Corolla Head issues

I also posted this in the Corolla section.

I have a '96 Toyota Corolla that needs a new cylinder head (4AFE). The head that came from my engine has an egr port under the #4 intake port that feeds the egr through a passage in the intake manifold. All the junkyard heads around here do not have the egr port on the head. Is there a way around this?

If it helps, according to a manual for the 4AFE engine (in a Celica), I have a California emissions exhaust manifold. I'm assuming that is why my egr design is different.

The guy at my machine shop suggested using a "head saver shim" if all else fails. My head is warped 20 thousandths. I've never done this or seen anyone do this before. Any thoughts?

If the only problem is the head warping, then imo get the head machined to remove the warp and go for the shim.
A used head may have its own problems, like worn valve guides, cracks etc.

If your head had multiple problems, then sure, get a new one. But shaving a head and using a shim is no big deal. Just get the correct thickness of shim. Imo leave this to the machine shop. Have them order the correct shim and machine the head accordingly.

I ended up finding a head at a boneyard about an hour from here. Hopefully it checks out ok.

In the future, I'll consider the shim. Thanks.