Hey guys, gearing up to replace the head on my R53 next weekend.

The head I purchased appears to be in good shape, and has already been milled and had the valve stems replaced. I'm ordering parts today, and have a few questions:

• If I check the head for trueness with a gauge, am I okay to put it in without spending more of my already-very-small project budget?
• Should I have the valve guides replaced? What about valve springs? Cylinder head has 35k.
• Besides head gasket and head bolts, should I buy any other seals? I've already replaced injector o-rings, spark plug tube seals, VC gasket, and all the other gaskets external to the cylinder head.
• Is there anything else I should replace "while I'm in there"? ie. timing guides, oil pump, etc?

Thanks in advance!

 

If it's a good used head you for sure should replace the valve guides as they are the thing that wears out first.
We have a kit with just what you need as you should leave the injectors and everything else in the manifold so you don't need more.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/wmw-he...0-r52-r53.html

 

I'd recommend doing the valve guides, but if your budget doesn't allow, I believe you can replace them with the head on still. It'll be much more of a pain, but if your budget is super small then you can probably get by. Springs I wouldn't worry about unless you see them rusting. Most cars really never have spring issues - not really wear items.

See if there's a shop locally that can inspect it. The vast majority of us don't deal with heads frequently, if ever, and as such don't really know what to look for. There's a guy who did it for free for me locally. Even if it costs $50 or something, insurance well worth it. This is something I'd say is a must just to make sure there's no issues that'll cause you to redo this project in a few months.

If you've recently replaced the valve cover gasket, I don't think you need to redo it. The only thing I'd say is buy another cam gear nut as they're one time use.

If your timing guides are shot, I don't think you'll really be able to do them "while you're there". You'd need to pull the timing cover to remove all the pieces. That being said, if you notice any cracks or something developing, I'd replace them. Head doesn't need to come off to replace them down the line, though.

You can replace the timing chain tensioner since you'll already have it out, but it's fairly easily accessible so I wouldn't worry about it unless it's already noisy. Thermostat if you haven't done it and it's old. It'll be coming out anyway so no extra work there. I replaced my upper motor mount. You can do the serpentine belt/tensioner as well as you'll probably never have more room than when the head is off.

 

Yeah, you're right. If I've learned anything these last few months, it's that a little extra money/attention into checking that all parts are immaculate goes a long way. However, I don't think budget allows for valve guides, they're $16 apiece...will I be okay (replacement head has 35k miles)? I'll make sure to throw a new thermostat in, though.

I'll also make sure to check the timing guides for cracks.

 

Skip them then, especially since the seller listed them as being replaced. Although - where are you seeing $16 each? I got my genuine mini seals for $66 on Pelican and it is a kit for all of them.

The main thing I'd do is have a shop inspect it before you toss it in. That is the only thing I'd say is an absolute must. They should check for leaks, compression, trueness. If they say it's all good then I'd trust the seller and shop and not assume anything else is wrong. Valves/guides/springs aren't really wear items so I wouldn't stress too much about them. The only thing that's not replaceable with the head still on is the valves. So just make sure they're sealing well and motor on