OK. So I got the new head on and everything put back together and now the car wont start. Ive moved the CAS the full allowed area and back again while trying to start the car and I still get nothing. Ive quadrule checled all electical connections and all vaccuume hoses and they are on right. I replace the coilpack, checked the temperature sensor, installed a new one and it still wont start. It almost acts like its not turning over fast enough. I checked spark (brand new spark plugs) and its getting great spark and I checked fuel. Its getting fuel as well. Ive also quadruple checked the timing marks on the cams and the crank. Everything lines up perfect. Next im going to check compression, and then maybe try a pushstart??? Maybe its just not turning over fast enough? Sometimes if I charge the battery to 100% it acts like it ALMOST wants to start then goes to the normal just turning over but not firing. Any suggestions? Thanks Guys!

Compression test yielded ~50 PSI across the board! WTF?

sounds like cylinder wash from all the gas. Pour a tablespoon of ATF down each plug hole to clean it up.

I dont have any ATF, cant I use just motor oil too?

Also, RIGHT before I pulled the old head I was yielding 170 PSI across the board. The old head is still in good condition as that turned oout to not be where the noise is coming from. I find it hard to belive that I could loose 120 PSI from cyl. wash??

Yeah, I don't think you lost 120 psi from cylinder wash, either. Are absolutely sure your timing marks are all lining up correctly? Almost sounds like your valves may not be seating all the way.

Mark, it sounds like that head is junk... Let me get ahold of Slo-pony who origonaly had the work done to it to see if there is anything I can do for you, other than just get your money back....

Yeah. I'm pretty sure its the head Rob. When I pulled it off there was antifreeze between it and the block and between it and the head. I'm assuming its probably just warped. Its a relatively easy fix. Let me get the old head back on and I'll let you know for sure whats up. If so I dont blame you at all. We've done quite a bit of business together and I entirely trust you. Now Travis on the otherhand has had my transmission for 4 months now or so. LOL! (J\K Travis)

Head's been on 3 different motors now with not over 90psi compression... I don't think it was right to begin with Spy... Can you remember if there was any warranty that came with it when you got it back?

I'm afraid that the head is toast Rob. I threw the original back on and she fired up right away. Havnt done a compression test on her as I was working for 15 minutes in the pouring rain just to get her done. I'm afraid I'm stuck at setting the timing for fear of shocking the hell out of my soaked self. I'm not in a hurry for whatever we decide to do. BTW- Its not making "valvetrain" noises anymore so im assuming that it was the tbelt tensioner that was making the original noises.

Muah ha ha ha. And I plan to hold it hostage while I conquer the world. Muah ha ha ha

Is that the same head that was on the red car that I put a different short block in?

Yep... I don't think that block was bad after all...

That head hasn't run on anything since it was machined then, has it!? Who did the machine work on it?

we had 20-30-40-30 or something close to that....

Thats about what I got as far as compression.

I say we SMASH IT. group SMASHING.

From my experience a bad head or valves will result in very very litle or no compression at all. Obviously a burnt or stuck valve will yield no compression, and a warped head that is bad enough to keep an engine from starting would leak air audibly during testing. So although the number of engines this head has been on makes the head seam quetionable, it's pretty rare to see even 90 psi with that kind of problem.

I think the heads warped from the fact that it didnt fit on the ARP's, the coolant, and the low compression on a good block.

Smashing sounds like the most productive solution...

That is EXACTLY what Justin and I were talking about. This thing seems to be cursed! I am even a little weary letting it sit in my garage!

My attempt here is to cut down on miss information and to maybe head off a witch hunt aimed at a poor little cylinder head.

The ARP head stud fitment is a COMMON problem for any head good or bad. They just get stuck at wierd angles some times.

Again, a bad cylinder head will almost always cause NO compression in a particular cylinder or two, because if a whole is open it's not going to hold any pressure.

The coolant on the other hand...that's another story. It's not actually one I've read about on this head before.

Either way if you want to smash for fun go for it, but it may be a perfectly good head or at least repairable for a small amount of money.

You think it may have gotten warped along the way somewhere then Marcus? Ovbiously Mark's motor is ok, otherwise he wouldn't have been getting 170 psi before. Not asking anyone to speculate, but perhaps having it re-milled would fix the problem? I've heard that it's possible to warp a head just by not removing the head bolts in the right order... possible culpit here?

Ive also heard that you have to remove the bolts in the proper sequence. I followed the haynes manula VERY carefully when installing and removing both heads. Is it really not as important as I had thought?

And BTW- I was totally joking about smashing the head. I would think it would be saveable if it were warped by milling? And deffinately saveable if the valves were seated improperly.

Not to start a dispute but to add my 2 cents, that wasn't the case with my fwd when the intake cam gear cracked and I bent intake valves. I still read between 60 and 90 psi of compression on each cylinder with a bent valve or two. That may not be the norm though.