What head gasket is better to use on a 95 3.0l Vulcan? OEM or an aftermarket? I will need all the other gaskets as well. Any good kits from rock auto ?

 

I have never had a bad Fel-pro gasket set, make sure its for TRUCK 3.0l, not CAR 3.0l, different cooling passage holes

1995 3.0l didn't use TTY head bolts, so you can reuse the head bolts but I would still get new ones, for that year
4 Step tightening
Step1 50ft/lb
Step 2 Loosen 1 full turn
Step 3 37ft/lb
Step 4 68ft/lb

1991-1998 3.0l used the above

1999-2008 3.0l OHV used TTY bolts, 5 steps
step 1 35ft/lb
step 2 loosen 1 full turn
step 3 25ft/lb
step 4 90deg
step 5 90deg

Most V6 OHV head gasket sets come with 12 new valve guide seals, it well worth it to change these, you need a valve spring compressor to do that

 

Good info. Hey thanks. I was thinking the 95 was tty but thanks for clarifying and the install sequence. I was planning on new bolts anyway. I will look at the offering for felpro then. I’ve heard many good about those. I use a home made c clamp compressor for the valves. Yea will replace the valve seals as well.

Preliminary clean and surface. Have a little more to do and it should be ready.

 

Is this general maintenance or was there a suspected head gasket issue?

If head gasket symptoms then it may be a good idea to have the heads pressure tested and surfaced

If you did find where a cylinders metal ring in the head gasket was breached then you may not need the above, but its usually not too expensive

 

It was suspected. There is another thread that I started where I was trouble shooting an over heat condition. Everything cooling system was replaced To fix it but since it had all been Neglected before, the thought was that damage to the head gasket was the remaining issue. I could not come to a sure conclusion though. Once I decided to tear it down anyway is when I found coolant in the cylinders and the head gasket showed signs of deteriorating and all. No particular breach however there were signs of water passage from the cooling passages into the cylinders.

 

Then the metal ring had to be breached on any cylinder that showed signs of coolant, that's the only entrance pathway from coolant passage to cylinder besides a crack

 

Hmmm... no cracks that I can see. Multiple cylinders on each bank. Looking at the gasket and the head/block you can see corrosion rust and discoloring from water passages into the cylinders across the steel ring in the head. They are not broken but for sure discolored and pitted. I’m assuming that was how water got through.

 

Yes, the metal rings are softer metal so they can be CRUSHED to form a seal when head bolts are tightened down
But being soft it makes then very susceptible to pinging/knocking deterioration, it eats away at the metal causing the pitting and then failure
3.0l ran 9.3:1 compression ratio so could be a "pingy" engine on regular gasoline, 87 octane, shouldn't be but could be, so if you start to hear pinging back off the throttle
Also make sure EGR is working if you have an EGR Valve, it reduces pinging

If an engine is over heated the head metal expands faster and it can't expand up because of the bolts, so it expands down and CRUSHES that metal ring even more which will cause it to fail if enough pressure is applied, also why a head can crack, if overheated the metal expands too much and cracks

That's why if you blow a hose or lose coolant PULL OVER and shut off engine, never try to "make it home", $5 worth of coolant, or a $15 hose can cost you $800+ in redoing the heads, let it cool off and limp home, even if it takes you 8 hours to get home you were making $100 an hour, lol

 

Success!!! Heads resurfaced and valves checked and lapped. All installed with new head bolts and felpro gasket. Everything back together and had been running good the past month. For the most part the temp gauge stays just under mid guage. After about 20 min it moves a little too the middle and stays. Sometimes it will move back down again. Is this normal for this engine? The overflow works as expected keeping the radiator topped up. No bubbles in the overflow.

 

Good work

Yes, just below 1/2 on the gauge is expected, it can go just above 1/2 when engine is under load
1/2 on the gauge is about 200degF, operating temp is about 185degF using a 190-195degF thermostat

Gauge can go warmer and then back if heater core is getting clogged up, limited flow, it will be random, not based on RPMs or load, or heater use
Reverse the heater hoses at the firewall, you should do this every 2 years regardless, to keep the heater core cleaner, they are a high point so you won't lose much, if any coolant