Cylinder Head Surface Damage Question.

The Cylinder Head has surface damage on it from shipping. APE graciously rebuilt it about a year ago, along with cylinders transformed into a 615 Wiseco Kit, and then I sent it to a friend of mine for port and chamber cleaning/work. In the process of shipping it, and some other stuff, the picture below tells the story. Any recommendations in a repair, or just leave it as it. This head is going on a 615 kit I have been slowly working on.

Any feedback would be appreciated.


This one above, that's close to the combustion chamber concerns me the most.

cant tell how deep the marks are, but they look like they need to be repaired, you may have to have someone tig weld the spots and then have the head resurfaced

I second that

Thanks for the advice.

I guess the other thing I can do is line up the head gasket, and see if it's covered or not, but I'd be willing to send(better packed this time) it out rather than take a chance.

even if the gasket clears the damage, there is still going to be high and low spots on the head, at a bare min, I would get it milled to get the highs out

My .02 They look worse than they probably are. The gasket is going to seal pretty much everything. It's an air-cooled engine. No water jacket to be compromised by a scratch. I don't make a recommendation here, but I know there are sealants "copper permatex" that is supposed to help in cases like this.

through it on there with a good gasket and run it;)

dont forget that a gasket is only going to crush so much, if you have a high spot then that area will crush and torque, but the rest of the area will not be sealed as well as it should, also if you want the cheap way, take a large flat bastard file and go over the head,

Remember this head is going with a 615 kit that's now 10.25:1 compression. I'd like not to have to mill the head for even higher compression, as the edges of the valves are right at the ends of the combustion chambers. If any more were to be milled off, the valve would need to be ground down to compensate.

I appreciate your replies, and will think about them before I make a decision.

Lay the gasket on it and see if it clears the metal ring in the gasket. If it does, you are OK.

Jay

So, if the damage is visible when gasket is in place it, or if the metal ring covers the damage... :S

Corey,

I think what Jay is saying is, through the gasket on there and see if the metal rings themselves aren't directly on one (or more) of the damaged spots and therefore compromising it sealing properly.

From what I understand, the metal rings are what do the bulk of the sealing for the expansion chambers/cylinders, the rest is basically just "cushion" and to seal around the oil ports - not a lot of pressure runs through those oil ports.

Post edited by: RetroRiceRocketRider, at: 2007/04/11 08:27