timmybilt

sup guys,
I hope its ok to post this question here, I figured you guys get alot of work done at machine shops and would be best to ask.

I have a b18b that seems to have a leaky head gasket (coolant loss and bubles in overflow resevoir) and i want to get the head resurfaced when i replace the head gasket.

I talked to a few friends who have had work done at local machine shops hoping to find a reputable one and they said most of the local shops just use a type of "belt sander" to shave/resurface heads!!! this doesnt seem very precise to me since the tolerance for my head according to the manual was .002

should I be alarmed that they would be using this method to resuface my head or is this standard practice and acceptable????????? also if this is incorrect, how should they be resurfacing it???


thanks,
Tim

SD_Lurker

iTrader: (4)

My recommendation to you is to stay as far away from those machine shops as possible. No its not right, not even close. I find it hard to believe they'll really use a belt sander to surface a head. Maybe your getting it confused with flanges.. In any event its not right, not by a long shot.

So to answer your question, NO.. There are proper decking/surfacing machines used specifically for that. If someone runs a so called machine shop there should be absolutely no excuses as to why you don't have the proper machine to surface a head. If they don't have that proper machine its not a machine shop.

RACEPAK

i know of some machine shops that use a flywheel resurfacer to mill heads,

hello1320

better off using a bottle of copper spray than a belt sander......

tepid1

Back in the day a belt sander was common for resurfacing the heads on many V8's. It's not suitable for our motors though. Find someone who can do it right or don't do it at all.

4piston

Hit it with a hammer!

Stay away from anyone using a belt sander LOL. There are lots of shops that can resurface it properly.

timmybilt

thanks for the info guys, i knew that belt sander bull$h!t had to be some v8 domestic crap. lol thats all we have around here. but i am still shocked to find that the local machine shops still use this method. i have talked to three shops local to me and they all said thats how they do it and it would be fine....wtf

what is the proper machine for shaving/resurfacing a head? and ball park how much does it usually cost to get a head resurfaced correctly?

thanks again guys, im glad to hear that im not crazy for thinking this method is not ok, a couple of local import guys were even trying to convince me it would be ok! i guess im going to have to drive a hour just to find a machine shop to do it right.

SD_Lurker

iTrader: (4)

Does it even matter how much the mahcine costs? Its in the ballpark of around 10,000 to get a decent one and they just get more expensive from there.

timmybilt

sorry for the misunderstanding, i meant, what is the proper machine to resurface a head and how much does it typically cost to get a head resurfaced correctly?

V-SPEC 1

I heard back in the day, they used to drag the head on concrete road w/ a car and that's how they resurfaced the head lol.

SD_Lurker

iTrader: (4)

Its rather cheap if that's the only thing you plan to do to the head. If you're going to have the head resurfaced you might wanna consider rebuilding the entire head. I mean its going to be apart why not have a valve job if need be.. Just freshen the head up so you don't have to worry about it later on.. I'd estimate the resurface job to be no more than 60 dollars as long as its not warped to **** and he needs to make 5 passes. At that point the head will likely be no good as it will be past the service limit.

timmybilt

i think thats how the guys around here do their IROC Camar(a)s. lol

timmybilt

cool, thanks again

ALL IMPORT

can put fly.. surfacer & mill in the same sentience to diff animals

1992Si

This is who we have used in the past. http://www.eastwoodsautomachine.com/

Great local mom and pop shop. When I first stopped in, Mark was more then happy to show me around the shop and tell me what they could do. Great customer service.

You should be able to find the same type shop in your area.