I beilve when I had my head rebuilt by kalina several years ago it was around $220... Since you have the head off and are taking it to the shop anyway, make sure to have it resurfaced. 90% of the heads I've seen have been warped, even if just slightly, after being pulled and won't seal correctly when put back on.

I'll have them check the flatness too

What is this and do I need to take it off before sending it to the shop?

have you ever heard of lindertech injectors???? I have heard good things about them... I think they are out of indianapolis

Its the oil distribution manifold. Go ahead and remove if the head will be hot tanked. Hopefully the basket will remain intact. Some do some don't

Injectors are on the way back to FIC....

Head is at Kalina's....they said they can tear the head down and should call me in the morning.

It's like waiting for test results t come back, pray for the best, expect the worst...

I asked Kalina about that last time I took a head in... they don't do that type of work.

prally stupid but balance shaft removal for a very small amount?

Kalina called today...
Doesn't look good, the heads already been remanf. Can take one more slight redecking.
The guides are all shot and the burnt valve completely took out that valve guide.
The center 2 cylinders apparently have a pretty sh$tty seat replacement job and they're sitting too high in the head.

Redo everythingcost $390 labor and $107 in parts

I can't spend that much on this head and if I damage it again it won't be able to be redecked without having to worry about proper valve timing and clearance. So all that money would be wasted.

Guess I might be in the market for another head.

I am going to call Kalina back and see if I can just salvage the really bad cylinder and redo a better head later.

You should be able to find a decent freshened head for way less than that. Check all the classifieds on the net and look for something decent. If not try the salvage yard too.

I started looking tonight...

I assume a 6 bolt head is different from a 7 bolt?

An NA engine has a different head also?

7-bolt head is different than the 6-bolt. You'll want the 6-bolt one as it's much better on the flow bench. I don't recall any differences between NA and Turbo on the 4G63 head.

Actually, in terms of flow all 1G heads are the same. The smaller intake ports come in with 2G cars. So either 6 or 7 bolt 1G head should work just fine.

That's what I was thinking but not saying correctly. Thanks for clarifying Nate

Does a head HAVE to be decked everytime it's removed from the block?

In other words, can a recenting freshened head (<10000 miles) be bolted on without decking?

Problem lies with the aluminium they are made out of... very tempermental. Just unbolting the head can warp it slightly. From my experiences, I would never put a head on without it being at least checked by a machine shop. Cheaper to have it looked at and even decked, than put it on and figure out it's bad and have to buy a new head gasket and take the time to pull everything back apart.

x2

Update...second head I got is worn out. Need guides, then recut seat off new guide, redeck etc. Ends up costing almost as much as the first estimate. It looked to be virgin and not previously decked so would still have some life to it-Kalina has to reconfirm how much material is left.

I've gotten several offers on other heads in varying condition, but by the time I factor in decking a "newly freshened head' I'm probably near the same price point and still have a head that's still used.

I guess if I had them redo the latest head, it would be esentially new and I would be good for a while.

I'm pretty tapped out (car fund wise) so unless the wife takes pity on me I might be done for the year


Injectors did come back today. The dead cylinder's injector did measure a little lower than the other. I don't think it was enough to cause a lean enough condition to burn the valve down. FIC cleaned it and checked the flow on the others. They also through in some new orings. Should be good to go there, one less thing to worry about.

Sounds like you have enough cylinder head options, but if you want to check one more Josh has a used one. You can reach him at 696-1062. Let him know I had you call him.

how many times can a head be decked? I'm curious what is the service life of our heads?

It's based on how much material is left in the deck surface after it is milled.

I ended up taking a new core head to Mullvain Motorsports and had them go through it. They said the guides were OK and just decked it and did a valve job since 3 valves surface where worn questionably. They looked like somebody started a valve job on them. So for $270 (I got a set of ARP head studs too) I'm back in action....kind of.

I started reassembling the refurbished head tonight and decided to check my old cam's rotation in the new head. I left the lifters out to be able to spin the cam. Exhaust cam was fine but the intake cam binds when I tighten the cap next to the CAS. So I swapped it for the cap from the original head and it spins fine. I did swap in the exhaust cam that came with the second head and it binds also. So I'm thinking the cap that's binding may not have belonged to this head.

Will this mixing and matching of the cam caps (1 cap) be OK or cause problems?

Is the torque for the cap bolts is 14 ft-lbs?

Feel the edges of the caps. If it's smooth then I would say they are fine. If you feel something minute, try some wet sand paper to smooth out any roughness.

