04 C70 Head Replacement very basic question

[cuhfs]

1.) Interesting that the forum is exploding with a lot of head related issues.
2.) I have a beginners... basic question that may be too basic - but here goes...
I see everyone with a bad head is redoing them from scratch... i.e. rebuilding them themself or getting a re-manufactured or rebuilt head - etc. Clearwater Cylinder etc...

Question
Can't I just take a junk yard head from a same model engine and put it on my car and take my chances??? I see nobody speaks of that. Seems like every head at the yard cant be bad??? Obviously new head gasket would be done.

OR Is it because once you're in for all that labor pulling the head you want a known like new one? What if I don't care about "new" as long as its got a 90% chance of being good.

Thanks in advance for explaining this to me.

[Ozark Lee]

You aren't really missing anything but this is a very labor intensive job and there are several hundred dollars worth of bolts, gaskets, etc. involved. For much of that they are one and only one use items.

Much can be tested without the use of a machine shop. If you have a good true straight edge you can check the head for trueness from corner to corner and side to side with a feeler gauge. You can turn the head upside down and fill the individual crowns with water and do a "poor man" leak test (if the water holds and doesn't leak out of the intake or exhaust ports it is sealing OK). Between those two tests you can be about 95% sure the head is OK before you put it on.

If you are looking to get the car running and you don't plan on keeping it forever that is an acceptable route to go. If you are looking to drive the car for another 150k or so miles it makes sense to pay a machine shop to give it a once over for a couple of hundred dollars.

...Lee

[cuhfs]

Thanks. That's probably the way I will go for it (used - plug and play junk yard head). I'm thinking as follows:
1.) I may not make it another 150,000 miles (even if the car will)
2.) Even a reman / rebuild some people are reporting having had some problems (albeit they have may carry a warranty to fall back on).
3.) If I screw the job up my losses are reduced by several hundred.

Still trying to wrap my brain around what to do with my 2000 lb paper weight. (I.E. 2004 C70 Convert.- 120K miles.) Bought it for $1500 from a little old lady but shreded the serp belt and as the saying goes... the rest is history.

[misha]

Why is it history because of serpentine belt failure?Did it wrapped around crankshaft and pulled timing belt with it?

[cuhfs]

Wrapped around the crankshaft and must have skipped timing, 0 compression now after the serp belt shred.