Aluminum Heads For The IDI

[tbirdfiend281]

The duramax's have plenty of head gasket failures. It is probably the most common failure right after the number 1, witch is injectors. I am talking LB7, the first gen motor. The latter generations got really reliable really quickly and did not have near the failures of the first gen. I am not sure if the latter ones still had some head gasket issues, but I know the injectors got better for some reason. The failures they have and had, aren't to common though, and are usually related to cranking the motors way up. In stock form, the trucks where damn solid when maintained and taken care of.

 

[1466IH]

I dont remember if i asked on this forum or not but does anyone make direct injected heads for an idi

 

[SparkandFire]

Don't do it! The switch to aluminum was cost driven. Easier to machine, lighter for better fuel economy. Engines with the AL/FE head/block configuration ALWAYS have coolant electrolysis issues.

Aluminum is BAD, mmmmkay!

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[DeepRoots]

Wouldn't the precombustion chambers get loose in the aluminum? I mean aluminum would expand at a faster rate than iron. It's still be held in place by the head/deck interface but I'd be worried about it hammering in that little clearance and making a larger hole over time.

Most aftermarket aluminum heads are not exact replicas. In gas engines the biggest advantage is a more modern combustion chamber reducing timing needs, and better intake/exhaust paths leading to better air flow, both in terms of stability and cfm. Obviously the IDI would benefit from better runners, but it wouldn't benefit nearly as much in the combustion chamber areana unless it went to DI. At that point the engine would need to be reworked to accomodate that. Considering the average IDI owner can barely afford a used turbo kit, I don't see a market for $2500 cylinder heads, especially if they require custom pistons and fuel injection.

 

[icanfixall]

Nobody makes a direct injection head for our engines. Sure would be nice if someone did. We already can use the psd direct injection pistons in our engines but.. We need the di heads before they will work. The psd pistons are the same wrist pin size and the same bore size... Thats two out of three right there.. whats holding up the train for the di heads now...

 

[firehawk]

Aluminum / cast iron combination is death on a shingle. Any time you mate the two together, you get a galvanic reaction called dis-similar metals corrosion. The aluminum becomes the electrode for the cooling system and erodes... guess where.. at the head gasket surface...[contact area, through the head bolts acting like jumper cables] The pistons going up and down generate and electrical current [a low one, but enough to set off the corrosion path, and soon you have issues.

Anyone remember the Chevy Vega? Cast iron head against an aluminum block.. good example of what I'm talking about. There are others.

Wow, that is completely wrong. I have not worked on any al/fe combos from the 70's, but many from the 80's, 90's, and 2000's and NEVER have seen galvanic reaction between the head and block. Maybe the fact that they don't touch has something to do with that.

Al heads can stand up against very high heat, 1600. The pistons will melt first.

Al heads are lighter, cheaper to machine, and disperse heat better which is an advantage.

 

[justinray]

Wow, that is completely wrong. I have not worked on any al/fe combos from the 70's, but many from the 80's, 90's, and 2000's and NEVER have seen galvanic reaction between the head and block. Maybe the fact that they don't touch has something to do with that.

Al heads can stand up against very high heat, 1600. The pistons will melt first.

Al heads are lighter, cheaper to machine, and disperse heat better which is an advantage.

Dispersing heat isn't what you want in a diesel head, unless you're worried about it melting, which I don't with iron?

 

[tbirdfiend281]

Before someone ****** in someone elses cheerios here, lets be realestic. Is anyone actually going to waste there time and source out some AL heads and put them on there idi? Or even better yet, is someone going to port there stock ones out?

I know I spit out a resounding no to both of those, a huge no to the al heads, maybe a slight no to the stock head porting. No need to get any man ******* in wads over a theoretical discussion.

Now, DI, AL, IDI head. Go.

 

[tbirdfiend281]

Dispersing heat isn't what you want in a diesel head, unless you're worried about it melting, which I don't with iron?

I dont think an aluminum head would disperse heat so much as to lose performance.

