I'm looking to buy a h22 head, but I was wondering what to inspect for aside from any scratches and scrapes? I searched and didn't find anything particular to this, aside from not buying one that has oil all over it haha.


I'm new to the forum as you can tell from my post count - I just got a '92 4ws recently.

 

externally, there isn't a whole lot to inspect. Internally, i would take a look at the cam lobes and followers to see if there is any visual wear on them. Also check if it still has a VTEC solenoid. Something to keep in mind when considering overall cost of head.

 

Oil on the outside isnt necessarily a bad thing. A clean mating surface is one thing, cam journals/lobes/rockers is another and past that you just need to make sure none of the valves are bent and the combustion chambers havent been damaged.

 

use a straight edge and feeler gauges on the underside of the head to determine how "flat" it is. See a helms manual or something with the clearances which need to be met in order to consider it in good condition. If the bottom is not flat, do not assume that you can just fix it by milling. If the head is infact warped, then that means it was running operating temperatures above normal; wasn't torqued properly and among other reasons for it being misshaped. So since the bottom isnt flat, what else could be wrong with it?

remove the cam caps and determine the "health" of the cam journals.
remove the valves and inspect the valve seats for damage.

 

either way, it would be recommended to get the head surfaced because they also wash the entire head.

get a straight edge, check the surface and how much is left for machining. there are three tabs on the sides to check that.