deck or not to deck (heads)

92sclikenew

Registered User
surface looks pretty good i got the blue felt pro perma torque gaskets and arp head studs. i plan to at least run a scotch bright pad over it and spray the gaskets with copper RTV spray.


i read that this has been done but should i chance it? :rolleyes:the block wont get decked at all.

it worked with my first gasket job on the original motor..
 
If the block isn't getting decked then definitely deck the heads. Gives you a piece of mind at least.

And don't run a Scotch-Brite pad on anything.
 
You could just have it checked for straightness too. I like having them milled, but it's not always necessary (maybe not even USUALLY necessary).
 
In my way of thinking, if the engine is to be a daily driver and rebuilt to stock, You could get by without decking the heads or block, not recommended but it does work if you get it clean.

BUT if you are building the engine for more than just to tool around in, I would pay the extra for a full prep of both the block and heads. No sense in doing it again if it happens to fail while playing one night and you will be asking yourself why didn't I do the right thing later on :)

I know about that kind of questioning, lol ;)

just my 2 cents
 
You need to be careful if you deck the heads or have the block milled, the angle may change for sealing the intake manifold, require some milling to be done on the intake manifold for the new angle. Just to keep that in mind.

I would take the heads to a machine shop and have them checked for flatness. Based on what you find there, I'd then consider if you shouldn't also check the block deck before moving forward, or just leaving it.
 
If the block isn't getting decked then definitely deck the heads. Gives you a piece of mind at least.

And don't run a Scotch-Brite pad on anything.

i know what your talking about i seen that thread somewhere also but i have always used them and never had issues:eek::rolleyes::D
 
i wont get the block decked for sure it looks very nice:rolleyes:

the heads on the other hand i will.. just figured i would see what everyone thought about this idea!:rolleyes:



thanks guys!
 
You need to be careful if you deck the heads or have the block milled, the angle may change for sealing the intake manifold, require some milling to be done on the intake manifold for the new angle. Just to keep that in mind.

How much material would have to be removed from the heads for this to be a problem.....

I am asking this because I have a few sets of heads and I don't know their history....

If they have been resurfaced once already and I go have them resurfaced again to put on another engine, am I going to run into any intake issues....

Is there any way of measuring how much material has been removed from a head, like a 0 point to measure from....:confused:
 
How much material would have to be removed from the heads for this to be a problem.....

I am asking this because I have a few sets of heads and I don't know their history....

If they have been resurfaced once already and I go have them resurfaced again to put on another engine, am I going to run into any intake issues....

Is there any way of measuring how much material has been removed from a head, like a 0 point to measure from....:confused:

i wouldnt know how to measuer them to tell you but i would say a few times would be enough to cause an issue i would think.. it would also depend on how much was taking at each time to get them right.
 
i know what your talking about i seen that thread somewhere also but i have always used them and never had issues:eek::rolleyes::D

I used it on the block of a 3.8 during a HG job ... but I never tried it on the heads! (The job in question hasn't failed, 11 years and 80,000 miles later.)
 
I used it on the block of a 3.8 during a HG job ... but I never tried it on the heads! (The job in question hasn't failed, 11 years and 80,000 miles later.)

ive done it to the car stock with the stock heads stock block. not sure of the history of the block im using but it looks good.

i have a set of coy miller stage 2 heads that i bought used and someone already hit them with a pad.

i was thinking of hitting them again and installing :rolleyes:
 

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for the cheap cost to get them decked, its worth it. I got a used set of ported heads, im sure they were fine, but i got them decked anyways. Just one less thing to worry about.
 
How much material would have to be removed from the heads for this to be a problem.....
...

Is there any way of measuring how much material has been removed from a head, like a 0 point to measure from....:confused:

I'm not sure. I know when I had my block milled to set the deck height and the heads done, it needed to be considered. That's about all I'm saying is that if you start getting work done, don't forget to think about that.

I don't know if anyone has measured stock heads to see what they are. My guess is there is some variability in them from the factory.
 
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