cylinder head

[Jerry Roberts]

There was some discussion recently on cracked cylinder heads . I just recently replaced my cracked cylinder head . There was some standing coolant on the top of the head and on closer inspection I could see a hair line crack . I patched that crack up with some JB weld but another crack developed that spread over to a head bolt hole . After weighing the pros and cons and costs , I decided to install a NOS head from Vintage Power Wagons , it was $135 plus shipping . I paid more money than a used head would have been but I didn't have to clean rust , or check for cracks , or resurface . My NOS head is marked DT .

[Andydodge]

Well thats the first time I've heard of that happening......thanks for posting the details.....andyd

[mackster]

There was some discussion recently on cracked cylinder heads . I just recently replaced my cracked cylinder head . There was some standing coolant on the top of the head and on closer inspection I could see a hair line crack . I patched that crack up with some JB weld but another crack developed that spread over to a head bolt hole . After weighing the pros and cons and costs , I decided to install a NOS head from Vintage Power Wagons , it was $135 plus shipping . I paid more money than a used head would have been but I didn't have to clean rust , or check for cracks , or resurface . My NOS head is marked DT .

interesting, was your engine over heating before you decided to remove the head and inspect? I think the NOS head was a good choice, you can get an old head, clean it up, get it magna fluxed and find out is in worst shape than the one you want to replace. so its a good route to take.

on a lighter note:

I wonder how many crackheads are out there right now?

[Jerry Roberts]

[quote=mackster; " interesting, was your engine over heating before you decided to remove the head and inspect? " No , it wasn't overheating , I just noticed a wet spot and followed up on it . I did my inspecting with the head on the engine and drove the vehicle while deciding what to do as it was a very slight leak . Someone posted a link to a long article about a guy who took a shop class to learn how to rebuild his flathead engine . The author in the article had a cracked head that didn't show up with a magnaflux but did show up after a cleaning (beadblasting ?) . He replaced his head with a used one .

[Normspeed]

At that price the new head was a good choice. Imagine how bad that thing would have been leaking in a car with a pressurized cooling system!

When I had my engine apart I noticed that some helpful soul in the past had neatly welded up that pesky hole with the pipe plug over it. The one you can put a wire in and check the length of the stroke.

The shop checked the head and shaved it, it checked out good so I re-used it.