Cylinder head questions

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Before I begin, Picasa killed my pics.

Check the water passages










Can this be saved?
Head is for an 885i, M20B25, right?
I have a 325es M20B27, doing the swap for the car.

I'm not sure if the head has to get decked, if it does what are the tolerances? Meaning how much should the machine shop remove?

Any advice?

[Cabriolet]

since i cant see the divots in your pic or a good pic of the head look at these:

885 vs AMC heads by Eric Berger, on Flickr

in this pic. the back head is the 885 head. notice the divots in it. (bottom left, bottom right and top center) once those have been worn flat then you have to use the thinker gasket.

On the AMC head there is no indication.

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Also adding that I'm on a huge budget as far as getting the car up and running. I was told by Mark D tuning (I believe that's what it's called) that I CAN use the stock injectors, stock IM, TB, and everything. I just need to swap the heads, and retune (tune which he sells).
Anyone else have more experience with this?

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All of those divots are gone, what kind of gasket would I have to use, and more importantly does this mean the head can not be decked/resurfaced?

[Cabriolet]

All of those divots are gone, what kind of gasket would I have to use, and more importantly does this mean the head can not be decked/resurfaced?

if you are on a huge budget. get a head from mr325.
decking bellow those marks is sketch at best.

[BergerNJ]

are you sure this head is an 885 and not an amc?

the head needs to be decked a lot for the divots to go away. Hard to miss......although the water passages look pretty worn....how does a water passage get chipped?


It doesn't make sense to not check/deck a head when its removed from a motor...do it right the first time

[promo]

Bought it like this.
It currently has a 325es head on the engine, I'm thinking of just getting that one decked since that one for sure is off considering the PO of the car replaced the head gasket, 10 miles later it started spewing coolant.

[promo]

if you are on a huge budget. get a head from mr325.
decking bellow those marks is sketch at best.

By huge budget I mean I lost my job, and just trying to get the car up and running to be a DD. My other car, is in need of some love.

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I honestly do not know how a water passage could get chipped though, but where are the markings to tell if it is an AMC head or not

Edit:

I am a legit retard. It IS an AMC head. It's stamped right on the cylinder, just didn't see it before. Take it to any machine shop to check how far the head has been decked before? What's the minimal level?

[Cabriolet]

you cant tell with those AMC heads.

to the junkyard you go. GL

[promo]

I have the 325es head to fall back on, I guess I can go that route. That head was never decked, or messed with.

[Cabriolet]

you know those are really compatible engines right? this will get blow outa proportion. but u cant willy nilly throw random heads on the car and expect it to run right.
what model and year of car do you have?
885 head is not the same as a "ES" 200 head.

[promo]

I'm a BMW newb.

I have an 87 325ES, I'm "upgrading" to a 2.7i, well.. trying. I'm thinking at this moment it'd just be easier to fix the stock (ES) head and say screw it until I have the funds available to finish the car. It's a LeMons car, but at the moment it's my DD until I can work a few issues out.

[BergerNJ]

Im not too familiar with the AMC heads although I know they are direct replacement....not sure of the quality though...debate goes on with any searches


sounds like you want to do the 2.7 swap....get the car running right and spend the money that way.....then spend the time and correct amount of money, not cutting corners, doing the 2.7 swap right the first time

[TobyB]

That's a lot of corrosion.

And that's why you don't use water.

I'd look for another head- if it seals, it won't seal securely...

t