14 ft/lb's is correct.

Mixing cam caps is NOT a good idea. The caps are torqued to the head and bored together as one piece when the head is being manufactured, and each cam cap is unique to the head it came with.

That said, I've done it before without issue. The key is being very patient in finding caps that make the cam bore as close to spec as possible, which works well for the "interchangeable" caps and not so well for the end caps, unless you have a huge box of caps from dead heads.

Really you want to err on the loose side as the cam bearings are not all that heavily loaded, and can take being pretty sloppy. Much like a turbo, as long as it spins freely and has little to no endplay, its good to go.

Thanks for the input guys. I researched some more last night and got mixed results as to swapping caps, either "it's fine" or "no f'in way".

I did check the endplay and it's .005. The range in the Haynes was .004 to .008 so I'm good.

I think I'll thow the cams back in the original dead head and see how they spin for referance. I'm not sure how "freely" it should spin and Wort said.

I might check the cam gaps with plastigage to be sure also.

When I installed the lifters, I dipped the used lifter in oil and slid them in. I did not soak them. I was reading some conflicting posts, some say empty them (with a paper clip???-how?) and some say soak them until they're full. Which is it?

I've put them in without soaking them and had no problems. Don't worry about the caps either. You are careful enough to get it right.

Personally, I like to install them dry and pump them up with a drill on the engine's oil pump pulley(with the timing belt off, of course). Run the pump clockwise until you see oil from underneath all of the rocker arms, then you're good to go as far as the lifters are concerned.

If you soak them, there is a slight risk that you can overfill them. They won't let the valves close all the way, resulting in piston/valve contact. I've never actually seen this happen, but apparently it can.

You can also install them totally dry and fire the engine right up, it will be a bit noisy for a little while until the lifters fill with the proper amount of oil, but it won't hurt anything.

I pulled the lifters and set them vertical so I'm sure they didn't drain any oil. I basically just dipped them in a pan of oil to lubricate them so they'd slide in the bores easy. I'll go with that.

I checked the cam clearances with plastigage and they're all a little on the tight side. The clearance spec is .002 to .0035. My clearances were all .0018 to .0019 on the refurbished head and .002 on the original head. The questionable cap that was locking the intake cam was .0017 and you could visibly see that is was shifted to one side explaining why it would lock the cam. When I swapped the cap from my original head the clearance was .002 and you can barely catch a nail at the joint between the cap and the head. The intake cam now rotates fine. The exhaust cam drags a little but rotates pretty easlily.

Aluminum expands faster than steel so I should be ok being a little tight...I hope....

The cam journal spec is 1.0217 to 1.0224 and the cams measured at 1.020 to 1.022 so their hardly worn.

God I'm an anal SOB.

Finally got the head slid over the suds and onto the block, what a pain that is. It's a tight fit.

Next problem. The springs are too close to the head stud pockets to let the ARP washers slide all the way down. Is this normal?

Can I grind the washers on one side to allow them to slip down?

Hopefully the nuts will seat down....

Is alright to let the head sit on the head gasket overnight without torquing it?

Yeah, ideally the washers go into the pockets in the the head before you put it on the studs. I've never had a problem using the nuts to force the washers down into place.

The head can sit there as long as you want.

I take a deep-well socket on an extension and hammer the washers down past the springs with a rubber mallet. They will pop down to the seats just fine with-out grinding.

There shouldn't be any problem letting the head sit untorqued over night unless you are using some kind of copper spray or sealant, which you don't need. A dry gasket will be fine.

Thanks for the input guys
I didn't use any spray, just the plain stock mitsu gasket.
Now I can sleep. Thought I was scewed.

What kind of gasket did you use? The OE or did you opt for the EVO gasket?

Turbo
Just a OE gasket that cam in the rebuild kit I got from JNZ when I broke the crank.

I ended up slight grinding the washers and then pounding them down with a socket and rubber mallet.

Everything back together except for the timing belt side. Trying to get the tensioner set correctly. Hopefully it will run tomorrow

AHHHHHHH crap! I wish I could have caught this sooner. Really, in order to run higher than even stock boost, it's reccomended to use the EVO gasket. I know there are plenty of folks here that have gotten away with using the stocker on 18lbs for quite a while but it's more like holding a ticking time bomb. The multilayer (this is the one they call the 4-layer gasket) EVO gasket is MUCH better in construction and at holding the higher combustion pressures of turbocharged engines and is rated for up to around 25lbs of boost pressure. I was running the stock gasket on my car for about a week of regular driving on 18lbs of boost before it blew.

