G52 head on a g54b??

[77amc]

I could have sworn that I posted this last night..

anywho, I finally got the max out for its' maiden voyage and was very disappointed. For all of the mods that I did, it couldn't even get out of it's own way! Had to go around the block just to get up speed to get halfway up my drive. Then, it started overheating up to 210!! SO I think that it cracked the head

Now, the real question.. Went to a yard and found a 79 d-50 (actually really clean, considering) and it had the G52 in it..
Looks, feels, smelled like a G54b. Will this head work on my 54b?
Are the valve sizes the same?

The odometer only showed (067332, if I remember right) and when I pulled the head, it was like it was glued on.. Had to bang on it just to get it to release.
Doesn't look to be cracked either I took the intake also just incase that they won't interchange. I'm thinkin of welding on a made up baseplate so I can mount a Rochester 2-barrel (that I got for free).

Please get back to me on this, 'cause I really don't want to be spending time porting it if it's not gonna work.
I"ll try and take some pics while I'm in there too.
Thanks. Errol

[MightyG54BTMax]

One day, we are gonna have to shake down the aussies for some m6 magna heads

[pennyman1]

Yes it will fit and raise the compression .5 to .75 of a point. The 79 to 82 g52b and g54b were the same astron engine family. This swap was even written up in the mopar performance engine book in the early 80's. Be sure to swap cams cause they are different. I have a fully prepped g52b to put on my 80 g54b with a mikuni muscle cam from john baker and all new valve train when it gets rebuilt. Its only been sitting for about 15+ years; its still running strong so I am leaving well enough alone.

[77amc]

OK, got it broken down and the ports are smaller, C-chamber and valves are smaller, and its' got mech rockers..
Intake WILL fit but the lower mounting holes have no provisions/bosses. And I'll have to do some 'trimming' to get the #1 Jet-valve out. I don't know how they got it on there without rounding off the 'hex' on it.

Can I swap my hyd rollers to this one? Just for giggles, I put a 52 ex valve in the 54's port and it won't go to seated..?
Shorter valves? Longer guides?

I'd like to pop this head on just to get her running reliable and driving, and have my other (ported one) welded up. I really dont' want to sit and port this one just to change it out later, but I think I'll have to do a port match to the exhaust (header) port
SO, The 54's cam I sent to Schnieder to regrind it and installed some rollers from a seller on Ebay. (Terry @Schnieders' stated that there are tons of them running rollers without problems)
It's a 272 equivilent and need to measure the lobes of each to see if it's gonna pose a problem..

I tossed on a weber conversion plate and it dropped right on but man, those little ports are even smaller than the plate!
I'm thinking of cutting out the intake and adapting a base for my Rochester 2-jet. That will have some velocity eh?

Later. E

[camoit]

So what was the out come? what problems did you have? Any Pictures? I just lunched the head gaskit on my 1980 2.6 d-50. I'm done dealing with the jet valve head. Please finish the story. If I can't find a new head I will cut the truck into tiny peaces and place it in the dumpster across the street.

[pennyman1]

You love chopping up things don't ya? There are lots of good heads for the 2.6 w/o jet valves, just get one and bolt it on! We can't afford to lose another 80 d-50 in good shape to the crusher.

[camoit]

Hey now. Lets be clear about this. I don't chop things up. I make a presidential adjustment..... Besides I just won a rebuilt 2.0l engine off ebay for the low low price of $20.00. I'll I will need to do is drive down and pick it up. I'll rip the head off, hog out the ports and shove it on my block. Just to get the DMV back into order it was $700. Thats more then the truck is worth.

