Pick up a rebuilt set of 7.3L heads that sat for a while, what should i do with them?

[Shawn MacAnanny]

They have some surface rust, no real pitting, i'm planning on dropping them off at the machine shop i use and having them gone through. I want the surface cleaned, the head cleaned in a washer to remove any dust and loose rust etc, and i want the valve seals replaced. Anything else i should get done? Install upgraded valve springs? The pre cups looked new on them, i picked up both heads for $200, here are pictures of the one that looks the worst. They also had a set of new Stanadyne E injectors but i didnt want them, i think they'd let them go for $150 probably $100.

Also, whats the white stuff around the valves you can see inside?

 

[G. Mann]

Looks like they were stored without being oiled and wrapped in plastic which held moisture from somewhere..

Should clean up.. good idea to send them through a machine shop that knows what they are doing with diesel heads and clean them up, check them over. Last machine shop may have overlooked something important.

Peace of mind has a price.. it's called "Worth it"....

The shop should be done with them by the time you get out of jail, for stealing them for that price..

 

[Shawn MacAnanny]

I had planned on having the spare engine i have overhauled anyway but having a set of heads that has all good threads, pre cups, etc was worth it to me. I think itll pay for itself just in machine work i saved them. I'm sure something will break and need to be drilled out on the spare engine i have.

 

[Shawn MacAnanny]

Hahaha they wanted $400 for the heads and injectors but i offered them $200 because of the surface rust and knowing i need to take them to a machine shop and at minimum have them cleaned up and replace the valve seals for peace of mind.

 

[MTKirk]

Yep, such a deal. I'm looking at $1500 for a pair. I think the white stuff is some assembly lube on the valve stems, white lithium or the like.

 

[icanfixall]

Wowzer it what I have to say... From this side of the screen you got a rebuilt pair of heads. That white stuff is assembly lube. The precups do look new as does the intake and exhaust valves. Those heads were never run on an engine either. First off that assembly lube would be gone plus there is still paint in the exhaust runners. Those are a set of 7.3 heads. For me all I would do is have a shop look at them. I'm betting that rust will come off with a honing stone easily. Use some oil on it and do not rub too long. Everyone knows what happens when you rub something too long...

 

[OLDBULL8]

Ya missed the boat on those E injectors if there new or rebuilt. $50 new, $60 rebuilt. There for 92-93-94 turbo.

 

[Shawn MacAnanny]

They still have the injectors if anyone wants them. I'll purchase and mail them. I have misters so I don't need them

 

[Shawn MacAnanny]

I got them inside and went over them all, the one head, i believe driver side, has some rough pitting by one of the coolant ports. I'll see what the machine shop says about it. The one heads valve has some rust on it. Hopefully that rough area isnt too bad or the head can be slightly resurfaced. This machine shop resurfaced a set of heads for my Duramax (which supposedly shouldnt be) and has done a half dozen other heads for me and they always do an excellent job.

 

[icanfixall]

What you will need is a head that has a minimum thickness of 4.795 to 4.805. Then the intake valve MUST be recessed from the head deck 0.042 to 0.054. The exhaust MUST be recessed 0.051 to 0.063. The precups can be above or below the deck of the head by 2 1/2 thousands but not a 1/2 a thousands more. That dimension is a very wide margin for any decent machine shop. It is actually 5 thousands really. And no.. You can't say they reached that with a precup above or below the head deck either by saying they set them at 4 thousands low or high. Still a good deal on a rebuilt set of heads.