Should I buy this non jet valve head?

[DNK70]

I was picking up some parts for my Raider and one of the desk guys at Autozone asked me if I wanted to buy a non-jet valve head he was running on a Conquest turbo. I'm kind of new, so I thought I'd ask the experts. Dependability matters more than performance to me at this stage, but a few extra HP wouldn't hurt. The head is complete and I'm not sure how many miles on it. He's asking $100. Should I buy it and if I do, how much extra work am I looking at installing that head versus just putting in the jet valve elimination kit (other than actually pulling off the head)? Is it worth the hassle?

[pennyman1]

the non jet valve head is the way to go over the eliminators - if the heads complete and there are no visible cracks between the valves, then buy it as a spare. It is definately worth the hassle to change the head if you think or have a blown head gasket or a cracked head. Check the head with a straight edge for flatness just to be safe.

[DNK70]

I'm hoping I don't have a cracked head. No oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil, but the radiator was about 2 qts low when I picked it up. Hadn't run in a bit from what I understand, so maybe the coolant was just trapped in the block...

Thanks for the info. I'm leaning toward buyng it.

[geezer101]

If the guy will let you, have a look at it. For $100 it is worth getting it just in case you need a good spare (and while it's on the bench you can go through the process of getting it inspected, replacing valve stem seals and giving the ports a tidy up) If you buy another jet valve head you will only end up spending the extra cash installing the jet eliminator kit.

[DNK70]

It may not have been such a great deal at $80. I broke it down today and the main cam journal is badly scored. I know the cam just rides on the head and rocker pedestals without any bearings, but I see cam bearings listed at parts stores. Do you just and overbore the cam journals and caps and install bearings? There's a guy in town who does good work pretty cheap, but I'm probably looking at another $150. This is getting to be worse than my Jeep was.

[royster]

RockAuto.Com sells a repair bearing for just such situations. You might look into what's available.

[geezer101]

I ran into the same issue with my G63B head. Cam journals were pretty badly worn but I think I had managed to bring it back into service myself. This is the break down of the method I used to remove the cam play in this post - it's not a step by step description with pics (I should've made the effort but I was so annoyed with the condition of the cam journals I just went straight into it) http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/showthread.php/2566-Intake-manifold-porting-question?p=32110&viewfull=1#post32110


(http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/showthread.php/2566-Intake-manifold-porting-question?p=32110&viewfull=1#post32110)