Well, got a cracked head. Not burning (that I can tell). Not leaking outwardly. Doesn't overheat. Just drips into the outside recess for one of my plugs until it misses on that cylinder (lovely). PO apparently knew this. Close inspection reveals the probable use of alumi-seal stop leak at some point.

So... if I get a used head, what do I need to check out before installing? Do these often need a resurface, etc? I'm mostly concerned with problems arising from getting the "new" one resurfaced and not the other (or vice-versa!) as I would think any diff in height would cause trouble with other part fitments...?

Is it obvious yet that I don't know what I'm talking about? Only good news is that it's time to do the T-belt anyway! Any wisdom about this entire proceedure would be greatly appreciated.

 

Resurfacing another head will require the use of a differnt thickness head gasket on that side in order to ensure proper compression ratios.

The used head should not need to be resurfaced (or decked).

This type of maintenace is not for the faint of heart as it will require resetting the Cams as well as significant wrenching.

May as well do a Tbelt/H2O pump job while you're in here.

 

Yeah, as I said it's time for the belt anyway, so that's the one saving grace...

Not too worried about alot of wrenching after just finishing the auto-manual swap. Got pretty used to being knee deep in it during that! I am concerned about the R&R details like the cams, but I figure if I take my time and go "by the book(s)" I should be okay. Especially if I stop when puzzled to ask questions from the fine, helpful people on this board

Thanks!
Jeff

 

Jeff,

Why not have your cracked head repaired. A good shop can probably repair/rebuild yours for much less than replacing it. It wouldn't be that much more work to pull the other head and have it checked/surfaced also. You may also want to consider the fact that an entire gasket set (with both head gaskets) is normally much cheaper than buying individual gaskets BTDT.

Dennis

 

Hadn't thought of that. Figured they wouldn't be able to weld down into the outer spark plug recess, where it's leaking. Can they?

 

Jeff,

If they can see the crack they can normally weld it. I've had them weld inside the water jacket on my 924 head. A crack on my 78 euro 928 cost about $80 to weld. Make sure they have a kiln to properly weld it. I checked with the local dealer to see who did their head work. The total bill for two heads came to $510 which included all valve guides, seals, surfacing and repairing the one crack.

Dennis