Fair head shop costs on the DOHC heads?

[jcar302]

Guys, my 03 cobra engine is completely apart. I have the heads with the blue paint on them.
Before the engine goes back together i'd like to have them checked out, since it's so tight in a fox that the engine may have to come out to get the heads off. In case of some kind of failure.

The guy doing my engine (shortblock) wants $500 just to just dissassemble/assemble the heads, no other work. Seems kinda of high to me. But what the hell do i know, i'm a pushrod guy.

I'm in no need of porting nor do i desire any port work, although i'm sure a valve job wouldn't hurt while they were apart.

Any repudable places to send these things?
Costs?
Thanks,
Joe

 

[FireRed04Vert]

That's a lot just to assemble and disassemble. I could make a pretty good living doing that!

 

[oldbones]

That is what my head port charged me for assembly. Then 1200 for cams, 400 for port work, not sure on the springs but I'm guessing $500, and 200 for new vavle guides.

 

[phreakness]

Steggie did a local guys heads pretty good. Just a nice rebuild and go through. I'll try to have him post in here.

 

[fasterthanyou]

Steggie did a local guys heads pretty good. Just a nice rebuild and go through. I'll try to have him post in here.

That would be me. $500 is about right. there is like 250 peices or something.
Stiegemeier Took mine apart, reshaped/welded a couple bowls, checked em out, reassemble, cleaned and bagged for $567.

Now if you actually want to redo them, ie new guides, seals, etc. your talking a min $1500. On the lighter side, it will remove the chance of the head tick(blue head doesn't matter, stock heads come with steel guides, which wear quicker than bronze and allow valves to "tick".) Bob is a great guy, known him a long time. Highly recommend him. has many years of head experience.


Why do you have the motor out and how many miles they have. the only reason i took mine to him was because I broke a couple pistons and it malled the heads all up. If they ain't broke......you know the rest.

 

[caveman6666]

Not a surprise after seeing one of them apart.

 

[jcar302]

Why do you have the motor out and how many miles they have. the only reason i took mine to him was because I broke a couple pistons and it malled the heads all up. If they ain't broke......you know the rest.

The guy i bought the engine from diassembled it. It's not going in a cobra, it's going in a 90 foxbody.

He even went as far as taking the shortblock apart, i had that checked out, and it's fine, but no point in putting the stock pistons back in. So that's being done as we speak.


Never heard it run, that's my concern here.

Engine builder says it looks to have little wear.

Is the head tick, just a noise, or is it damage?

Thanks
Joe

I may call steg, $567 seems like a good price, since you are actually getting some performance work from it.

 

[03yellow]

http://www.foxlakeracing.com/index....ds&PHPSESSID=94020d01244399e6c1eff9c42006ade6

 

[jcar302]

Thanks for the link.
I'll call them.
Their pricing setup confuses me a little in the 4v section.
$180 for 16 guides installed, so i'll assume i need 32?
And then i'll have to $275 for the heads to be reassembled?

Thanks,
Joe

 

[03yellow]

http://www.seanhylandmotorsport.com...id=93&osCsid=bc8dfa8279e9a0a918014098c148a5c7

For a pair.

 

[WDW MKR]

If spending any money on heads, you should really spend $1500 for the Jan05 version. They are the only heads that have improved coolant passages that prevent the tick. You can send in your old heads for a core return credit of something like $150, or you can sell the complete heads for $600-900 on the various boards. I did the latter.

 

[jcar302]

I spoke with the guy from Fox lake, really nice guy, also was very informative.

He says that generally the first run was the worst set, and they are the ones with all the guide problems.
He seemed to think that since i have the ones with the blue paint, that was a good thing.

Basically a valve job, brozne guides, seals, and blending would cost $1100.
Still a bit rich for my blood at the moment. I'm likely going to chance using them.

 

[WDW MKR]

I spoke with the guy from Fox lake, really nice guy, also was very informative.

He says that generally the first run was the worst set, and they are the ones with all the guide problems.
He seemed to think that since i have the ones with the blue paint, that was a good thing.

Basically a valve job, brozne guides, seals, and blending would cost $1100.
Still a bit rich for my blood at the moment. I'm likely going to chance using them.

Blue paint means nothing. It has been found on first and second run heads on various vehicles (i.e. Cobra, Mach1, Aviator). The only heads to address the cooling problems are the Jan05 release. Replacing the valve guides will make the heads more robust and is definitely a good idea, but it only band-aids a flow problem if you're using the older heads.

 

[Jimmysidecarr]

I agree with Ike on this issue also... If you are going to spend anything on heads get the new tick fix post Jan 05 over the counter heads...

Better coolant flow... and more spark plug threads... WIN WIN.

You should have no trouble selling your old heads for well more than the core value. Even the non tick fix heads are very much in demand.

10% over cost available right here-> http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=193978

:thumbsup:

 

[CobraBob]

Blue paint means nothing. It has been found on first and second run heads on various vehicles (i.e. Cobra, Mach1, Aviator). The only heads to address the cooling problems are the Jan05 release. Replacing the valve guides will make the heads more robust and is definitely a good idea, but it only band-aids a flow problem if you're using the older heads.

Like WDW MKR said, the blue paint stripe has no real meaning. It has been seen on early '03s, later '03s, '04s and occasionally on replacement heads. So we've learned to simply ignore it. LOL!

Like JimmySidecarr said, the most recent heads are the way to go. Eight spark plug threads are a plus. And I'll forever wonder why when Ford does the tick fix they only replace the one head. Oh, I know it's a cost savings thing and they will work fine mixed, but I personally would want BOTH of the latest heads, not just one. Especially if there was a design change. JMO.

 

[jcar302]

Well, i think still, i'm just going to use them, if they tick, i'll take it apart again. At this point by the time the car runs with this engine in it, i'll be 8K deep already, in just the engine.