EVO Gasket: Mitsu part #MD 349347
http://www.slowboyracing.com/estore/produc...cat=1640&page=1
"If you combine this and a set of ARP head studs you'll be safe for running higher than stock boost."

Stock Felt Gasket: Mitsu part# MD 183808
http://www.slowboyracing.com/estore/produc...cat=1640&page=1
"If you combine this and a set of ARP head studs you'll be safe for running slightly (very slight) higher than stock boost. If you really want turn up the boost, don't run this gasket unless your o-ringing the setup!"

I bought my EVO gasket at the dealership for around $40 I believe.

I'm using a stock Mitsu gasket. Oh yeah... I've got an O-ringed head though.

Got it all back together....and it won't build any boost!!

Boost check showed no leaks.
Boost gauge show some pressure under the boost check so it's working.
I wired the wastegate shut-no boost
I disconnect the BOV-no boost

I noticed the turbo has some vertical shaft play now. Which is strange since I just rebuilt it this year and I checked it before the last track outing where it burnt the valve.

Anybody have any ideas????

Can you see the compressor wheel spin when you manually pull the throttle?

Is the oil supply all good to the turbo since the head replacement?

Yep, the compressor wheel seems to spin fine.

What the best way to test for oil flow?

You could very temporarily disconnect the turbo to oil pan return tube and verify that oil is flowing out of this tube with the engine running. Quite obviously only run the engine like this for a few seconds.

I'll check that.


The only other things I can think of that would cause no boost:
-compressor wheel loose on shaft, somehow nut backed off?
-flapper cracked or fell off

Pulled the lower turbo drain pipe---no oil in the bucket with engine running.

Pulled the turbo supply oil banjo bolt on the head---barely anything, just a dribble

Oil pump is working, shows plenty of oil pressure on the Autometer gauge. I don't hear the lifter clanking so oil is pressurizing the lifters.

I'm going to pull the oil galley plugs on the front and passenger side of the head and run some engine cleaning brushing down them and see if their plugged.

So the turbo probably junk due to oil starvation

Hopefully enough oil made it to the head to prevent any damage

Pulled some of the oil gallery plugs, they seem to be clean. Removed the valve cover and it looked pretty dry. After checked to gallery with a long pick, I blew some shop air into the turbo supply line plug and air/oil came out the oil hole in the lifter and sprayed oil on the rockers.

How much oil pressure should there be at the head?

Problem is I can't remember if the lifters where collapsed before or after I blew shop air through...damn!

Either way I need to find a blockage between the block and the head.

I removed the lowest galley plug on the head, where the Head and Block meet. Blew shop air though it and air cam out of the turbo supply as well as the lifters. So the head passages are completely clear.

I left the plug out and turn the motor over after pulling the plugs and the MPI fuse for 30 sec and oil dribbled out that plug. Oil pressure gauge showed 20 psi so the pump was making pressure.

Something got to me FUBAR'd at the head/block joint. The gasket looks properly installed...I'm at a loss now. I guess the head come off again. I can't think of anything else to try.

On top of it, I think I broke my thumb working on it last night.

Now that REALLY sucks!

from the head the oil should have enough pressure to hit your air filter at idle. Don't ask me how I know this

Yeah I figured the oil flow should be noticable!

I'm going to pull the braided line off my Autometer Oil pressure sender and crank the motor. I figure even the slow cranking of the motor should put out a decent stream, right?

If it doesn't flow well, I've got oil pump problems and I'll definintly pull the motor to fully check out the crank and rod bearings.

If you've got the motor out pull the balance shafts while you are there.

Balance shafts came out on the first partial rebuild.

Worked on the car some Sunday. I pulled the braided line out of the oil filter housing for my Autometer oil pressure gauge and cranked the car over (just on the starter) and a nice steady stream of oil came out. So I imagine the bottom end was getting oil.

Tore the turbo out and took it apart. The bearing are completely junk and so it looks like the cartridge is too. I put the old bearings in it from when I rebuilt it (it didn't have any shaft play then) and you can see the bushing have slop in the cartridge. The turbo would probably work but is definitely not a long term solution.

At this point I need to find a decent 14B center section to at least get her running while I save up for a BIGGER turbo....if anyone got something let me know,

I'm still trying to make up my mind whether to pull the whole damn engine to check everything vs just pulling the head and trying to find the oiling problem with the engine in the car.