Need New Heads

[Grogan14]

Okay, I'm about 90% sure I have a cracked head in my '89 XLT. This truck has very little rust, and I bought it as an every day driver, so I reckon I'll stick with the 2.9 for now, and buy new or rebuilt heads, as opposed to go swapping in another engine.

I've read about the World heads, but does anybody have any experience with any of the heads available on Ebay, at all? The options there seem to be about half the price...

 

[UnderMedikated]

Aluminum Cylinder Heads.com

I have the same situation with my 1988 2.9.
I'm going to get new heads after the 1st of the year.
1989 and newer Ford 2.9 heads are redesigned similar to the "World" heads. I bought a head for my 1994 Dodge from Aluminum Cylinder Heads and they treated me very professionaly. They have reasonable shipping and don't charge a core unless you fail to mail your old heads back. You can get new castings from them also. 300.00 for a pair of 2.9 and they have coupons also.

 

[WhiteBroncoII2WD]

I have the same situation with my 1988 2.9.
I'm going to get new heads after the 1st of the year.
1989 and newer Ford 2.9 heads are redesigned similar to the "World" heads. I bought a head for my 1994 Dodge from Aluminum Cylinder Heads and they treated me very professionaly. They have reasonable shipping and don't charge a core unless you fail to mail your old heads back. You can get new castings from them also. 300.00 for a pair of 2.9 and they have coupons also.

very interesting web site

 

[UnderMedikated]

Was after the fact that the 89 2.9 heads still suck but not quite as bad. I'm not buying World Heads for my 88 due to the cost. I put in an Explorer radiator to replace my second factory Ford stock "POS" radiator. I'm no longer worried about overheating issues so reinforced heads won't matter much to me.

 

[Psychopete]

Was after the fact that the 89 2.9 heads still suck but not quite as bad.

Not all '89+ Rangers had the upgraded heads. There are some things to look for; I can't recall and am too lazy to search, but the information is around.

Pete

 

[90B24wd]

Just to let you know that the 89+ heads still do crack.

 

[Psychopete]

Just to let you know that the 89+ heads still do crack.

Yup, especially when the 89+ heads aren't the upgraded ones.

Pete

 

[UnderMedikated]

Cylinder head international?
340.00 pair includes shipping both ways.
I'm going this route. I could go to the local salvage yard as they have plenty of parts
but it would be a hassel and I still would need to get the heads checked/rebuilt. Some things are not worth it. The gasket set and head bolts alone are 100$ so i don't want to be doing this job twice.

 

[Tedybear]

Not sure if World Products still has these on sale or not?

But I had to replace both of ours already. With shipping for a pair of "BARE" heads? Came to just about $160 for the pair. (talked with the company rep via the phone. Nice guy, explained the reason for the severe discount was a supply and demand problem. They had/have a huge supply of the bare heads...and the demand dropped.)

It's a bit of a pain to transfer everything over, and yeah...you'll need to inspect the snot out of the valves/springs/etc... to ensure correct 'fit'. But I found it to be reasonable.

Local salvage yard cost here was about $69 per head with all the parts, however even they suggested stripping 'em down and having a machine shop give them a once over. (which would have run about $80 for the pair)

S-

 

[90B24wd]

Just bought a pair of bare 2.9L WP Heads off ebay for $125.00 each.

 

[MAKG]

Cylinder head international?
340.00 pair includes shipping both ways.
I'm going this route.

My experience with those clowns was VERY bad.

Make sure you inspect every specification.

And charge back your credit card when every last spec is out and they refuse a return. That's what I had to do.

Their "rebuild" consists of a one-angle valve reface. Period. The head I got from them had every valve guide bellmouthed, all the shims removed, and every exhaust valve recessed by 1/8 inch or more.

 

[UnderMedikated]

New Heads?

I will stick with AluminumCylinderHeads.com since they treated me good and the workmanship seems to be decent. I'll double check the world head prices also. They sell them as "new castings?".

 

[Grogan14]

After seeing the comments about Cylinder Head International, I'm thinking maybe I'll go with these, for $389/pair -

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem

 

[UnderMedikated]

This company has stock 2.9 heads

I may go with this company for the price of stock heads.
The 2.9 factory heads are <300.00 a pair delivered.

After seeing the comments about Cylinder Head International, I'm thinking maybe I'll go with these, for $389/pair -

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem

 

[UnderMedikated]

I'm looking for a long or short block for a good price. I'm looking for a stock unit.
If I replace my heads I might as well just go thru the block also. The cam bearings are probably worn at 141K and how do you check them in the engine? The engine has been making loud knocking/ticking/tapping noises on and off and it has been getting worse. The drivers side head appears to have a crack in it. I put dye in the radiator and my son drove it. It had dye around the drivers side rear plug threads. I'm trying to keep the cost down but just swapping heads after a crack is a crap shoot. I'm going to try a compression test but with the amount of antifreeze leaking am pretty sure that is the issue. The truck has been parked for a month while I decide how far to go with it. I also need to do some paint work.