Good head job?

[larson]

Why hasn't conestoga diesel taken on cylinder head work? I mean every other post lately has been about our IDI heads getting reworked or repaired.
This is just a random thought that I had just enough beers to post with no cares.
He Is the go to for IDI parts!!!

 

[snicklas]

Keep in mind, I'm not a machinist, but I believe head/engine machine work take somewhat specialized equipment.

For Example, Brian (IDIoit) has machining equipment for his "day job". But I don't think it can do head / engine kind of machining. What he has does its job VERY WELL, but on what it's designed to od.

Mel does have some machining equipment, but the stuff used to machine IP's and Injectors is different than what is needed to do head / machine work. He has A LOT of money invested in the machines for the IP business.... I think I read a comment from someone that the calibration machine (just 1 machine) for the IP's is something like $750,000 new....... and that's not the only machine you need.

Also, with the Iconnel Pre-Cups in the IDI heads, that stuff is REALLY HARD. There is a local machine shop to me, that has done / knows the IDI engine / heads, when Travis was in there getting work done on his SBC, he made a comment about having an IDI, and the guy smiled and said "I have the special cutter for THOSE heads"........

So as confident as I am that Mel would do a good job on IDI heads..... getting the equipment to do them, may well be cost prohibitive to try. Remember, he is a "pump shop", heads would be a side job..... the guy here with the cutter, has a full service machine shop.......... he machines "everything" not just heads for a very specific, and in all honesty, old engine. Not trying to imply that it's bad because its old, but the last "brand new" IDI is now 23 years old.... heck even my "newer" 6.0 PSD is 14 years old...........

 

[IDIoit]

as Scott said, its a completely different bag of tricks.
so many machine shops that are equipped to do this, it don't make sense to build and ship heads.
shipping prices would negate most people.

 

[Macrobb]

The other thing I'd really think about is:
Does it /need/ machine work? Does the head /need/ to be decked?

The heads that I've seen don't seem to really need it; The tolerance is actually pretty large(.005 in flatness across the deck per the manual), and if you *do* deck the heads, you have to recess the valves more to compensate - that's a *really* big issue if you don't want your valves pounding holes in the piston.

If you can get away with just having the valves/seats ground, or installing a new set of valves(Make sure the recession depth is correct!!!), it should be cheaper too.

 

[Rolling_slow]

Not what I thought it would be...

 

[austin92]

Not what I thought it would be...

Yeah.... head job he's talking about is way more expensive then the head job we were thinking about.... lol


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[FarmerFrank]

Yeah.... head job he's talking about is way more expensive then the head job we were thinking about.... lol


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Thats something that can be debated.


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[oilburner22]

My local machine shop quoted me beween $3-500 if they don't need all the valves replaced otherwise somewhere closer to $7-800

 

[larson]

Not what I thought it would be...

Lol the title got your attention right!!!!?
My job here is done