Good online source for cylinder head?

[DirtyWood]

Well I dug into the passenger side to track down a tick and found a quite worn valve guide and a broken inner valve spring, bummer. I have a couple questions about this situation.

1. With just a worn valve guide how safe/unsafe is it to operate the engine? I replaced the valve spring on the affected valve and the engine runs a lot better.

2. Are there any decent/reputable online sources for rebuilt heads?

I've done some searching and found 4 online businesses, Clearwater Cylinder Head, Dale's Super Store(Freedom Engines), Cylinder Heads International, and Heavy Duty Parts Company. A local shop would be preferable and I will continue to look for one, but when I asked my client who's been a machinist here for 30+ years he didn't know of a good local shop. Ideally I would just pull the engine and go studs as well as odds and ends like rear main seal but at the moment I'm leaning towards the cheaper option of just doing the passenger side and calling it good--plus I'll have to buy extras like a cherry picker and another torque wrench for the head bolts so even the cheaper option won't end up being cheap.

Also, if anyone knows of a good write-up on replacing a cylinder head I would appreciate the link since I've never dug into an engine other than a chainsaw and some of this seems a little daunting.

Edit: And if there are any CA members who have usable or rebuilt heads for sale I may be interested--I'm located about 2 hours from the Bay Area.

Edit: Is there a difference between the passenger head and driver side?

 

[Nero]

Heads are same side to side, really only difference is what plug goes where for the coolant passages.
I haven't heard of any of the businesses you listed, but if you find a good core, Justin at R&D will rebuild it for ya

 

[DirtyWood]

Heads are same side to side, really only difference is what plug goes where for the coolant passages.
I haven't heard of any of the businesses you listed, but if you find a good core, Justin at R&D will rebuild it for ya

Oh I'd like to have someone of Justin's caliber rebuild the heads I just shudder at what the shipping charges might be. Years ago I paid something like $150 to have 2 leaf spring packs shipped.

 

[Nero]

Yep, when mine were done, it cost $280 in shipping back in April of '24, but it was well worth it IMO.

 

[DirtyWood]

Yep, when mine were done, it cost $280 in shipping back in April of '24, but it was well worth it IMO.

Was that $280 for two heads one way or round trip?

 

[Nero]

Was that $280 for two heads one way or round trip?

One way lol when I shipped them, I shipped via ups, but I get a good discount through my work. I think it was $90 out bound

 

[IDIBRONCO]

There's a place that sells bare and complete heads. They'll even fix cracked heads. They've been around for a long time so I know that they're a good place to go. Now that I'm in the middle of this, I think their name is Diesel Cast. They won't be cheap, but it's a place to go.
Is driving with the bad valve guide dangerous? The best answer to that is "potentially". Eventually, the wear can get bad enough to let the valve rock to one side far enough to contact the piston. What are the chances of that happening? I can't say. My feeling is the sooner it's taken care of, the better. To be honest, if one guide is bad, then there's probably others that aren't too far behind. Unless you're planning to sell the truck right after you get the head back, I'd recommend having bronze liners put in all of your exhaust guides.
As for pulling the head off, if you're just doing one, you don't have to remove the intake and valley pan, although it's easier to do with them out of the way. If you pull both heads, then you should remove them. Of course, that means that the IP has to come off too. When I worked on these for a living, we had a simple policy about head removal. If it was one head, it would be done in the truck. If both heads came off, the engine came out to make it easier to work on with the engine on a stand. There was also less of a chance of damaging head gaskets that way. Our situation was different than most. We had reman heads already waiting to be put on before the truck even came inside our shop. That's an advantage of doing work like this in volume.

 

[lotzagoodstuff]

Heads are same side to side, really only difference is what plug goes where for the coolant passages.
I haven't heard of any of the businesses you listed, but if you find a good core, Justin at R&D will rebuild it for ya

Justin's work at R&D is pretty top notch. How long can you could live with your truck being down? If I used it to make money, I would run it but stay as far away from the rev limiter as possible. It's a gamble, and know that if you get some interference with that valve and the piston, it will cause you lots more grief than just a cylinder head swap. Again, risk vs reward: you gotta figure that part out yourself.

If you can afford to have your truck down, you have lots of options. I haven't seen Justin's current shop, but I was at his shop in Washington and I thought his machine work was outstanding, and he certainly knows IDI stuff. If it was me, I'd try to find somebody who ships lots of stuff who could ship my cylinder head with a discount and try to send a call tag to use the same carrier for the return voyage.

By the way: nice job troubleshooting your valve spring and guide. You already saved yourself a bunch of grief.

Good luck whichever way you go.

 

[TahoeTom]

I used Quality Diesel Machine in West Sacramento. They were familiar with IDI diesels. Could drive there rather than ship to Wyoming.

 

[pastorjeep]

Any reputable machine shop can do the valve guides. I had a valve stick and had the guides replaced. I think it was about $200.

 

[Cubey]

Oh I'd like to have someone of Justin's caliber rebuild the heads I just shudder at what the shipping charges might be. Years ago I paid something like $150 to have 2 leaf spring packs shipped.

Size drives up price more than weight.

 

[DaveBen]

Ebay has 7.3 cylinder heads: https://www.ebay.com/b/Cylinder-Heads-for-2002-Ford-F-350-Super-Duty/33617/bn_87710636?maspect=contextType:CAR_AND_TRUCK&Submodel=XL&Engine - Liter_Display=7.3L&Trim=XL Standard Cab Pickup 2-Door&Engine=7.3L 445Cu. In. V8 DIESEL OHV Turbocharged

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Oh now this is too much! First South American rivers and now it happens when you mention Evilbay? The HAS to be a bot of some sort!

 

[DirtyWood]

Well I got a quote today from what appears to be the only local option and it's about $750 to clean, inspect, replace all valves, guides, valve stem seals, valve springs,and to resurface. The guy sounded like an old timer and was familiar with these engines so I feel like it's a good option.
I asked about bronze guides and he seemed to be in favor of hardened guides with a spiral groove.

 

[onetonjohn]

I think I paid 1200, but I got turbo valves. Seems like a good price.