Abby Normal

I'd say you have to choices.

1. Do it right and rework the head while you have it off.

OR

2. Plan to do it over.

m42racer

Sam,


You get what you pay for! And less in this case I suspect. They buy the work, mark it up and sell it on to you. Just wondering what you really are getting for your $. I make no mention of any shop, just the fact that you get what you pay for. Sure, Heads can be turned around for $ 500.00, but explain to me Sam , all the steps that need to be done, the work etc, and how it all can be done for $ 500.00. Then I will understand. Maybe I'm wrong, but many so called Tuners do not do their own machine work, so there is a marked up cost to us here. They also have realised that we as a group are very cheap. I've heard us called the no fortune 500 club! If some Tuners have figured out all we will pay is $ 500.00, then they are going to offer this work for no morre. Really smart marketing right. Not if you have to do work which requires more than $ 500.00 worth of labor/parts. So who gets the short end of the stick. We do! Some companies charge way more, but look at the work they provide. They charge more because they DO more. I know of many who are like this. Those that charge less, DO less, Peroid. And the shame is that they know we know no diiffernce. I've heard many times. the customer will never know. The REAL shame is, they know no difference. Shame on them!

And BTW, the folks at Lindsey sent the shop YOU mentioned a very nasty email, telling them they did not know what they were taliking about or doing. Seems when the competition heats up the war of words begin. For Lindsey to tell the shop you mentioned, they do not know what they are doing, man thats something. Lindsey should stick to dummies like me, because picking on PD is way way out of their leauge. Take a look at Neil's background. I'm trying to promote anyone here, but experience speaks for its self!

Ski

Now I understand completely why John Anderson said good bye.

Matt H

Ski - yes it probably is but to be honest I have been very turned off by their unwillingness to call me back on several occasions and therefore I will not spend a dime there. I am going to call Don Istook in the morning and see what he says.

Abby - so far on this project my motto has been do it once, do it right. That has set me back a small fortune to date. I do not plan on skimping on the head work but for the time being a 5K dollar job is not going to happen, I will have it cleaned up and replace what needs replacing, we will see how it goes with my move and go from there.

M42/Sam - why dont you guys put it to rest for now. I know I have given m42 a hard time for the PD stuff as well but the other day I talked to Neil for almost an hour and I do believe they are qualified. I will likely call them as well. As for an off the shelf head, I doubt it is the best thing for my application as the car is not going to be stock or even very close. If I am going to spend 900 bucks it will not be with Lindsey for the reasons I have mentioned.

Back on topic, even after reading TonyGs cleaning suggestions I still dont get it, how am I going to keep crap from around the outer cylinder walls and out of the cylinder bore? Looks like the more you clean off the more crap will be going everywhere. Is there a dremel attachment I might be able to use to clean these (man I love this tool!)?
__________________
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

m42racer

Matt, point well made, and taken.

Glad you are getting good info. Those who repect us and our custom, give us the time of day. Those who just need us for the bottom line, get my, you know what!

Perry 951

Make sure the piston you are cleaning is just past TDC. Clean the tops, suck out what you can, and slowly bring the piston down. This will give you access to some of the leftover crap that gets between the piston and the bore.

Coat the bores with fresh oil when it's all clean.

Matt H

Thanks Brian, will give it a shot. I am going to let them soak in cleaner for a day and see how it goes.
__________________
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

Ski

Hey Matt, I may have missed this point but is the engine on a stand or in the car?

You said you've already done the bottom end of rod bearings...is the oil pan on? Just curious if it wasn't...you could undo the rod caps and just pop the pistons out, soak them and install new rings and yor're rebuilt with the exception of mains. Again, I may have missed a point from previous post of logistics but just checking.

Red1

His pan is back on and the engine is back in the car. Unfortunately, in this case.

Well Matt, like you said, better to fix this now than to get it together and have to tear right back into it.

Matt H

Nah, it is back in! I know should have pulled it while I had it out.

No big deal, I will get it taken care of, even my wife said damn that looks awful when she came back from vacation today!
__________________
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

theedge

How can you tell that it has? All I can see is that the valve there has different buildup on it, is that the tell tale sign?

Matt H

I should have said #3, look at the cylinder and then the head (that I mislabeled #2). I believe the buildup is from combusting anti-freeze, the gasket was also torn there but it is hard to see in the pictures (it was also torn at #4 as I found out when I removed it today).
__________________
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

Tom M'Guinn

Matt,

As much as I love the Dremel, I would not use it on the pistons. I think there is too much chance of damaging something -- including nicking a cylinder wall. I think if you clean with a chemical-soaked rag, and then use compressed air and a brake-cleen to get the stray stuff out, that is probably the best you can do. I think a local machine shop is a good option if you have the time. That way you can have it all checked out and replace only what you need. I mentioned Lindsey in case you were in a hurry--sure did not expect that touch off a firestorm. The timber seems unseasonably dry around here these days. --Tom