heads warped

[pontiacws699]

Well i took my stock heads over to the machine shop to check for cracks ect. I called them today and they said no cracks but was warped 6 thousandths. They surfaced them down and said they were usable. Is this a wise choice to use these heads?

 

[sy#2716]

Re: heads warped

you need to know how much material they too off becasue you might have to go with a little thicker headgasket to compensate for the milling of them.

 

[JSM]

Re: heads warped

.006 is nothing to worry about, it will bump your compression slightly but should not pose any issues unless you already have very tight valve to piston clearances.

 

[pontiacws699]

Re: heads warped

i just at a crossroad that im trying to figure which way to go. I have a bare set of vortec heads ,ferea valves and a 412 cam and am interested in doin the swap but Im not a mechanic(and if you were at the wrench fest you could tell:rotf and I dont know whats involved. Im not sure what parts i should get such as what pushrods, springs, rockers. I know the intake has to welded as i talked to you on your thread about the intake and the heads have to be drilled but not sure about the rest. Theres also a set of vortec heads that im lookin at that are already ported assembled and complete less the intake that m thinkin about too but just trying to figure whats the best route.

 

[Big Mike]

Re: heads warped

As far as getting push rods might want to wait till heads are on truck so you can measure for them, springs need to be matched for the cam you are going to use if it is a 412 and you have no cam card you can look up the specs on comp cam web site, locks and retainers need to match the spring size you are going to get for your cam, rockers need to be self aligning weather they are 1.5 or 1.6, you are going to need Arp studs for Vortec heads along with hardened washers to raise stud up so you have enough threads for the rocker nut if you go full roller rockers, the stock valve covers can be re used, I am sure there is a machine shop that can drill the heads and get the parts needed and set them up located in Dover but if not there is a machine shop that I have used in New Castle that can do it, they can get what ever is needed also let me know if you need the number for them. If you do buy those other Vortec heads you may need to get them checked out and do work on them to get them right for you combo. If you spend the money on yours you know what you have.

 

[BoostedSUV]

Re: heads warped

Tom my suggested would be to get new gaskets and studs and put the stock heads back on and save the headaches. However the vortec/412 cam swap is an awesome upgrade when its right. Like others have mentioned you will need to re-tune and set the heads up properly for the cam, convert your intake/heads, and should upgrade the injectors at the same time. I know your truck is down to the short block right now so if you're going to do it now is the time... TwinTurboV8Ty is doing intake conversions this month only for $200 (free advertisement Jeff).

With all that said it's going to depend on your budget, patience to get it right, and what you're looking to get out of it.


Dave I believe the reason for the head removal was coolant was getting pushed out into the resevoir and he thought it was headgaskets. I personally looked at the headgaskets and they were not the problem. Correct me if I'm wrong Tom.

 

[pontiacws699]

Re: heads warped

Tom my suggested would be to get new gaskets and studs and put the stock heads back on and save the headaches. However the vortec/412 cam swap is an awesome upgrade when its right. Like others have mentioned you will need to re-tune and set the heads up properly for the cam, convert your intake/heads, and should upgrade the injectors at the same time. I know your truck is down to the short block right now so if you're going to do it now is the time... TwinTurboV8Ty is doing intake conversions this month only for $200 (free advertisement Jeff).

With all that said it's going to depend on your budget, patience to get it right, and what you're looking to get out of it.


Dave I believe the reason for the head removal was coolant was getting pushed out into the resevoir and he thought it was headgaskets. I personally looked at the headgaskets and they were not the problem. Correct me if I'm wrong Tom.

Boosted, you are correct. The gaskets looked ok to me too. I actually havent done anything to the ty since we worked on it that day as Iv mainly focused on getting a minivan but its been sitting long enough and I dont want this to turn into a yr long project. Im pulling the water pump off maybe tomorrow and bench test it with a bucket of water which is something i should have done in the first place:rant:. Im learnin as I go and I know I picked the perfect platform to learn on.:rotf:

 

[pontiacws699]

Re: heads warped

They were probably 'low' between the cyls that have the exhaust valves adjacent to each other. 4&6, and 1&3. Very common to have metal shrinkage in this location. .006 is nothing to be concerned about. But if they have been surfaced before, it starts to add up.

It's your money, time, and truck. The Vortec conversion takes some of both. And there's tuning to consider as well. It's difficult to 'advise' you one way or the other without know more about what you want to do, is this a DD, what's your budget, how did it run before, or why the stock heads are in the shop in the first place?

Thats the thing as Im not sure if theyve been surfaced before. I believe , from what iv heard, that its not the original block(jasper?:rotf. This will not be a DD anymore oncce I get it done.