Cylinder Head

[4MyEgo]

Anyone have any recent experiences as to the cost to shave the Cylinder Head of an engine ? 

 

 

Edited October 11, 2023 by 4MyEgo

[Liverpool Lou]

The cylinder head or the cylinder (block)?

Edited October 11, 2023 by Liverpool Lou

[4MyEgo]

12 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

The cylinder head or the cylinder (block)?

Cylinder head

[cjinchiangrai]

How long is a string? The actual milling job maybe 6000. The disassembly/assembly part could vary from 10k to 200k. Boring cylinders is going to be a lot more.

 

No such thing as a head cylinder, but there are cylinder heads. Are you sure you know what you are doing?

[4MyEgo]

3 minutes ago, cjinchiangrai said:

No such thing as a head cylinder

My bad, dyslexic, thanks for your input, but I did ask if anyone had any recent experiences with costs, guess there are too many keyboard, or should that read key bored warriors here wanting to answer everything except what one is asking.

[Liverpool Lou]

42 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

My bad, dyslexic,

Dysgraphia, surely?!

Edited October 11, 2023 by Liverpool Lou

[In the jungle]

Price more like 1K.

 

The key thing is to find a shop that knows what they are doing.

[BarraMarra]

Why do you want the Cylynder head skimmed ? Have you checked the Cylynder head Gasket? If your conviced the head is damaged you will need the Barrel skimmed too.

Edited October 11, 2023 by BarraMarra

[LS24]

1 hour ago, In the jungle said:

Price more like 1K.

 

The key thing is to find a shop that knows what they are doing.

Yes, a set up on a true horizontal plane and a skim is nothing for a well kitted engineering shop. I'd guess 1k wouldn't be far off the mark.

[kickstart]

2 hours ago, In the jungle said:

Price more like 1K.

 

The key thing is to find a shop that knows what they are doing.

That is the problem ,I know of some of our local garages that do cylinder re-bores ,we have a place near me ,but I have never heard of having a cylinder head skimmed.

It is a case just asking around,some one will know . 

[4MyEgo]

3 hours ago, In the jungle said:

Price more like 1K.

 

The key thing is to find a shop that knows what they are doing.

Would that be 1K baht ?

[Daffy D]

3 hours ago, BarraMarra said:

Why do you want the Cylynder head skimmed ? Have you checked the Cylynder head Gasket? If your conviced the head is damaged you will need the Barrel skimmed too.

No you don't. 

[MangoKorat]

3 hours ago, BarraMarra said:

Why do you want the Cylynder head skimmed ? Have you checked the Cylynder head Gasket? If your conviced the head is damaged you will need the Barrel skimmed too.

????  If the OP is talking about a car engine, he would have a hard time finding someone in Thailand that can skim a cylinder block.  In 25 years of being a mechanic, I've never heard of anyone having a block skimmed.  Besides, it would be virtually impossible to skim a lot of modern blocks as they are linered.

[MangoKorat]

1 hour ago, kickstart said:

but I have never heard of having a cylinder head skimmed.

Really? When I was in the business we'd have at least 2 heads a month skimmed.

[MangoKorat]

OP, can't help you with the price or who can do it but check out the tolerances with the manufacturer first.  Then have the surface measured to see what degree of warp there is.  Its not quite as simple as just having a head skimmed - especially if its a diesel.  There are tolerances and clearances to deal with some diesels run with valves so close to the pistons that just a few thou off can cause them to meet.  Again, with diesels you can cause 'knock' if you raise the compression too high (skimming raises compression).  Some manufacturers offer different thicknesses of gasket so as to be able to compensate.

 

Its not quite as easy as it sounds - a good engine reconditioner will know the tolerances and what's possible.  Never had the need to even try to locate an engine reconditioner in Thailand so can't help you with that either. Best I can suggest is ask a decent local garage - although I suspect most don't bother with recons - 100:1 they buy a s/h motor from a breakers.

[4MyEgo]

10 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

Then have the surface measured to see what degree of warp there is. 

There is a slight warp, hence the reason it has been sent off to get shaved/skimmed at a large factory that does this kind of work vs replacing the cylinder head with a new one, e.g. 30,000 baht, not that the price was an issue, it's just that the mechanic said that it wasn't bad enough to warrant a replacement.

 

13 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

if its a diesel.  There are tolerances and clearances to deal with some diesels run with valves so close to the pistons that just a few thou off can cause them to meet.  Again, with diesels you can cause 'knock' if you raise the compression too high (skimming raises compression).  Some manufacturers offer different thicknesses of gasket so as to be able to compensate.

Diesel it is, hopefully all works out, I was just looking at a rough gauge in price so as to know what expect, just on the shaving/skimming of the cylinder head as I already know what a new one costs.

[MangoKorat]

2 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

Diesel it is, hopefully all works out, I was just looking at a rough gauge in price so as to know what expect, just on the shaving/skimming of the cylinder head as I already know what a new one costs.

