What's cheaper: Rebuild or buy used head?

[nefarious]

My car has been sitting for a few years now and i am ready to get it back up and running. Before the car became a lawn ornament, it jumped time because of a faulty auto tensioner and a few other things. I removed the head from the car to get an idea of what damage had been done and it appears as if the pistons are fine but i can't tell how the head is. The valves appear to be straight but from what i have read, if a car jumps time, it is almost guaranteed to bend some valves. Now onto my question:

I am looking to get the car running again and can't decide which would be cheaper/easier...having a local machine shop rebuild the head or buying one from a running vehicle. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[RedTalon95]

I'm in the exact same boat with my N/T. I think I'm going to buy a used head because it is less time consuming and around the same price I figure.

 

[outkastracing]

it depends if you want to build it just use the head you have get some good springs and retainers and some stainless valves then you never have to do it again!!!

 

[nefarious]

I have definitely considered rebuilding my current head with better components but i haven't dug into what that would cost me...if i had to guess, i would say it isn't cheap, .

My original thought was that buying a used head would definitely save me alot of time but i wasn't sure how much money it would save me. What is a good price for a used/re-manufactured head?

 

[92AWDHX40]

find a good head then rebuild it if you can. or buy a upgraded one if you can.

 

[6 bolt dreams]

Go with the rebuilt head unless u got money in the bank. I priced a head job on my gst and it was like 600 bucks and that was only to do the intake side.Then i thought i can just rebuild it my self and priced every thing to rebuild it and it was still like 450. So in the end i went to a junkyard and bought a head for 150 and it was fine the car starts and runs, but i also went up 2 my bodys junkyard like 2 weeks a go and got a hole 6 bolt engine that runs for 150 so the choice is urs its ## money

 

[slacker83]

I have noticed heads go anywhere from 100-250. If you can find a head for 100 that needs a valve job figure in 120+ plus. That is how much they are in my area. Trust me I have been looking I took my head to the machine shop and it had 8 bent valves which sucks but fixible. The problem was the head was warped .007 of an inch and it also caused warped the cam journals.

 

[nefarious]

So it sounds like i might be better off finding a used head that is in good shape in the $150-$250 range to get the car running.

Also, i would like to replace the tensioner so i don't have to worry about jumping time again. My searches have told me that i need to get an OEM tensioner for the best results. My local stealership quoted me $107 for a factory tensioner. Where is the cheapest place to get OEM parts? I need to get a timing belt as well.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

I'm also looking into this, and I have torn my head down to the bare aluminum. It will still cost me 300 bucks in machine work to be able to reassemble it myself.

I'm considering one of these, FFWD Connection - Race Injuns That Will Freeze Your Brain

As for part's, I'm not sure on the quality, but there is a package deal on ebay with new tensioner's, belt's, gaskets, and a waterpump for like 100 bucks.

 

[91whiteGSX]

Hey guys.. hows it going im stuck on what I have to do here.. I got my car off ebay 5 months ago a 1991 GSX 5spd with 109,000 org miles from a kid in FL.. and the kid told me it was mostley stock so i started to get some upgrades for it and it still had the 1G manifold so i got a 2G manifold and took the stock one off and i saw that there was oil in the 2 middle ports.. so someone said to me it needs a new head gasket so i ordered one and then I took the valve cover off and its all like a brass / gold color ..so i dont know if thats normal or not.. so i thought maybe i need a new head so i got a used one off ebay for 150 its off a 93 talon TSI 5spd with 84,000 miles on it.. so the guy said.. my head says 2.0L with a 5 ... and this other head has a 2.0L with a 6 .. so can this even fit on my car.. or should i just stick with my stock ???? im not sure what to do.. cause i found a shop near my house that will clean it and deck it for only 125 .. so im not sure what to do.. anyone got any input... Thanks guys...

