Thread: Head recondition or not?

Get a straight edge and put it over the head if it has more then 10 thou bend ether put a new one on or refit the old one with just a clean up with a sharpening stone and hope for the best

with that many km's I would take it to a head reconditioner and have it pressure check and do the give the valves a dress up, you wont get a cheaper time to do it and would kick your self if you had to repull in 6 months (money maybe tighter then)
cheers
blaze

Originally Posted by bblaze

with that many km's I would take it to a head reconditioner and have it pressure check and do the give the valves a dress up, you wont get a cheaper time to do it and would kick your self if you had to repull in 6 months (money maybe tighter then)
cheers
blaze

So noob question here. The valves are in the head that goes to get skimmed right? Do they do that at the same time? By dressed do you mean check clearances or something else? Thanks... Want to vaguely appear like I know what I'm talking about so as not to be potential rip off material!

I am basically following psimpson 7's tutorial here:

TD5 Head Strip....

Originally Posted by Jimgee

So noob question here. The valves are in the head that goes to get skimmed right? Do they do that at the same time? By dressed do you mean check clearances or something else? Thanks... Want to vaguely appear like I know what I'm talking about so as not to be potential rip off material!

I am basically following psimpson 7's tutorial here:

TD5 Head Strip....

Which by the way is outstanding. Thank you very much sir!

Originally Posted by Jimgee

So noob question here. The valves are in the head that goes to get skimmed right? Do they do that at the same time? By dressed do you mean check clearances or something else? Thanks... Want to vaguely appear like I know what I'm talking about so as not to be potential rip off material!

I am basically following psimpson 7's tutorial here:

TD5 Head Strip....

The valve seats tent to get poor seats over time and eventually leak, by dressing the valves they regrind the valves and seats to give a thin seat that is basically in the centre of the valve. If after grinding the valves sit to low in the seat they may need replacing. Only from reading on here I would be hesitant about surface grind and there is no way I would touch a head with a rubbing stone. If you want to check for warpage yourself use a straight the length of the head. check diagonals', across the head between cylinders and along the length in 3 spots using a feeler gauge to check
cheers
blaze

the max you can safely skim off the head is 10 thou after that you will start loosing hardness of the head (making the head soft so it will compress more over time and move more over time)
if it has more then a 10 thou warp ether clean up the head your self (i doubt you have a precision machined steel block to wrap 1200 grit sand paper around to clean the surface up so i would just use a rectangle stone that's wider then the head after getting as much off with a razor blade) and refit and start saving for a new head so when it goes again you have the money there to do it. cost is time and gasket/head bolts $500

if it has a 10 thou or less warp you can have the head skimmed (the less the better) with a hardness check before and after (if its gone soft stop at this point and ether get a new head or refit untill you can afford/have the gasket blow again) and have the valves and seats re cut (may need new seats or valves if they have too much wear) new stem seals fitted and have the valve guides and valves checked for wear, along with pressure testing of the head (both the water and fuel need pressure testing) and crack testing done off all the injector sleeve's (land rover heads injector sleeves are a bit thin and are know to crack) $1000-2000 for head work + gasket head bolts etc depending on how much work and shop you may get cheaper

Fit new AMC head $3000-4000 for head depending on shop plus + gasket head bolts etc

IMO if your planing to keep it ether clean up and refit and save for a new head or get a new AMC that fixes the injector sleeve issues rebuilding the head might last the rest of the life of the engine or it might crack an injector sleeve etc and the cost of the head rebuild gets you half way to a new head anyway

Also check your block looks like no5 at the rear of the engine the linner around the rear water gallery is sitting lower then the back edge of the block

I would throw in a new oil cooler coolant hose the little one at the back while you have access.

Also check the screw in coolant plug in the head, it sits under the exhaust manifold directly above the red stain near the rota filter