G54B non jet valve head

[H8PVMNT]

So from what a gather if I rebuild my 89 g54b I want to use a non jet valve head from the 81-86? These seem to be available all over and they bolt up correct?

[xboxrox]

Not sure BUT I recommend Clearwater Cylinder Head Inc. in Florida
Click on my member name XBOXROX and see my cylinder head thread...

[Law Dog]

The last new g54b head I bought was like $600

[Fingers]

Or you could spend $30 on a jet valve eliminator kit.......

[Law Dog]

I have a new kit out in the shop.

[SubGothius]

Or you could spend $30 on a jet valve eliminator kit.......

Which doesn't eliminate issues w/ jet valve heads (aside from the jet valves themselves), such as increased propensity to crack the thin walls around the jet valve inserts, due to differing thermal expansion of the aluminum head and steel jet valve/eliminator inserts.

[H8PVMNT]

Yeah I'm into the truck a cord of fire wood and a few bits and pieces. It burns a lot of oil so I thought I would rebuild the engine. Reading on some starion boards it seems the jet valve head has cracking issues . I love driving the ram 50 so I thought I might as well do as good a job ad I can on the rebuild. 600 bucks isn't that bad to eliminate the only real durability issue.

[FMS88]

How many miles on the truck? Have you performed compression and leak-down tests? The high oil consumption could be due to bad valve stem seals rather than worn rings.

[H8PVMNT]

Has about 160k on it. It

[H8PVMNT]

Burns about 2 quarts per tank of gas.

[FMS88]

Burns about 2 quarts per tank of gas.

Yeah, that’s bad and hard to attribute that kind of consumption to just bad valve seals.

[Law Dog]

Famous for head gasket problems I’d look there maybe.

[xboxrox]

FMS & H8P
My truck was using almost 1 qt of oil per gas fillup ~ 1,000 miles after the new head install the truck uses no oil anymore ~ so far anyway ~ compression 140 140 130 120

[Fingers]

My 2.6 head cracked between the valves in both middle cylinders, but were fine around the jetvalve. But since it is cracked, I might as well find a non-JV head.

[xboxrox]

My 2.6 head cracked between the valves in both middle cylinders, but were fine around the jetvalve. But since it is cracked, I might as well find a non-JV head.

The old head on my truck also had those cracks between the valves ~ eventually coolant became pressurized showering out of the coolant overflow tank & out the tailpipe ~ I was forced to buy a new cylinder head ~ ALSO needed to replace coolant temp sensor, O2 sensor AND remove one plugged catalytic converter ~ PLUS discovered & fixed the disconnected (at the intake manifold) vacuum hose that operated the air intake flapper valve that draws hot air from the exhaust manifold when the engine is cold ~ WELL the bi-metallic vacuum switch (valve) inside the air cleaner that operates that hot air flapper DID NOT work anymore ~ THE FIX block off vacuum where the hose connects to the flapper valve nipple (no vacuum keeps the flapper open allowing the engine to get cooler air from outside the engine bay ~ my truck was always drawing hot air and I had no clue) about it ~ I FINALLY got lucky fighting trying to discover why my truck still had a nagging intermittent miss ~ damn near everything needs to be inspected/tested to get results; especially vacuum hoses ~ LASTLY even tho a 1986 ECM is primative I (think?) my ECM took two days (16 miles total) driving to recognize my vacuum leak fix ~ I dunno

Hope this helps your decisions

[H8PVMNT]

Truck started burning more oil. I'll rebuild it shortly. Ordered a non jet valve head from an ebay seller odessa cylinder heads. Appears to be from Clearwater FL. 485 all new everything.

[xboxrox]

About 250 miles after my cyl head install, I changed to full synthetic oil for high miles engines plus a zinc additive... Supposedly the Chinese cams are soft metal is reason for my using new type oils... My truck stopped using oil after new head install... I hope to retain the original Mikuni carburetor w/ O2 sensor & ECM but an odd varying intermittent miss makes me understand why many folks install the Weber carb...

I watched several YouTube videos about installing a cylinder head USE NEW head bolts..!

Good Luck
George

[Law Dog]

Look into head studs instead of the one time bolts you can use them more than once and they take more foot pounds.

[H8PVMNT]

I'll check out the head studs.

[xboxrox]

Respects to Law Dog and I'm thinking don't over torque the head ~ 3 steps 1st & 2nd cold engine 3rd step hot engine ~ idiot me figured it not needed to bolt on the valve cover ~ BIG oil mess everywhere !!! Before placing the new head gasket blow compressed air down into the block's head bolt holes & use some oil on the new stud threads & under the bolt heads ~ there is a specific sequence which bolt to tighten ~ I could be wrong but (ARP?) studs might cost more than stock bolts ~ O'Reilly's supplied me the new head bolts...

Most Respectly,
George (non mechanic)

[Law Dog]

When I see a g54b not running I think head gasket when I see a 3.0 not running I think computer now. I did the stud kit and laminate head gasket on my last build never had any issues until it burnt up in a fire a couple years later. One thing with the studs is to clean the block bolt holes out to get the studs in correctly or the back valve cover can hang up on the breather shield if it’s not fully in place causing the valve cover to not seal correctly.

[SubGothius]

G54B head bolt torque sequence:

[H8PVMNT]

Thanks!

[H8PVMNT]

Head came today. It shipped from CIFIC Auto Inc in Brea, CA. Looks good to me.20230511_191356.jpg

[xboxrox]

Looks good

You have the adjustable tappet style rocker arms ~ YouTube and Kevin owner of Clearwater Cylinder Heads Inc. says that most all heads including the camshafts are made in China and (cams) are a softer material ~ for that reason after putting about 250 miles on my new cyclinder head assembly, I changed oil and filter to Castrol high miles synthetic and added a zinc dppt (?) additive ~ I think the rocker arms on these heads are a slipper (?) type that can cause camshaft wear rather quickly ~ the zinc additive hopefully helps prolong the cam life...

Gotta use new head bolts blow out the block head bolts holes with compressed air & use acetone or other cleaner to get the block and head sqeeky clean before bolting down the head ~ and use a few drops of oil on the head bolt threads and a drop of oil where the bolt head touches...

Might want to consider all new coolant after the install too...

My truck stopped using oil after the new head install
GOOD LUCK