Patching up the 6.2

[Millennium Falcon]

Hey, all, wife's Denali dropped a valve seat. We've had the vehicle for a year, so the model is still new to me, and I'm looking for suggestions on better quality parts; mainly gaskets and head bolts. Saving up for a new engine and trans, so I don't need to go crazy, yet. Thanks.

 

[14RamHemiSport]

will be watching this thread. curious (as i just bought an 09 denali), what year is yours? mileage? symptoms? etc?

 

[iamdub]

No reason not to stay with the stock GM MLS gaskets and head bolts. Just because something is aftermarket or "different" doesn't mean it's automatically better than stock.

Was there any damage from the dropped seat?

 

[thompsoj22]

have you looked into a reman head? you are opening pandoras box and unless you stay focused on ignoring everything "you could/should do" since it will be stairing at you, the cost just keeps adding up. since it is simply a "repair only" for the specific issue id keep it stock and as stated above use factory parts and avoid "hypo" parts entirely. A reman head, a top end gasket set and a one day R&R. If the seat has been moving for awhile inspect the lobe, lifter,tray,pushrod,rocker.

 

[Millennium Falcon]

will be watching this thread. curious (as i just bought an 09 denali), what year is yours? mileage? symptoms? etc?

Hi, 14RHS. Mine is an '09 with ~193k miles now. The problem started when we pulled up our driveway to the house. I put the truck into park and noticed a very loud tapping sound. I thought a lifter really crapped the bed, but then the idle got very rough, almost to the point of stalling. Stabilitrak(sp?) and something else lit up on the dash, and the "service engine" light came on. DTC's P0300 and P0303 came up as well.

 

[Millennium Falcon]

No reason not to stay with the stock GM MLS gaskets and head bolts. Just because something is aftermarket or "different" doesn't mean it's automatically better than stock.

Was there any damage from the dropped seat?

Hi, iamdub. Actually, I'm trying to avoid GM's prices is the reason I asked. I don't want to put anymore in this engine than I have to while saving up for a remanufactured engine and trans, but I don't want to put crap parts in that will give me trouble in the meantime. I've found a Fel-Pro head set and timing set that I'm thinking about getting. Fel-Pro was one of the "go to" brands years ago.

Yes, there was some damage. The valve or the seat left a small smiley face in the top of the #3 piston for me. Also learned that this had happened before as there was another smiley face on top of the #7 piston. My mechanic looked things over and thinks the head might be the only significant damage.

 

[Millennium Falcon]

have you looked into a reman head? you are opening pandoras box and unless you stay focused on ignoring everything "you could/should do" since it will be stairing at you, the cost just keeps adding up. since it is simply a "repair only" for the specific issue id keep it stock and as stated above use factory parts and avoid "hypo" parts entirely. A reman head, a top end gasket set and a one day R&R. If the seat has been moving for awhile inspect the lobe, lifter,tray,pushrod,rocker.

Hi, thompsoj22. Yes, I bought a reman head from Rock Auto. I didn't want to bother with this head any further since it apparently had dropped another valve seat in the past. I plan on taking care of whatever I can that is reasonably within reach. I'm trying to do enough to get it back on the road reliably without doing a rebuild now (not in the cards at the moment).

My mechanic checked things out and feels that the lifter was able to absorb the valve seat failure. The pushrod wasn't bent, the cam lobe looks okay, etc.

 

[iamdub]

Hi, iamdub. Actually, I'm trying to avoid GM's prices is the reason I asked. I don't want to put anymore in this engine than I have to while saving up for a remanufactured engine and trans, but I don't want to put crap parts in that will give me trouble in the meantime. I've found a Fel-Pro head set and timing set that I'm thinking about getting. Fel-Pro was one of the "go to" brands years ago.

Yes, there was some damage. The valve or the seat left a small smiley face in the top of the #3 piston for me. Also learned that this had happened before as there was another smiley face on top of the #7 piston. My mechanic looked things over and thinks the head might be the only significant damage.

I'm tracking now. I read your post as you just wanting anything other than stock. A lot of people think that ANYTHING not stock is an upgrade.

I get the price-shopping aspect. My go-to is Amazon or eBay and I get what's cheapest out of the major brands. Off the top of my head, for gaskets/seals, I aim for AC Delco, Mahle, Fel-Pro, Mr. Gasket, Victor Reinz...

Other than price, I'd focus more on from what and how the parts are constructed since many are just reboxed parts from other makers.