 

[icanfixall]

So you say porting the idi heads is a waste of time or are you saying its not going to change any flow in or out... Hmmm OK.. I'm all ears. You probably have no idea what the exhaust ports look like in the idi head. I have spent plenty of time porting several sets of idi heads. Those that have seen the before and after ports know what it is. But many that have seen my work go to the ralleys or look at my porting pics. Am I offended by you comments... Nope... Not at all. My job here is to get the correct information out there for all to see. I have never nor will I ever hide any information. No secrets here. So now lets discuss some carectrustics of our diesel heads. Do you know we don't really need an intake manifold on the na engines.... All we do is allow air into the cylinders by being directed thru a manifold. Thats it... Now add a turbo to that mix and now you need a manifold. So we are boosting to say 13 lbs... Thats 13 lbs of compressed air waiting on top of the intake valve to rocket into the cylinder. As long as the boost stays at 13 lbs we have an infinant supply of this air at that pressure. We don't care how open the intake is. We loose nothing if its made wrong by porting it. We are not a gasser head where porting them wrong kills the flow. So now you have all this pressure in a cylinder and then its compressed and goes bang. Now get it out of there fast as you can when the exhaust valve opens. If you have ever seen the exhaust ports you may have noticed and felt the floor of the port as it turns towards the exhaust manifold.. That inside radius is to sharp. It needs to be cut down so the flow is smoother. Again we can smooth out this area as much as we want. Actually the smoother the better the flow. Opening up the port works great. Now we are out of the head into the exhaust log.. Sorry but thats going to be a problem. Its a log jam of hot air usually under pressure because its working to spin the hot side wheel of the turbo as much as 120,000 + rpm... Now simple math will tell you thats oh... Around 2000 rpm per SECOND... Did you blink... That was probably 4000 rpm you just missed.. Bowl work is important too. Unless you were able to see what I did it hard to explain.. But its smooth flowing in every way. Give Barnett machine shop a call about the porting they do. I did my porting before I read about what they did. So I used some of what they do... But I port everything. Not just some of the ports. I was lucky. I worked in a power plant machine shop that was the size of 2 football fields. We had every kind of hand grinder and burrs available to man or beast. Every sanding roll made too. I had 6 differant air grinders in my tool inventory and if I needed or wanted more they were free for the asking. We could even check them out for home use.. Same with the actylene and oxy bottles... Bring them back mt.. Not a problem... Steal anything and your fired. Porting idi heads a waste of time.... Well only for those that think its so...

 

[Knuckledragger]

Some of these posts have made me scratch my head. I will attempt to straighten out some things I think I know about.

1) Aluminum OHV heads have been on gas engines for at least 50 years, some with better results than others. They aren't new.

2) Aluminum melts at 1280 f. It will not magically stay solid at 1600. That is why the crucial number on anyone's exhaust gas gauge is 1150, since it is downstream from the event. Any higher and you are looking at pistons with holes in the top.

3) The galvanic reaction can happen to some extent, depending on several variables. There are millions of aluminum heads on cast iron blocks that have a useful service life of 200,000 miles and more.

4) Aluminum and cast iron have a very similar expansion rate. At normal operating temperatures it insignificant. Molten aluminum has a shrink rate of .007 per inch, cast iron is about .010 (Iron melts at almost double the temperature of aluminum). Those numbers change a little in the casting process depending on shape and length, but are close enough that all of the automobile manufacturers have decided it is OK to use dissimilar metals in engine construction.

5) There is a significant difference in head porting and polishing. What Gary does is an aggressive polish job that undoubtedly helps air and exhaust flow, especially for the turbo engines. A port matching job is not necessary for the IDI simply because we do not have the concern the gassers do about atomization and fuel pooling. A smooth airway is all we need.

6) What good does it do to talk about not ******* in other people's cheerios and then go ahead and do it anyway? Your opinions count as much as anyone else, but don't wrap them in a **** sandwich. They lose their taste.

