Cylinder Heads-Things You Should Know
Following is some vital information that you will need to be aware of when the tech man inspects your cylinder head. We always leave a margin but sometimes, the tech man can make a grave mistake.
1. Head gasket-Carry WD 40 into the tech room. Prior to removing your head gasket from the cylinder head, spray WD 40 all along the surface (whether it is head or block) that the gasket is stuck to (if the gasket is stuck). Sometimes the gasket can come apart and cause the measurement to be smaller than what is legal as a result of the gasket breaking apart when disassembling the engine. This can occur even though the gasket was legal to start with. It is what the tech man is measuring that determines whether you pass.
2. Cylinder Heads-Part 1-Before handing the tech man your cylinder head for checking, spray it with WD 40 and wipe it off with a clean towel that will not leave lint. If the engine is near wore out, sometimes you can have a large oil film build up (especially at the end of a long weekend or day), that can be wiped off easily.
3. Cylinder Heads Part 2-If the tech man comes up with a number reading on your cylinder head that may be illegal, challenge the ruling right there in the tech room, but do not piss- off the tech man. Make sure that you tell him, "I just want to make sure that somehow, your tools did not get mis-calibrated or something". Ask the tech man to "Zero" his depth micrometer on a know piece of flat bar stock. OR, have the tech man use another depth micrometer. Have the tech man measure the bar stock with a dial caliper to make sure that it is flat on the surface that he is "Zeroing" the depth micrometer on. If you are no successful with this, have the tech man measure the head with the bar stock across the head surface and his dial calipers. Any good tech man will give you the benefit of the doubt unless you are a jerk to him. BE NICE! He may not be out to get you!
If the number still comes up false, protest it immediately.
4. Cylinder Heads Again-Do not let the tech man over inspect your cylinder head. Sometimes the tech man is an engine builder and they may want to learn a thing or two. A good policy is to put the cylinder head away right away. Make sure he checks it fast and than get it away from him.
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