[camoit]

OK everyone. Here is what I found out by taking detailed looks and some measurements. In regards to the intake and exhaust ports. They are the same size. Same bolt pattern. The only thing I found is on the 2.0L NON-Jet head there is a small hole that connects the exhaust ports together using a common rail in the head. Unknown why they did this. EGR?? As for the intake ports the 2.0 head is missing the cute little grove that connects the jet valves to the intake. The only BIG change is the depth of the combustion chamber and the exhaust valve is dished this gives it just a little more CC. This along with the extra depth of the combustion chamber makes it a 2.6. They might have a different rods but I'm not going into the block. So the answer for the early First Gen is MABE get a 2.0L head and stick it on your 2.6L but the fuel pump DOES NOT FIT. You will need a 2.0L fuel pump. the change over happened in 1983. Then there are some major changes. On the intake manifold the 2.6L has a tube for the air jet system. Just take a look and see if the port is blocked by a flat spot on the head and the gasket. Last is the fuel pump hole. It is just slightly different. Studs not bolts. I will update this page as I do the swap. NOTE Make sure you use thick gaskets. This will keep the compression the same. If necessary use shims. Take your head to a machine shop have them check to see how thick it is. If the head has been surfaced or planed you must a thicker head gasket. If you don't you can have timing chain problems. Then the chain is to long and the cam timing is retarded along with the adjuster out of speck. If the gasket is to thick then the cam timing is advanced, this is better then retarded. If unsure what to do go with advanced. You can corect this with ignition timing...... Use a 0.073 thickness head gasket if you have had any machine work to the head or block or the parts are not new thickness.

Tech Note
2.6L first gen Head 54.50 CC
2.0L first gen Head 55.90 CC
Mesured head thickness. Head gasket surface to valve cover surface.
NEW: 3.543 - 3.548 inchs
Minimum 3.523 inchs. Anything less your head is junk.

[pennyman1]

Thanks for the info and proving what I've been saying. When I find the Mopar performance book I have on this, I'll copy all the pages for 2.0 and 2.6 perf mods and post them. also use this link for gaskets: http://www.scegaskets.com/Mitsubishi/4G ... nding/true . They have many thickness gaskets for nearly any motor it seems.

[camoit]

Ok here is what I have found out about my head swap. The holes that are shown above will cause you a problem. IF, the only head gasket available is the narrow one. It’s ½ inch smaller.



If you only can get the narrow one this will leave the holes open for a big exhaust leek between the head and block. The passage that the holes are open to is for air injection into the exhaust system. You might be able to find the proper head gasket that will go all the way to the edge of the head. This will save you time and money. The air injection on early 2.0 car engines the air is sent into the timing cover just above the water pump on the left side of the block.



The air then is routed up to the head then flows through the passage to the hole and into the exhaust system. Newer engines just inject the air directly into the manifold and not through the head. So here is how I fixed the problem. There are several ways to fix the problem. One is it to weld the holes closed. You can have them welded at a shop. But for my application I went another way. I didn’t want to spend the money to weld it. I now have $1850 bucks into the project of getting this thing up and running again in a truck that is worth $600 bucks.
On with for the repair. How to fix the problem of the holes in the heads. To fill the holes I used some tapered drive pins.



I cut them down so there would be less to remove inside the exhaust port with the die grinder later. I then cut down the fat end and checked the fit. I wanted them stick out of the head just a little after setting then in with a hammer. I want them to protrude above the head surface somewhere around .080 of an inch.


With them sticking out of the head just slightly it makes them self-drive into the hole after the head is installed, locking them in place by the block.



There is no way they can fall out or come loose. I ground the pins down inside the port after tapping them into place.



After setting the head and torque down the studs I could check to see if my idea had worked. If all goes well then they should drive into the exhaust port just a few thousands. Here is what it looks like after installation.



I picked up some ARP 20,000 Psi head studs. They cause some small problems of there own. The valve cover won’t seat all the way down. This is due to the PCV oil baffle on the cover. All I did was bend the side tabs outward. They hit the shoulder of the nut it self. This causes a leak at the rear of the engine. The engine I have is a California engine. All I know is that it is a 2.0L that came from a car not a truck.




Now to finish up the swap I used the old fuel pump from the 2.6L just to plug the hole. I removed the pin, arm and spring, Now she runs just fine again.