 

[sassyrel]

I'm no expert, but I believe it has to do with the heat dissipation properties, it may also have to do with the machinability though. As for the first reason, I would throw that to the wind because the first time the precup got to 1200* you could give up on those heads, and you have to remember that the precup is hotter than the combustion cylinder is hotter than the exhaust gas, so I would stick with what we have unless you plan on a coating of some sort.

mmmmmmm, the tdi vw, and the older vw dsl,,allllll had aluminum heads..............and these are high compression....i have three of them,,in various stages.......if someone built them for a idi,,they could be made to be direct....and the tdis..had zero problems with the head..only operater stupidity hurt them,i/e busted timing belt,,wrong oil,,etc..

 

[sassyrel]

Mazda RF 2.0L diesels used an aluminum head. Corrosion never seemed to be an issue, but the heads always cracked between the valves.

the engine used in the ****** fords...i had three,,and the one head i removed,,had no cracks whatsoever................i do know,,that any aluminum headed dsl,,you DONT want to shut down right after a hard run..should let them cool for a bit,,to remove any hot spots in the head..

 

[sassyrel]

So you say porting the idi heads is a waste of time or are you saying its not going to change any flow in or out... Hmmm OK.. I'm all ears. You probably have no idea what the exhaust ports look like in the idi head. I have spent plenty of time porting several sets of idi heads. Those that have seen the before and after ports know what it is. But many that have seen my work go to the ralleys or look at my porting pics. Am I offended by you comments... Nope... Not at all. My job here is to get the correct information out there for all to see. I have never nor will I ever hide any information. No secrets here. So now lets discuss some carectrustics of our diesel heads. Do you know we don't really need an intake manifold on the na engines.... All we do is allow air into the cylinders by being directed thru a manifold. Thats it... Now add a turbo to that mix and now you need a manifold. So we are boosting to say 13 lbs... Thats 13 lbs of compressed air waiting on top of the intake valve to rocket into the cylinder. As long as the boost stays at 13 lbs we have an infinant supply of this air at that pressure. We don't care how open the intake is. We loose nothing if its made wrong by porting it. We are not a gasser head where porting them wrong kills the flow. So now you have all this pressure in a cylinder and then its compressed and goes bang. Now get it out of there fast as you can when the exhaust valve opens. If you have ever seen the exhaust ports you may have noticed and felt the floor of the port as it turns towards the exhaust manifold.. That inside radius is to sharp. It needs to be cut down so the flow is smoother. Again we can smooth out this area as much as we want. Actually the smoother the better the flow. Opening up the port works great. Now we are out of the head into the exhaust log.. Sorry but thats going to be a problem. Its a log jam of hot air usually under pressure because its working to spin the hot side wheel of the turbo as much as 120,000 + rpm... Now simple math will tell you thats oh... Around 2000 rpm per SECOND... Did you blink... That was probably 4000 rpm you just missed.. Bowl work is important too. Unless you were able to see what I did it hard to explain.. But its smooth flowing in every way. Give Barnett machine shop a call about the porting they do. I did my porting before I read about what they did. So I used some of what they do... But I port everything. Not just some of the ports. I was lucky. I worked in a power plant machine shop that was the size of 2 football fields. We had every kind of hand grinder and burrs available to man or beast. Every sanding roll made too. I had 6 differant air grinders in my tool inventory and if I needed or wanted more they were free for the asking. We could even check them out for home use.. Same with the actylene and oxy bottles... Bring them back mt.. Not a problem... Steal anything and your fired. Porting idi heads a waste of time.... Well only for those that think its so...

ill have you to know,,you just pissed off,, the keyboard knowitalls on here...and thats my take,,by reading some of the posts..dont like it,,dont care..

 

[sassyrel]

6) What good does it do to talk about not ******* in other people's cheerios and then go ahead and do it anyway? Your opinions count as much as anyone else, but don't wrap them in a **** sandwich. They lose their taste.[/QUOTE]

you owe me a new monitor!!!!!! dang!!