Hope all goes well for you - the mechanic should know that whatever is skimmed off the head, should be replaced by way of a thicker gasket. As per my other posts - this can be serious with a diesel where the clearances are so tight + the problems with knock.  However, not all engines are like that and hopefully your mechanic knows what's possible with that engine.

[In the jungle]

1 hour ago, 4MyEgo said:

Would that be 1K baht ?

Yes.  1K baht.

 

The work is done on a lathe which you will see in just about any machine shop.  It takes less than an hour.  The key is the skill of the lathe operator.  A lathe operator who does not understand the job or does not have skill in its use can turn your head in an expensive door stop in short order.

 

I have done this job on at least fifty cylinder heads in Thailand.  By 'done' I mean took the head to a shop that did the work.

[MangoKorat]

One other point I forgot.  Does the shop the head's gone to do crack detection? Unless it was clear where ther head was leaking (often is), the problem with a lot of diesel cylinder heads is cracking which is usually invisible to the naked eye or is up inside where it can't be seen.  Nothing worse than paying for the skim and labour and finding the original problem is still there.

 

In my experience, I'd say 20% of the diesel cylinder head problems that came in my shop were cracks.

 

A good reconditioner will have crack detection equipment - mine used to crack test every one before skimming.

Edited October 11, 2023 by MangoKorat

[MangoKorat]

12 minutes ago, In the jungle said:

The work is done on a lathe

A lathe? Nope, a milling machine/resurfacer. Lathes spin.

[BarraMarra]

1 hour ago, Daffy D said:

No you don't. 

Whats the point in skimming the head if the barrel is worn? you wouldn't put 1 brake shoe in Daffy would you ? you put a pair in. Thead or barrel can be damaged so you skim both.

[4MyEgo]

3 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

Unless it was clear where ther head was leaking (often is), the problem with a lot of diesel cylinder heads is cracking which is usually invisible to the naked eye or is up inside where it can't be seen. 

All I can say is that this mechanic came highly recommended, having previously worked for a large new car dealership as their head mechanic for over a decade and now has had his own very busy workshop for the last 5 years.

 

The above said, the car dealer that I purchased the car off new wanted to replace the cylinder head, along with just about everything else, which as you know, wouldn't be required, but would cover their a$$es at my cost so to speak. 

 

[In the jungle]

21 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

A lathe? Nope, a milling machine/resurfacer. Lathes spin.

Sorry.  Brain fade.  Milling machine is what I have seen used in Thailand.

[In the jungle]

21 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

All I can say is that this mechanic came highly recommended, having previously worked for a large new car dealership as their head mechanic for over a decade and now has had his own very busy workshop for the last 5 years.

 

The above said, the car dealer that I purchased the car off new wanted to replace the cylinder head, along with just about everything else, which as you know, wouldn't be required, but would cover their a$$es at my cost so to speak. 

 

He sounds like a good choice.  He, for sure, will know where to take the head.

[Ralf001]

1 hour ago, MangoKorat said:

????  If the OP is talking about a car engine, he would have a hard time finding someone in Thailand that can skim a cylinder block.  In 25 years of being a mechanic, I've never heard of anyone having a block skimmed.  Besides, it would be virtually impossible to skim a lot of modern blocks as they are linered.

Had a 3.0 Toyota diesel block skimmed after new liners installed.... and the head too.

Was a shop in BKK. will find the deets.

[Ralf001]

30 minutes ago, BarraMarra said:

Whats the point in skimming the head if the barrel is worn? you wouldn't put 1 brake shoe in Daffy would you ? you put a pair in. Thead or barrel can be damaged so you skim both.

car engines typically do not have a barrel.

[MangoKorat]

1 minute ago, Ralf001 said:

Had a 3.0 Toyota diesel block skimmed after new liners installed.... and the head too.

Was a shop in BKK. will find the deets.

Extremely rare to find a shop that can skim blocks - mainly because most milling mchines won't accommodate them. I was always told (by my recon shop) - never to attempt milling a linered block.

[Ralf001]

1 minute ago, MangoKorat said:

Extremely rare to find a shop that can skim blocks - mainly because most milling mchines won't accommodate them. I was always told (by my recon shop) - never to attempt milling a linered block.

Block skimming very common in engine shops.

[MangoKorat]

35 minutes ago, BarraMarra said:

Whats the point in skimming the head if the barrel is worn? you wouldn't put 1 brake shoe in Daffy would you ? you put a pair in. Thead or barrel can be damaged so you skim both.

No you don't.  Heads are usually either warped, cracked or both. Blocks don't warp but they can be damaged by a leaking cylinder head.

 

A warped head is repaired by skimming the surface level again.

 

Until the poster on here posted about his Toyota  block being skimmed, I'd never known anyone have one done.  Its extremely rare and most machine shops won't have a miller that can accommodate a cylinder block.

[MangoKorat]

5 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

Block skimming very common in engine shops.

In 25 years in the motor trade I have never known anyone have a block skimmed.  If things got that serious, I'd be fitting a s/h engine from a write off.