Can I take a cylinder head from the junkyard and install it right away, or would the timing be off?

[Josh P]

Junk lol
Just making sure they aren’t a the early fms “headers”

I assume this was for another thread?

 

[410Fortune]

Dangit
Stupid phone I’m a hot mess

 

[rfishi]

Here is the head i got from the junkyard, does it look like it has any problems?

Is this residue normal?:

There is kind of alot of black carbon buildup on the cylinders, and one of the cylinders has this tan colored residue on one of the ports

What would cause this, and is it cause for concern?

The coolant ports are quite rusty too

So what do you guys think, does this look like a decent head? Do these pics show any signs of damage? Are there any types of tests I can do to check for damage and ensure it's a good head?

Any tips of cleaning the carbon buildup? Or removing the rust from the coolant ports?

 

[Josh P]

A container or thick plastic bag and some liquid rust remover will clean the ports up. Oven cleaner does wonders on carbon. I don't see anything obviously wrong with that head, looks like it came from a worn, high mile motor.

 

[rfishi]

from a worn, high mile motor.

The truck at the junkyard has 187k miles. Is the wear on the head consistent with that amount of miles? I wouldn't personally call 187k high milage. My truck has 107k.

Is there anywhere that I should avoid spraying the oven cleaner?

 

[Josh P]

The truck at the junkyard has 187k miles. Is the wear on the head consistent with that amount of miles? I wouldn't personally call 187k high milage. My truck has 107k.

Is there anywhere that I should avoid spraying the oven cleaner?

It isn't the total number of miles, but how it was maintained and cared for during those miles. The oven cleaner won't hurt anything if gets all over the cylinder head. For the exhaust ports, stand the head up on edge and fill each port, then let it sit for awhile. I've cleaned used pistons, and a the vgt wheel of a turbo with oven cleaner.

 

[410Fortune]

Head oooks ok in those pictures
However if you want internet wrench jockeys to inspect a cylinder head then we would need close up pictures of each combustion chamber so we can look for any issues around where the valves seat

It is missing one rocker arm??
187k miles is half life for one of these

 

[Josh P]

Probably a good idea to get 410's eye on each chamber.

 

[410Fortune]

lol hahahahaha it’s a 5.0 head… run it! Hahahaha she’s fine

It’s the v6 heads that crack and lose valve seats after 250k miles

 

[rfishi]

It is missing one rocker arm??

I removed that rocker arm myself at the salvage yard.

 

[Josh P]

lol hahahahaha it’s a 5.0 head… run it! Hahahaha she’s fine

It’s the v6 heads that crack and lose valve seats after 250k miles

Yeah, but it's nice to look at.

 

[rfishi]

I will post more pics of each chamber after finished cleaning it.

Is it okay to spray the oven cleaner inside the intake ports?

I'm using a shop vac to suck and blow everything dry after I rinse it off, but how do I make sure 100% of the water is dry inside the intake and exhaust ports?

I've heard of people sraying wd-40 after washing heads to prevent rust, do you think this is necessary?

 

[Josh P]

Yeah, it's fine, won't hurt anything. Personally I wouldn't use wd40 on it after cleaning.

 

[rfishi]

close up pictures of each combustion chamber

This is after I cleaned them, but I didn't get ALL of the carbon off the cylinders; I ran out of oven.cleaner.. is that damaged water jacket a problem? Its scaring me..

 

[Josh P]

If you ever have a head gasket failure, that would be the spot. If I had my heart set on using that head, I'd clean the rust off the metal around the chipped area, then build it up with JB Weld. It's not a high stress area, it just needs enough material so the gasket holds

 

[rfishi]

If you ever have a head gasket failure, that would be the spot. If I had my heart set on using that head, I'd clean the rust off the metal around the chipped area, then build it up with JB Weld. It's not a high stress area, it just needs enough material so the gasket holds

The gasket has really small holes that go over the water jackets; is this normal? And would this help that chipped spot not leak? I'm assuming the gasket is designed that way intentionally?

 

[Josh P]

The small holes in the gasket is normal. It's designed that way to regulate the coolant flow thru the head. The chipped spot being next to the chamber is the issue, that tiny ridge between the water port and chamber is all you have to keep the coolant out of that cylinder or compression out of the coolant. It would probably hold fine, but it's not much extra work to epoxy it for insurance.

 

[rfishi]

I'm patching it with JB weld.

I really appreciate everyone's advice and help here, it is helping me a lot.

 

[410Fortune]

The jb weld must be done right
You need clean metal behind it no rust
Build it up higher then the head shortage and then flatten it down once cured (file /
Sandpaper)

The water port is outside of the head gasket fire ring so I think you will be fine

Jb weld it is you must but I would not be afraid to run that head

 

[Turdle]

I think it'll be fine like it is.