Whats your opinion on this situation guys?

I bought a cylinder head off a fellow member who i won't name. It was intended to go onto my spare engine to sell on. I asked if it was all sound and was ready to bolt on etc. He confirmed and so i went to pick it up. I had a few other issues but i won't go into detail about that to much.

Anyway ended up having to use it on my own car so decided to get it cleaned and checked professionally. The specialist got back to me and told me the head wasn't as sound as i was made out to be. It needed two valves changing and other bits and pieces needed to make it at least half decent. I was desperate to get my car back on road so put a request out to see if anyone had any decent heads. Since i had no good leads i gave the go ahead to the engineer to carry out the work. Minimum work needed to carry out was quoted at 360ish. Or full works to make like new would have been 560 +plus parts.

Now here is where i would like your opinion. Is it right for me to ask at least a partial refund from the seller? He did offer me the other head he had which he even said wasn't as good as this one in his opinion. But then if i went ahead with that i would of had to payed to pick that up then payed to get it cleaned an checked all over again hence why i went the route i did.

I think i am now being ignored by said seller so thought i would see what you guys think before i went any further.

What is being done for £360 ish ?

Has it been hardness tested and also how flat is it ?

Did you contact the seller to tell them it needed x amount

spending on it to make it serviceable ?

Can you PM me the name of the seller please? We have somebody we are keeping an eye on and this has their hallmarks all over it.

thanks

£360 seems a lot, what did they do? I had my head cleaned, tested, all valves re seated, cams fitted and shimmed for £220.

In my eyes it's always a risk when your buying used engines or heads And i would expect to get them or checked etc first. Maybe a good will gesture from the seller would be a good idea?

What is being done for £360 ish ?

 

Has it been hardness tested and also how flat is it ?

 

Did you contact the seller to tell them it needed x amount

spending on it to make it serviceable ?

Well just after getting back from picking it up now the total came to £570!

It was cleaned and stripped

Pressure tested - passed

4 valves refaced

4 valve seats recut

lap in/ vacuum test valves x24 - passed

skimmed .012

re-shimmed

tappet shim (exchange)

valve stem seals changed

re-assembled

This is a well known and established machine shop that a lot of the main dealers/garages use and i have no doubts in his work if he says it needs doing then it gets done.

Yes i contacted the seller before i went ahead with it and told him my plans.(Now responding)

Why did the 2 valves needing replacing? Any pics of the head before the work was done?

Unfortunately I think it's buyer beware when buying used parts like this, the only way you could be 100% sure it was okay would be to have had it checked by a mechanic before handing over the money. If the head was warped and basically scrap then you'd have a good reason to be annoyed and to seek compensation but parts such as valves and valve seals wear with use and on any used head (of this sort of age) it's good practice to have it cleaned up, tolerances checked, valve seals replaced and valve seats recut before fitting regardless.

£360 seems a lot, what did they do? I had my head cleaned, tested, all valves re seated, cams fitted and shimmed for £220.

In my eyes it's always a risk when your buying used engines or heads And i would expect to get them or checked etc first. Maybe a good will gesture from the seller would be a good idea?

This is exactly why i had taken it to my local machine shop. I wanted it cleaned and checked thats when i found out all the issues it had and with no other decent head available i bit the bullet and had it fully rebuilt. Yes thats what i am hoping but i wanted to know if i wasn't being to hasty and if i am in the right to ask at least some money back.

The 0.012 is inches i'd assume which is 0.3 mm, if the head was warped that much

to clean up the face then i would say it's scrap, did they run a clock down the cam

journals to see how inline they are ?

Why did the 2 valves needing replacing? Any pics of the head before the work was done?

 

Unfortunately I think it's buyer beware when buying used parts like this, the only way you could be 100% sure it was okay would be to have had it checked by a mechanic before handing over the money. If the head was warped and basically scrap then you'd have a good reason to be annoyed and to seek compensation but parts such as valves and valve seals wear with use and on any used head (of this sort of age) it's good practice to have it cleaned up, tolerances checked, valve seals replaced and valve seats recut before fitting.

They were bent i have all the parts i box if the seller wishes to see them he is also very welcome to speak to the machine shop to which i can provide phone number address and website to.

YES! this is exactly what i said i have done i haven't fitted it to my car yet i am only after getting it rebuilt after it was inspected etc and told it needed work.

The 0.012 is inches i'd assume which is 0.3 mm, if the head was warped that much

to clean up the face then i would say it's scrap, did they run a clock down the cam

journals to see how inline they are ?

wasn't so much warped it was to remove some pitting on the face or something along them lines

i had similar issue 2yrs back but abit more indepth!! i would of taken it back. but as its done i would want some money to cover costs!! but i doubt it.

wasn't so much warped it was to remove some pitting on the face or something along them lines

That's good news then

ALWAYS hardness test used heads, and check block face and cam journals for straightness. Price sound reasonable for the work done. The head and pistons / bores are the heart of a good engine. These engines are now of an age where most heads need new guides or, preferably, the existing ones linering, for various technical reasons. Sometimes a new casting makes financial sense.