 

[Millennium Falcon]

Settled on Fel-Pro HS26192PT5 head set. Most of the gaskets in the set are made in China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. A whole five are made in the USA. Purchased from Rock Auto; they had the best price. Sourced Fel-Pro head bolts (part #ES72220) from O'Reilly Auto for convenience. These are fully threaded bolts whereas the other kit from Fel-Pro is only threaded 1/2 way up the shank. I don't know the reason for two types, but my mechanic said to get the fully threaded bolts. I also had to get a steam port block since my engine is an early version(?), and those ports at the rear of the engine are plugged. My reman head doesn't have a plug in that port. I found two items for that purpose: one is a plug that looks like a pop rivet, and the other is an actual block that looks like the block for the coolant crossover at the front of the engine, but it has no ports. I opted for the block. Hopefully, my mechanic and I can get the Falcon running this Saturday.

 

[iamdub]

The block with no hole in it is the factory style block-off design. Don't forget the seals for these. The ACDelco seals are hard to find and most, including me, just grab the Dorman 56390 pack.

 

[Millennium Falcon]

The parts guy at the dealership sent me a picture to verify which one I wanted, and the picture looked like it had a seal in it. I will double check, though. Thanks for the heads up on the Dorman seals, iamdub. How do they compare to the Fel-Pro version? I found those a while back to fix the leak on the bypass line on my wife's Sub.

 

[swathdiver]

Are those fully threaded head bolts still TTY, Torque To Yield style? If so, I've never seen them like that before.

 

[iamdub]

The parts guy at the dealership sent me a picture to verify which one I wanted, and the picture looked like it had a seal in it. I will double check, though. Thanks for the heads up on the Dorman seals, iamdub. How do they compare to the Fel-Pro version? I found those a while back to fix the leak on the bypass line on my wife's Sub.

I've never compared them side-by-side. Didn't know Fel-Pro made them. I do know that I've never had a problem finding them and never had any issues using them. They look, feel, fit, smell and taste the same as ACDelco. I believe the seal in them is nitrile.

 

[Millennium Falcon]

Are those fully threaded head bolts still TTY, Torque To Yield style? If so, I've never seen them like that before.

Hi, swathdiver. Yes, they are TTY according to the brochure: https://www.fme-cat.com/overlays/part-detail.aspx?brandId=FL&pNum=ES 72220&partType=Head Bolt Set

I don't know what difference the thread length makes, but my mechanic told me to get the fully threaded bolts for the Falcon.

 

[Millennium Falcon]

The block with no hole in it is the factory style block-off design. Don't forget the seals for these. The ACDelco seals are hard to find and most, including me, just grab the Dorman 56390 pack.

The block I got from the dealer had the seal already on it. I went ahead and bought the bolt that attaches the block to the head, also.

Block part #: 12602540 $12.95
Bolt part #: 11588714 $ 5.88

Yes, that bolt should be plated in gold, but with our gas prices, it was cheaper than driving elsewhere for a cheaper bolt.

 

[iamdub]

The block I got from the dealer had the seal already on it. I went ahead and bought the bolt that attaches the block to the head, also.

Block part #: 12602540 $12.95
Bolt part #: 11588714 $ 5.88

Yes, that bolt should be plated in gold, but with our gas prices, it was cheaper than driving elsewhere for a cheaper bolt.

Everyone's time has value! Just one less item to potentially hold up the project.

 

[Millennium Falcon]

Everyone's time has value! Just one less item to potentially hold up the project.

That it is! Hopefully, I have everything I need to get this done tomorrow.

 

[Millennium Falcon]

Well, got it done. I didn't do the timing set or the oil pump so I could get it done that day. Mechanic suggested trying a sludge remover before replacing the oil pump to see if that cleaned around the oil pressure sensor and cleared it up. He had another customer do that, and it corrected his low oil pressure problem.

Seems to be running fine other than throwing P0172 and P0175 codes. Going to go see my mechanic tomorrow and have him scan the truck to see what's causing the codes.

 

[Millennium Falcon]

Update: Had to wait a couple weeks to get the MAF sensor, but I got it swapped out. Funny thing, the Falcon stopped throwing codes for nearly a week before I did the sensor. I went ahead and did it since it had nearly 200k miles on it, and everything has been running fine in that area for the past month.

I have noticed a lifter ticking away that wasn't there before the dropped valve seat, but I'm not going to worry about it unless it starts making more noise.