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how many times can you machine heads?

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Old 05-31-2018, 07:08 PM
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Default how many times can you machine heads?

2004 Disco 2 4.6 124k

Doing a head gasket set on my 2004 d2. As I am taking the bolts out of the lower intake manifold the entire manifold sprung up as if it were under a ton of torsion.When the bolts all came out the manifold was free floating but I cannot get it out without removing the valve covers. The valve covers are overlapping the lower intake manifold. If the heads had not ever been machined I imagine they would be taller and this interference would not take place. This makes me think my heads have been machined and are now not lining up well with the intake manifold. Can anyone speak on this.
 
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Old 05-31-2018, 07:41 PM
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There is only a .01 - .02 tolerance for machining these heads. Just depends on how warped the heads are before having them machined.. Mine were fairly warped, machine shop did .014 decking -- even though they had never been machined before they can never be machined again.

 
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Old 05-31-2018, 08:09 PM
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What is the appropriate way to measure the heads if you don't know how much material was previously removed? I guess I just have to find the spec range and then have a machine shop measure?
 
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Old 05-31-2018, 08:14 PM
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Check cylinder head height at each end of

head. Renew a head which is outside limits.

a 22.94 mm (0.903 in) - New

b 62.56 mm (2.463 in) - New
 
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Old 05-31-2018, 08:57 PM
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If the heads were previously machined, any reputable shop should have stamped how much was removed in the corner of the head to save time the second go around etc.

To measure warpage, find a known flat / straight bar and place it diagonally across the head. With a feeler gauge, measure how thick / thin gaps are. Then do the other diagonal and measure again.

its easy to do and gives you a rough idea on how warped or not warped your heads are. Obviously machine shops have much better equipment to measure so this is mearly an estimation of what you can expect.

Given the milage of your disco, is just take them to a machine shop and have them work their magic and be done with it.

 
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Old 06-01-2018, 06:59 AM
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Valve covers have to come off before removing the lower intake manifold.
That's not a sign of milled heads.
 
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Old 06-01-2018, 08:23 PM
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Originally Posted by Saturnine
If the heads were previously machined, any reputable shop should have stamped how much was removed in the corner of the head to save time the second go around etc.

To measure warpage, find a known flat / straight bar and place it diagonally across the head. With a feeler gauge, measure how thick / thin gaps are. Then do the other diagonal and measure again.

its easy to do and gives you a rough idea on how warped or not warped your heads are. Obviously machine shops have much better equipment to measure so this is mearly an estimation of what you can expect.

Given the milage of your disco, is just take them to a machine shop and have them work their magic and be done with it.

where would they stamp the number
 
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Old 06-01-2018, 10:21 PM
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You can mill the heads as far as .015" can't you? Maybe .020"; I can't recall. It's in the overhaul manual. Easy to find. There's just a .002" tolerance, meaning no point on the head can be more than .002" lower than the highest point.

There's no set number of times you can mill or deck a head. It all depends on how much material needs taken off each time.
 
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Old 06-03-2018, 06:15 AM
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My local machine shop let me watch them mill my heads. It was neat! One head took 4 passes before the low points started getting cut. Each pass was milling .001" of metal off.

if you are using a thicker gasket such as the all metal Cometic instead of black silicon+metal skinny gaskets then you *want* more metal shaved off of your heads, too!



*thicker gasket gaps between block and factory head height reduce your compression ratio a little from factory
 
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Old 06-04-2018, 03:02 AM
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Originally Posted by No Doubt
My local machine shop let me watch them mill my heads. It was neat! One head took 4 passes before the low points started getting cut. Each pass was milling .001" of metal off.

if you are using a thicker gasket such as the all metal Cometic instead of black silicon+metal skinny gaskets then you *want* more metal shaved off of your heads, too!



*thicker gasket gaps between block and factory head height reduce your compression ratio a little from factory
But it also changes mounting angles for things like intakes which will lead to leaks. To much metal can also create valve to piston clearance issues.
 


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