machine'ing a head ...

[nemo_wolf]

Alright so i cant find a new car to buy so im gonna repair my civic. I talked to a mechanic today and he said since i have a sock zc with low miles it might be better to machine the head and replace all the internals while their at it.

my question is how much does machining a head cost in your area so i can price comparison. dude said something along the lines of 300 or 350 for it. with labor and all the parts end cost of about 650-700. im wondering if im really getting a deal on this.

[lilol89crx]

650-700 i say there raping you.....head work here ranges from 50-250 depending on whats done. full head rebuild runs 250 here. for the total there quoting you why not step up to a dohc zc? BTW what all you gettin done?

[91civicDXdude]

i paid $45 to get my head checked/milled flat and cleaned. I put the head back together myself because i brought it to the shop stripped.

$25 to check/mill
$20 to steam clean

[XxLuckyLisaxX]

what does mill mean

[nemo_wolf]

my smogs up this year i think so dock zc is completly out of the question. and im not gonna go on a mad search in two years for an engine just to pass smog and put it back in.

im bringing in the whole car, while they have the engine taken apart they are doing alot of the internal work like valves seals and water pump... ect ect. they are doing all the work. dude was talking in spanish kinda fast so i didnt pick up everything but i think for all the work its gonna be 650 or something.

did i mention they are pushing all the other work they have back to work on mine asap?

[91civicDXdude]

thats still kind of high dude.. i did my valve seals at my house and put all the springs and valves back in, as well as clean the valves and relap them into place. the only thing they will be doing is cleaning, checking for flattness, and milling the head, and *possibly* redoing valve guides, but that is worth about $75 total. sounds like they are ripping you a new asshole.. i even got mine done from a redneck podunk shop that specializes in v8s and shit...

[nemo_wolf]

ill call another shop tomarrow and see what they qoute.

[91civicDXdude]

just make sure to strip the head bare when you take it in. that way theywont charge you for dissassembling and reassembling the head. If you have a valve spring compressor, the valve springs will be quick work, even though i just had a friend use a straight screwdriver and push down on the valve springs while i removed the keepers and installed them the reverse of that.

Anyways, bring them a bare head so all they do is clean and mill it, so that way you have a good valve seat to work with. then, using some emory cloth (or i used sandpaper) put the valves into a drill and turn them while holding the sandpaper against the valve, but be careful not to go too far down the stem.. just clean the valve back and face decently. put assembly lube on the valve stem and valve lapping compound on the valve seat, then put the valve into the valve guide. attach the drill again to the valve, pull up with a slight pressure while spinning the valve in its seat. remove the valve, wipe it totally clean, put more assembly lube on it, and replace the valve, then the spring, then the retainer, and finally the keepers. repeat with all valves.

[cot]

I brought in my head basically as is, and the guy took it apart, machined it, ground the valves, etc. and put the springs back on and it cost $300.

I think that's pretty reasonable at least in this area, though you could save some money by doing some of the work yourself I guess.

[nemo_wolf]

Originally Posted by cot

I brought in my head basically as is, and the guy took it apart, machined it, ground the valves, etc. and put the springs back on and it cost $300.

I think that's pretty reasonable at least in this area, though you could save some money by doing some of the work yourself I guess.

yea, see i dont have tools or the know-how to do anything myself when it comes to the engine. thats why its costing me so much cause im basicly pulling in the car and letting them go to town on it. im sure if i could manage to get the head off myself it would be cheaper. thanks alot cot now i dont feel so bad about paying that much for the machining.


i called my normal shop and they said that if i machine the head it wouldnt seat well with the lower block i guess. i was wondering if anyone had this kinda problem before? cause he said it was hit or miss and i might end up fucking up the whole thing. he also said it might work now but might break down on me later. i think he was pushing for the engine swap more then the rebuild but i odnt know so ...

[91civicDXdude]

since you're already giving up your firstborn, you might as well get the block decked to guarantee you wont have any problems, although you shouldn't have any, anyways.

[nemo_wolf]

Originally Posted by 91civicDXdude

since you're already giving up your firstborn, you might as well get the block decked to guarantee you wont have any problems, although you shouldn't have any, anyways.

decked ??? okay maybe i need someone explain this to me more. Okay i figured they would grind or something the valves straight. polish it up and bam done. whats this decked you speak of?

[amy@af]

Originally Posted by nemo_wolf

i called my normal shop and they said that if i machine the head it wouldnt seat well with the lower block i guess. i was wondering if anyone had this kinda problem before? cause he said it was hit or miss and i might end up fucking up the whole thing. he also said it might work now but might break down on me later. i think he was pushing for the engine swap more then the rebuild but i odnt know so ...

when i saw this subject i opened the thread with the sole purpose of bringing up this topic....

let me try and put this in simple terms. you're taking the head down to be machined because it is warped from overheating. the head is mounted to the block. if the head is warped then (in theory) the block should be warped as well. you have the head machined and don't take care of the block then you will have a flat surface meeting up with a warped surface. the head gasket won't get a good seal. you're guy is right.....to a certain degree. who's to say how badly your stuff is or is not warped until it's taken apart and inspected.

if your stuff is warped, it would be cheaper to just yank the bastid.

[91civicDXdude]

decked is the process where they "mill" the top of the block to insure that the tops of the cylinders are flat and will mate with the newly milled head, and also that the block sides are straight and true to make a good mating surface and to seal the water jacket tight.

[cot]

Yeah, you know what - labor's expensive and there's a reason!

If it's a good mechanic, they should know what they're doing, and if you can spare the money it's awfully nice to have the peace of mind that it gives you (if anything goes wrong, its their problem)

its fun to work on cars as a hobby, but sometimes when you have other things to do, it's nicer to just be able to get where you need to go without worrying about that repair you just did.

Someday I hope to have the time/room/money for a separate project car, which would eliminate a lot of that down side of doing my own work.