B230F Cylinder head replacement. Head measurement specs.

[lifeofgold]

Hmmm, That is sooo funny! would you care to guess who sent me this head? I'll give you ONE guess.

[lifeofgold]

I have called said machine shop and notified them that I am returning the 531 head.

[93Regina]

..guess who sent me this head?

I would ask around about thermal straightening. Try Mercedes...

Even a tech article mentions it: Head Surfacing and Straightening

I could ask a Southern California mechanic, but I think you need to let your fingers do the walking.

[lifeofgold]

I'v known about thermal straightening for 20 years. When I first took the head down to the "hole in the wall" machine shop just to get it checked, we found the cam severely saddles out of alignment. His was just a small shop, and I could understand why he could not do the work. I was shocked when I could not find a shop anywhere in the area that would fix it, they all said they can't fix cam saddles. These were shops that have been in business for decades. I had to start to call shops in L.A. to start to get prices, and they were quoting prices of $500-$600 to completely do my heads. Yes, I knew I could find places, but I didn't think I had to search that far. The shop where I eventually ordered an exchange head was from L.A. (and look where that got me!). After I decided to just return that head and start over, I found another place online to get an exchange. I called first and (carefully) asked about the cam saddles. He immediately went into the thermal straightening process, etc., etc. This was a shop in a town with a population under 1000. They knew what to do, and do it. But here in Ventura county, the population is over 800K? What happened to the concept of "Professionals" doing professional work. Yes, I know I am starting to rant. It was funny that you happened to send me a link to the exact place that sent me the wrong head in a sloppy condition.

Thank you, 93Regina. I do appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.