Quick question on head swap

[keyser325]

My 98gsx in a shop with a bent valve, so they're suggesting i have a new head swapped on. The mechanic is saying he's having trouble locating the correct head. He said my head has the thermostat housing directly attached to the head, and that all the ones he's found, it's not attached. He finally called back today saying he found a head with the therm housing attached, but it's 900$...

I was under the impression that all heads had the thermostat housing attached but it could be removed? All in all, this place is saying it'll be almost 2,000$ with the head, labor, head bolts, gaskets etc... Does this sound right? He hasn't ordered the head yet, and i'm not really sure what to do, i'm still learning about engines, let alone the 4g63t. Any advice guys? This price seems steep for a head swap, but maybe i'm wrong and it's reasonable??

 

[hornetsnest]

SBR has a 1G stock head for $600. Another $300 should get you some arp head studs, H20 pump, and a new timing belt. New bolts and gaskets may be another $100 or so. I had a 1G head swap done for $500 at a local shop. Most shops should be within a couple hundred dollars of that. That's about $1500 give or take a few. Still cheaper than $2000...

 

[keyser325]

Well that's what they originally told me. I did forget to mention they'd do my timing/bs belts also in there. But they keep harping on this idea that my head is a "rare" one and i need a different part# to replace it. They keep saying that the thermostat housing is either attached or different than the ones that are readily available.

Ugh, i wish i knew more about engines...

 

[ADrewzki]

Well that's what they originally told me. I did forget to mention they'd do my timing/bs belts also in there. But they keep harping on this idea that my head is a "rare" one and i need a different part# to replace it. They keep saying that the thermostat housing is either attached or different than the ones that are readily available.

That's crock. That would mean that if your thermostat went bad, you'd have to replace the head. Just silly. It's just a regular 2g head. Get a used head off of someone from the classifieds. I got mine 2nd day air for $225 and pretty much swapped it on. As for the thermostat, it's 4 bolts plus some silicon that hold it on. Take the bolts off and then carefully remove it from the side of the head by pulling toward the passenger side and up. I found the most difficult part was remember where all the plugs and hoses went. :laugh: I'll see if I can find some pics that'll help in your endeavor.

 

[ADrewzki]

Well, this is the only picture that I have of when I took my engine apart but you can see where I've circled where the thermostat attaches to. (It's the passenger side of the head.) You'll know what it looks like if you follow the BIG radiator hose coming from your radiator to it. Good luck.

 

[keyser325]

Wow, thanks! I'm going to give them a call back and see what they have to say...

 

[Raph]

a 1g head would fit a 2g without major modifications?just askin..

 

[keyser325]

Okay, he explained it a bit better to me this time. He said there are three different head types for the 2g. There's the one with the thermostat housing attached to the passenger side and the one with it on the driver's side. I apparently have the third type, which is a "box" that is attached to the head on the passenger side. It doesn't have that nice contoured housing like your picture shows.

At this point, they seem nice and honest, but i'm not really sure if they're just BSing me. They said any of the heads would fit, but it would require more labor and modification to get my radiator hose to attach to it correctly. He also said they've gotten a few heads in already but they didn't match up, so they didn't start on the job yet.

 

[Jafro]

FYI: Both turbo and non-turbo DOHC heads for 2.0L 4g63's will work. They're the same heads with the exception of cams/valve springs. You can probably pull a head in a junkyard for about $200.

If you only have a bent valve, why not just replace the valve/rebuild the head you've got?

 

[keyser325]

That's what i said... But they said it's a bent vavle and could be something else... In the time it would take to diagnose it with the labor, it wouldn't be worth it, so they said.

 

[ArticNemesis]

I think it's time to pull your car out of that shop, and take it elsewhere... a 2g head is a 2g head.. There is no "special" head... Pull the car out of the shop, and go get a second opinion elsewhere..

 

[ADrewzki]

I think it's time to pull your car out of that shop, and take it elsewhere... a 2g head is a 2g head.. There is no "special" head... Pull the car out of the shop, and go get a second opinion elsewhere..

Agreed. Do it quick before they tell you that your exhaust bearings are bad or something...'cause that would be a shame.

 

[44pirate]

A 1g thermostat housing is different then a 2g thermostat housing. Maybe the shop is confused, and they are looking at 1g head parts.

 

[ADrewzki]

A 1g thermostat housing is different then a 2g thermostat housing. Maybe the shop is confused, and they are looking at 1g head parts.

Well yeah, but the heads aren't different. I've never heard of a head like his shop is describing. If it were true, when your thermostat went bad, you'd have to replace the whole head. That wouldn't make any sense.

 

[SnowWhite]

I am throwing the bullshit flag on your shop fixing your car. There is no way there is a head like that because of the trouble of replacing the thermostat...I would have a friend you know that knows something about DSM's go with you to that shop.

 

[RamenPride]

my thermostat sits in that location in the pic. you don't have to replace the head, just remove the two bolts that hold the housing on there. the only difference I can think of between 2G heads is that 95-96's have the cam angle sensor on the driver's side, while it's on the opposite side (like on 1G's) on 97-99's

 

[keyser325]

Okay, well partly due to my inexperience and the shop's inability to explain it to me, my first explanation was wrong, i guess. He says the thermostat housing is square, not rounded, and it's actually attached to the passenger side of the head.

He said the couple heads he's gotten in would bolt up to my block, but they'd have to modify something, in terms of the radiator hose, thermostat housing, and the way it's hooked up.

Thanks for the replies guys, i'm just going to stop by and see if i can visually see what he means.

 

[ADrewzki]

Do you have an update on your engine?