM Hub ya think Warn turns over their equipment when time is up ? they simply have an MFG agreement and may give back dies and proprietary stuff so if that's "equipment then maybe"

and While anyone should Be able to make a replacement gasket without winning a bid or paying ford a nickle it hasn't really worked out well in this case
 
#33 ·
I don't remember which thread it was in, but Ken from BPD did a very detailed comparison between the two.
 
#39 ·
^^^Agree BO gaskets are not up to the quality of OE...But this thread isnt about BO gaskets its about the new VR gaskets that they have out.

And my coment on warranty was not that they will pay but the fact that most aftermarket parts companys or dealers will not warranty labor done by some other shop when they sold a consumer parts over the "counter". BPD is a great example. Their EGR coolers are lifetime. They cover the part only not the labor. The egr cooler will be very obivous if it failed and easy to warranty. There is too many variables to a head gasket failing. Yet VR is willing to send a set of new gaskets out no matter how the gasket failed.
 
#43 ·
VR has only updated their gaskets after the failure rate put the reputation in the gutter, and sales dropped off.

Sending a set of gaskets that are only a couple of hundred bucks, isn't any form of consolation of the thousands that are spent on that job.

Still I ask you, why bother risking these new gaskets?
OEM functions great when the job is done right the first time.
If the gaskets are thicker than OEM - how much is that going to affect performance?

A lot of questions with these new gaskets, and not a whole lot of real-world numbers. I stand by the statement that these new gaskets are not worth the risk.
 
#44 ·
and IF VR made the BO then how did this Happen ?
it should have been Identical ?

I have a few emails out hope I get some answers because in BPD's comparison He refers to
""both MFG'S " as in two different ones

Victor-Reinz/Black-Onyx Headgaskets, Why IMHO they fail
After having experience with both selling these gaskets and in having to reinstall OE head-gaskets on vehicles that have had the "Black Onyx" gaskets installed, I decided to try and find out why the Victor-Reinz/Black Onyx gaskets fail and why the OE gaskets seem to last.

What I found was surprising.

Both brands of head-gasket consists of 5 layers of stainless(?) steel.

Both brands of head-gasket have a thinner layer (#4 up) with a folded ring that most likely acts as a fire ring*.

(*go here:ATS Diesel Fire Ring Head - 1039203278 | OC DIESEL for a picture of a fire ringed head)

Both brands of head-gasket have multiple (3) layers with a sealing(?) compound applied to both sides of the layer.

The OE gaskets use a blue sealing compound, the Victor Reinz use a black compound. Two of the three Victor Reinz layers with the sealing(?) compound on them are completely covered. None of the OE gasket layers are completely covered.

The measurements below pretty much spell out why the gaskets most likely fail in my humble opinion(IMHO). They were measured top (#1 up) to bottom (#5 up) as they would be installed on the engine. The OE gaskets were all measured on bare metal. The Victor Reinz were measured on bare metal where possible. The most notable difference was between the 3rd and 4th layers. Each brand of gasket has a built in "fire ring" on the 4th layer. This is where the layer is folded back on itself creating a "fire ring" around each cylinder opening. I believe it is the difference in thickness of the built in "fire ring" that could cause the Victor-Reinz/Black-Onyx head gaskets to fail more often. Also, the overall thickness of each layer could play a role as well.


Ford OE:

#1 up) .010" Bare metal

#2 up) .015"

#3 up) .010"

#4 up) .007" The "fire ring" fold is .014"

#5 up) .010" Bare metal


Victor-Reinz/Black-Onyx:

#1 up) .010" Including black coating

#2 up) .015"

#3 up) .007"

#4 up) .005" The "fire ring" fold is .010"

#5 up) .010" Including black coating
 
#45 ·
VR RCD gaskets


OEM Gaskets
 
#48 ·
yes but Strictly has on their Website that the new RCD platinum's are Made on the same line right along with OEM
just the sealant color was changed

and the confusion was around post 9 it was stated that the new sinisters are the same as RCD's and were made BY VR and that would infer OEM was VR and I didn't find that to Be true in all these other threads
 
#52 ·
got a 6.0 and looking to stud it at some point, think my heads are good for now but looking at arp's and new gaskets to make sure heads are good, my question is does ANYONE have any real comparison of the new RCD gaskets to the oem? i know the sealant is a different color, i am prob going oem but want to know if anyone has tested them yet?
 
#53 ·
Go OEM and dont look back
 
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