How hard is it to fix a cracked aluminum cylider head?

emanaresi · Post by **emanaresi** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 2:41 pm

I have a cracked head on my bmw m3! It is cracked from the coolant passage to the valve seat and I would like to have it fixed. I can;t seem to find a machinist who is comfortable doing it. Is this an extremely difficuolt repair? I know there are a lot of good experienced machinist on this board and thought you might have some input!

Thanks for your time.

Evan

Bill Hincher · Post by **Bill Hincher** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 4:22 pm

cracks are very hard to repair, its not because of the machinst, but because of the welding.
If the head is cracked, how many other places is it cracked? if you weld a crack, you can spend untold hours tracing down the very end of the crack.

Its a wiser investment to replace the head

Post by **DJpowerHaus** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 5:03 pm

My uncle does that kind of stuff. Usually its cheaper to replace it. The only reason people send parts to him is because they are using fully prepared race heads that would just make your jaw drop.

lonestarion · Post by **lonestarion** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 11:42 pm

actualy, cracks dont run in aluminum like the would in cast iron or steel.
most machinist dont repair heads, head repair shops do, or enginge shops
i have seen a few repaired heads last longer than the car. anyway pending your location most cities have head repair shops, and some specialize just in heads.

"IF" its done right it wont ever give you any problems. the crack should be cleaned out & opend up to get enough filler metal in durring the weld process. some aluminum casting dont weld to easy, some do.

being that you have internet access, visit your local www.yellowpages.com
or www.whitepages.com to help you find a head repair shop in your area.
searching for "aluminum head repair"