 

[Daveed]

Hey guys.. hows it going im stuck on what I have to do here.. I got my car off ebay 5 months ago a 1991 GSX 5spd with 109,000 org miles from a kid in FL.. and the kid told me it was mostley stock so i started to get some upgrades for it and it still had the 1G manifold so i got a 2G manifold and took the stock one off and i saw that there was oil in the 2 middle ports.. so someone said to me it needs a new head gasket so i ordered one and then I took the valve cover off and its all like a brass / gold color ..so i dont know if thats normal or not.. so i thought maybe i need a new head so i got a used one off ebay for 150 its off a 93 talon TSI 5spd with 84,000 miles on it.. so the guy said.. my head says 2.0L with a 5 ... and this other head has a 2.0L with a 6 .. so can this even fit on my car.. or should i just stick with my stock ???? im not sure what to do.. cause i found a shop near my house that will clean it and deck it for only 125 .. so im not sure what to do.. anyone got any input... Thanks guys...

The gold color is oil staining the aluminum. Alot of them are like that...especially a turbo car. Could possibly indicate a less than perfect record of changing the oil by the previous owner combined with lots of use of the go pedal (boost=heat=really hot oil).

If your cars not smoking then don't worry about replacing the head gasket yet.

The head you got on ebay will fit. But if your not having some obvious problems (running or smoking) then don't bother with replacing it yet.
If its from a 7 bolt motor then you just need to have the head bolt holes enlarged by 1mm. The 6 bolt motors (like yours) have 12mm head bolts. The 7 bolt motors have 11mm head bolts. No big deal though. Use your turbo cams on whatever head you use. The intake (I'm 90% sure on this) has a more aggressive profile that the N/A cars.

$125 for clean and deck aint bad. I had mine thoroughly done this week for $208 which included inspection of all the seats, guides, 2 new valves, all new valve seals, valve grind, and warpage inspection (wasn't warped so that was good) and of course tax. Thing looks brand new and it was the burned oil gold when I gave it to them.


btw, the two middle cylinders on my first head that I didn't rebuild had incredibly burned exhaust valves. Looked like someone took a torch to them.

 

[Daveed]

My car has been sitting for a few years now and i am ready to get it back up and running. Before the car became a lawn ornament, it jumped time because of a faulty auto tensioner and a few other things. I removed the head from the car to get an idea of what damage had been done and it appears as if the pistons are fine but i can't tell how the head is. The valves appear to be straight but from what i have read, if a car jumps time, it is almost guaranteed to bend some valves. Now onto my question:

I am looking to get the car running again and can't decide which would be cheaper/easier...having a local machine shop rebuild the head or buying one from a running vehicle. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I'd also say it depends on your future plans for the car. If just to run for a while and get rid of then just buy a good shape used one that you can verify didn't have problems. If you're gonna keep it for a while then get one of the "built" heads that are often for sale on here. If all the valves are bent that is a minimum of $105 on ebay and probably double that at a machine shop.

 

[nefarious]

I have future plans for the car but I think that has been what has kept me from working on it up until now. I was hoping that by getting the car running, i could get a baseline of the car (also boost my motivation to tinker with it), and slowly but surely build it as i got time and money.

The more i think about it, the more i think i want to buy a used head to get the car running and use my current head as a starting point for a "built" head.

 

[Artago]

I got a 2G head for sale. PM me if interested. (also have the short block)

 

[res7bequ]

Its easier to just get a used head in good condition. Just make sure the valves are perfect though or else the valve job/valves will add up. I've gone through about 4 heads and the average price was about 150 per head. If you can find a head thats in good condition or freshly rebuilt then go for it if not then just rebuild it.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

See, I'm not that trusting I guess, but I would either only rebuild my head, or buy a rebuilt one directly from a vendor. I'd hate to go through all that work just to start smoking in a few months and have to do it again.

I also wouldn't rebuild one of these head's without replacing the valve guides, so by the time you get everything you need, the already done head starts to look real cheap.

But again, that's just me.

 

[nefarious]

See, I'm not that trusting I guess, but I would either only rebuild my head, or buy a rebuilt one directly from a vendor. I'd hate to go through all that work just to start smoking in a few months and have to do it again.

I also wouldn't rebuild one of these head's without replacing the valve guides, so by the time you get everything you need, the already done head starts to look real cheap.

But again, that's just me.

Can you point me to some of these vendors that sell rebuilt heads?

Thanks

 

[Jrgunn5150]

I linked to one up above in this thread, there's also a vendor section up at the top.

 

[mephist0]

I would point you to Maperformance.com or Slowboyracing u choose maperformance has a faster service thou

 

[nefarious]

I appreciate all of the input guys!