got my head back from the machine shop and the head surface was pitted like no other, i'll try and get some pics up later, but i'm new to the honda world. Anyone know where i can get a head?? Its winter, so i don't really want to be out at a junkyard, that and i'd rather have a new one.

 

in the marketplace. put up a WTB thread and someone will "donate" it to you. most will say dont get it just get a z6 head but if you want the b8, a lot of people will give them away. they are worthless to a performance minded person.

 

yeah, really don't want to be bothered with doing a swap, i just want it to f'n run again... sometime this year. Anyways, thanks for the advice, i'll try that.

 

will a z6 head even work with a b8 bottom end since the whole 8 valve to 16 valve thing? i was wondering this cuz my friend just picked up a winter beater with a blown up z6 bottom end but the head was good and he was wondering if it would work and i said i doubt it but i wasnt sure...cuz he got the cx motor for free

 

Your answer ranges somewhere between usually to always. Most, if not all D15B8s have the valve reliefs cut in the pistons for the extra valves. There are rumors that some early B8s don't have the extra valve reliefs though.

 

On a side note, i still haven't really figured out what head i have, is a VTEC with 16 valves (4valves per cylinder) Anyways, i just realized the pitting it only around the coolant passage area, so it might not be a problem.. unless it was to get worse. Anyways, i don't have my camera on me, but i'll have some picture up tomorrow, and hopefully you guys can help me figure out if i should get a new head or not.

 

Couldn't exactly tell if that was a question or not OP.

VTEC heads have 16 valves, as does the non-VTEC D15B7 head (I'm talking '92-'95 here).

 

Ok, so this is what is going on here. The block code is d15b8 and the casting number on the head is P08-3. According to https://honda-tech.com/forums/tech-misc-15/d-series-head-codes-786093/ its a d16. So i'm just really confused right now. As far as my head goes the pitting was the worst on #1 cylinder, but its kinda hard to see how deep it is, but i think its a little far gone. As far as someone doing a swap, i really don't know what was going on, it had a d15 headgasket on it, i'm pretty sure it was original, i'm just really confused right now.

 

Thats either a D16Z6, D15B Vtec or SOHC Vtec ZC head. WTF happened to it? It looks like someone sandblasted it.

 

The pitting is from the coolant, machine shop sand blasted the head. Contrary to popular belief, it is safe to blast aluminum, finer sand, or different media, lower pressure. Anyways, i'm still confused, i did see that that there is a d15 VTEC, and like i said above, its a VTEC, only thing that confuses me right now is the casting number. Here are some more shots of the head, it doesn't have the lost motion assembly on it, i just put the valve train back on for the picture.
LMA is like one in picture http://hondaswap.com/~derek/images/d-seriesLMAs.jpg

 

Sure it is, but not a head. By sandblasting that head you have 100% ruined it. It needs to have a mirror surface to mate properly, you've also ruined the valve seats and possibly the valve guides.

 

?? A: there are HUGE pits if you didn't notice, the head is already garbage. B: Valve guides were to be replaced/machine. C: machines shops ALWAYS machine the head surface as well as any other mating surface. D: I didn't ruin anything, its proper procedure, a machine shop cleans a head and then goes about machining it. They just got done cleaning it and noticed the pits, and sent it back to me for me to decide what the next step would be.

 

Believe me, thats not proper procedure. Generally they'll just a hot tank a head, and scrape off any really heavy carbon deposits. You might get away with blasting it with glass beads (not recycled glass though, must be round beads) I know the head was no good anyway, but regardless you do no sandblast heads.

 

First off i'm sorry if i sounded condescending, but really, i assure you, it is completely fine to blast a head.
http://www.drenginesmachine.com/machineshop.htm
http://www.qualitycylinderheads.com/...acilities.html
http://forums.stangnet.com/739549-sand-blast.html
http://www.haasmachinecompany.com/heads2.htm