Just wanted to thank everyone for the help with my Head Gasket questions. I got it all apart and the head is ready to be takin off ( started to rain ). It has really been a lot more simple than I thought, I have everything put in plastic bags and marked. How much does it normally run to have the head trued up? And to groove it for an O-ring? Thanks yall, if everything goes ok I'll be getting studded and O-ringed with a good ale marine gasket and puttin on a HTB2 62/14. Will I feel a good power gain to the ground do yall think. With my plate forward I could hit 48 lbs with the HX-35 ( ran it at 40, thats why Im doin a H.G. job ) anyway, Im happier than a pig in %$#@ right now!!

 

Anyone got anything???

 

Cost me $550 for the clean/mag/deck/valve grind/machine for upgraded seals/o-rings. Don't try and save a few bucks by not getting the head magnafluxed, my original one was cracked from the intake seats to the injector holes on 5 of the cyls. 12v heads are a hit and miss deal for fatal cracks but your wasting a lot of time and effort if you don't check.
Do you have a cherry picker to put the head back on with? You want to be careful not to nick the new gasket when putting the head back on.

 

I blew a HG from 40 psi and advanced timing, too. Shop that did the job talked me out of o-rings. He feels that it is better to spend the money to start with a new after market head if you are looking to o-ring & port.

Cost of head service usually starts at $200. O-rings are traditional at $300

 

Yeah, money is kinda tight so I thought about spending the O-ring job money to have he head checked and done right make sure its nice and flat check valve seats and for cracks. Then go with marine gasket and arp studs. still debating this, studs and a good flat clean block and head with a marine gasket should be ok if I set my new turbo for 42 lbs right? If I have enough fuel for 42 lbs on a 62/14 that is

 

Studs without o-rings are supposed to be good to 50-60 lbs boost. It depends how much you change the level with head planing and gasket thickness.
As Ratsun stated, a 12 valve head is a crap shoot. If I'm going to sink $1,000 of labor into a head for rings & porting, I want to do it once. The after-market heads are nicely cast and added some meat on the outer bolt boss areas. Local guy that does porting says it feels very nice while grinding.
Studs are always a good choice. They are re-useable. A cracked head is only good for show & tell.

 

I agree on having it THOROUGHLY checked out . I thought my shop did but either they cracked it putting it back on or it was all ready cracked and they missed it. Never the less, it had to be redone with a new head.

 

Well, bought a re-manned head ($550). took it to local diesel performance shop I use and The Re-man job was crap. so, another ($550) new valves all 12, 60 lb springs and little grinding to fix a half @$$ job. anyway, i wont have to worry about the head anymore so thats good.