would you buy a 6.4 w/ a blown head gasket?

[jpfanner]

I have the chance to buy a 2008 that has a known blown head gasket. It has DPF delete, Sinister EGR delete, Air Dog 165, and a laundry list of other exterior add ons. The owner was forthright and said he was in a hurry and pulled a trailer on a high SCT tune and it started puking coolant. Once he was able to get home he de-tuned it down to a much milder tune and hasn't had puking issues since, but also he doesn't drive it much either. My question is for a 2008 CC, Lariat, 130,000 miles, and this issue what should I expect to pay? Also, for you guys that have blown HG's what are the chances of a cracked piston? head? The owner was straight up about everything and really left no stone unturned so I'm leaning towards believing him that it hasn't had puking issues since. When I buy a 6.4 my plan was to stud it anyway so this actually falls into my lap, unless the motor is trashed. He said he checks the oil every time he does drive it for coolant/"more oil" and so far he's convinced there is no contamination. Now, what about contaminants in the coolant? I know the cooling systems on the 6.4's are sensitive how long/much puking before it starts destroying cooling system parts?

I know everyone's initial response is going to be run for the hills, but to be honest with you, we all know A LOT of 6.4's out there on dealer lots were tuned at one time, ran hard, started puking, had all the stock BS put back on (and temporarily stopped the puking) and are being re-sold as "in perfect condition" so I feel like buying ANY 6.4 is a "buyer beware" situation and you're going to probably put some money into it if you want to run a tuner of any sort and be reliable.

fire away

jp

[CountryAggie]

Depends what kind of price you are getting it for. You are gonna have to do studs. So count on a $3-5k bill up front for that.


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[jpfanner]

yeah I'm figuring $4,000 for studs just from doing the research so honestly that puts in close to what I'd pay for one that was "in perfect condition". I guess my fear is has anyone experienced cracked pistons? cracked heads? from just blowing a gasket? I know every situation is unique but I figured I'd see how common that was...

[04hdfatboy]

If you get it for a good enough price then it might be worth it. Cracked pistons are not common on the 6.4 but unfortunately they are not uncommon either. One of the most common seems to be an injector that hung open. I dont believe a bad headgasket would result in a cracked piston tho. It is possible to have a cracked head. You wont know until they are taken off and magnafluxed.

[CountryAggie]

If it still runs on low power settings I would say it's not cracked pistons. Can't say for sure on the heads until they are magnafluxed.


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[strokinpower]

I blew my head gaskets and got them fixed pretty quick on 12/15/11 then cracked the #8 piston on 11/4/12 totally unrelated I would guess.

[strokin07]

If you get it for cheap enough then go for it.

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