Head gasket went at the weekend, and I thought I would clean up the head before putting it back in as it was pretty coked up.

Anyway, got me one of them whirly wire brushes and put it in the cordless drill and started buzzing away all of the accumulated crud.

When I had the first chamber looking nice and clean I noticed that the wire wheel had actually marked the head and I wondered if I will now need to have it skimmed or are the marks too small to worry about.

I don't really want to get it done as my budget is almost non-existant, but equally I don't want to have to pull the head off again in a few weeks.

What does eveyone think - see pics








Cheers

Rick

I would skim it - also have it checked for flatness and check the block as well

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David L


My greatest fear in life is that when I die my wife will sell my Mini and tools for the price I told her I paid for them!

No its probably cheaper to get your ears pinned instead.

If you are on a budget, just check it for warping (otherwise you will just be pulling it back of again when the next gasket goes).

Most of the worst scratches are inside the combustion chamber & not where the gasket goes anyway. Just give them a rub with some emery cloth otherwise the carbon will build up very quickly on those scratches & may even cause detonation or run-on.

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Too many cars, and too little time.

I can tell you that your head is ready for a recondition. There is a lot of crud build up in the water channels, the valves are fairly recissed (worn down) and you can almost guarrantee the valve guides will be worn. Almost all heads are warped when they come off a motor.

Now - get your engine machine shop to give it a quick skim but start saving for a head reco or looking for a head that has been reco'ed. Be sure you are using premium fuel and some sort of flash lube in the fuel because some of those valves don't look that good.

Thanks guys.

How much am I looking at for a reco on the head, or a ready reco'd one?

Rick

$300-350 ish for a reco - new guides, hard exhaust seats, reface, clean, etc. etc. I'd do it now if I was you - take it to a machine shop and see what they reckon

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

Unfortunately beyond the budget at the moment I think I will dress it off as awdmoke suggests and replace the gasket as is and save up for another head already reco'd or get one and get it reco'd. With any luck it will last long enough. I need it for work so I can't just let it sit there until I can afford the head reco.

Cheers

Rick