Heads. Side specific or not??

[cotchnobra]

So I have been trying to figure out if the heads are specific to the driver or passenger side or if they are interchangeable. With there being no differentiation in the part number to call out driver or passenger side I would believe them to be interchangeable. From looking at many pictures it seems that the only difference is how you set the cam in the head and which coolant/oil holes are open and which ones have plugs. If there is a difference in the driver and passenger head, what are the differences?

 

[Revvv]

Valve orientation, cam shaft rotation, and on and on.

If you swap heads from one side to the other, and it works, let me know.

Sent from my [trashcan S5] using the svtperformance.com mobile app

 

[Soap]

Is this a serious question?

You say you "have been trying to figure out"? This should take you about 2 seconds to come to a definitive answer.

The entire head is a mirror image of the other side. It is 100% impossible to install a LH head on the RH side or vice versa.

--Joe

 

[jrgoffin]

So I have been trying to figure out if the heads are specific to the driver or passenger side or if they are interchangeable. With there being no differentiation in the part number to call out driver or passenger side I would believe them to be interchangeable. From looking at many pictures it seems that the only difference is how you set the cam in the head and which coolant/oil holes are open and which ones have plugs. If there is a difference in the driver and passenger head, what are the differences?

Go here: Castings

Is this a serious question?

You say you "have been trying to figure out"? This should take you about 2 seconds to come to a definitive answer.

The entire head is a mirror image of the other side. It is 100% impossible to install a LH head on the RH side or vice versa.

--Joe

Not entirely true. The early heads were used on both banks, albeit with the cams swapped and the reversal of some plugs. Even the LH specific DA head had been modified and placed on the passenger bank of some 10th cars. It was the DB and DC heads that were specific to each side since the oil plugs were not pre-drilled to allow swapping.

 

[Revvv]

Go here: Castings



Not entirely true. The early heads were used on both banks, albeit with the cams swapped and the reversal of some plugs. Even the LH specific DA head had been modified and placed on the passenger bank of some 10th cars. It was the DB and DC heads that were specific to each side since the oil plugs were not pre-drilled to allow swapping.

Assembled in an operational configuration, the heads are still side specific.

Sent from my [trashcan S5] using the svtperformance.com mobile app

 

[Soap]

Not entirely true. The early heads were used on both banks, albeit with the cams swapped and the reversal of some plugs. Even the LH specific DA head had been modified and placed on the passenger bank of some 10th cars. It was the DB and DC heads that were specific to each side since the oil plugs were not pre-drilled to allow swapping.

Joe,

Correct but my point is referring to heads that are around today. It would be a unicorn to find a bare head today. Any head out there now already has the appropriate oil passages and restrictors and therefore can only be installed on the appropriate bank.

--Joe

 

[cotchnobra]

Not entirely true. The early heads were used on both banks, albeit with the cams swapped and the reversal of some plugs. Even the LH specific DA head had been modified and placed on the passenger bank of some 10th cars. It was the DB and DC heads that were specific to each side since the oil plugs were not pre-drilled to allow swapping.[/QUOTE]


Thank you!

 

[jrgoffin]

Assembled in an operational configuration, the heads are still side specific.

Sent from my [trashcan S5] using the svtperformance.com mobile app

Of course they are, but the OP wasn't entirely specific. It doesn't take much to swap cams and plugs, if he happened to have the mechanical know-how to get that far.

Joe,

Correct but my point is referring to heads that are around today. It would be a unicorn to find a bare head today. Any head out there now already has the appropriate oil passages and restrictors and therefore can only be installed on the appropriate bank.

--Joe

Possibly, but there are a lot of the earlier heads (i.e., AF & AG) that will fit the bill. If anything, the DB & DC heads are the ones getting scarce. Again, all depends on the wrenching skills of the OP.

 

[cotchnobra]

Of course they are, but the OP wasn't entirely specific. It doesn't take much to swap cams and plugs, if he happened to have the mechanical know-how to get that far.



Possibly, but there are a lot of the earlier heads (i.e., AF & AG) that will fit the bill. If anything, the DB & DC heads are the ones getting scarce. Again, all depends on the wrenching skills of the OP.

The mechanical work of swapping the cams and plugs is no big deal for me to do. My biggest concern would be what would have to be done for the oil plugs in the DB & DC heads to turn a driver side into a passenger side? will this require drilling and tapping oil passages or just moving the oil plugs around.

 

[jrgoffin]

As mentioned in the link: the later heads need to be drilled and tapped for the plugs.