Tiny cracks between valve seats... a big deal?
03-30-2014, 01:35 AM
#1
Tiny cracks between valve seats... a big deal? I recently bought a set of Trick Flow heads as cores for Lloyd to port. I'm noticing tiny cracks between the intake and exhaust seats in some of the cylinders but not all. None of the cracks extent to where the valve meets the seat and some are barely visible by the naked eye.
Here's the worst one. I had to get up really close with the camera to get a good shot.
Lloyd says it's only cosmetic and there are people who have run heads for years with cracks in the same place without issue. I wouldn't be worried normally but what I'm building will see 12 psi of boost on a regular basis and I'm afraid that the extra heat generated will cause the cracks to get progressively worse. I'm about to dump a bunch of money into these things and need a second opinion. Who has run heads with similar defects and were there any problems? There's a lot at stake and I don't want to screw things up by being careless.
I know I can get the heads pin welded but it sounds expensive. The cheap *** in me is afraid the cost of the heads + port work + welding will be more than something better. Any idea what it will cost or if it's even necessary?
Here's the worst one. I had to get up really close with the camera to get a good shot.
Lloyd says it's only cosmetic and there are people who have run heads for years with cracks in the same place without issue. I wouldn't be worried normally but what I'm building will see 12 psi of boost on a regular basis and I'm afraid that the extra heat generated will cause the cracks to get progressively worse. I'm about to dump a bunch of money into these things and need a second opinion. Who has run heads with similar defects and were there any problems? There's a lot at stake and I don't want to screw things up by being careless.
I know I can get the heads pin welded but it sounds expensive. The cheap *** in me is afraid the cost of the heads + port work + welding will be more than something better. Any idea what it will cost or if it's even necessary?
03-30-2014, 01:56 AM
#2
TECH Enthusiast
this is related to LS heads but might be worth a read
https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...lve-seats.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...lve-seats.html
03-30-2014, 12:34 PM
#4
That's what I was thinking but I have seen them on a few different heads. I had a set of stock aluminum heads with 86k from a member here with and they had the same thing. I guess it's not too late to bail out and get something better.
