Valvetrain Wear

[cmcgrogan]

I am in the process of putting back together a 325is and the head was off of the car for a decent amount of time. The odometer says the car has about 220k on it which from the head and cylinders is probably spot on. Now the cam is cracked on the dowel pin because the PO didn't use a puller to take off the cam gear. There is slight pitting on the cam, and I already planned on replacing it anyway. The head has slight corrosion on the bottom. I would like to get it skimmed to allow proper sealing on the block.

Now the real question. What do you guys do about the rockers? Mine all have 220k on them and do not seem terrible. 1 or 2 of them have seen a lot better days, but for now I would just like to get the thing on the road. I do not want to cut corners but should I look for a used head, have mine cleaned up, put a regrind cam in it and put it all back together with what was already in it, or get a reman'ed head?

[jlevie]

At 220k the head may need new valve guides and exhaust valves. With respect to the rockers, replacing all of them is the safe bet since you don't know the maintenance history. The crack at the dowel pin would make me replace the cam with a new part or a used cam that has been re-ground to spec. I would definitely have the head surfaced.

A used head is a roll of the dice. It may be better or worse than what you have now. A reman head from a reputable source is a good choice, but if done properly may be more expensive than rebuilding this head.

[StereoInstaller1]

You might want to check with MysterE performance, see how much they do M20 heads for.

I cant remember exactly, but it seemed really cheap for the level of quality.

[cmcgrogan]

I have found rebuilt head with new oem valves, rockers, new seals and guides, and cleaned valves for about 650. MysterE heads retail about 1350 if i recall, but that also comes ported and polished. I am not concerned about rebuilding my head at all. The cam was getting replaced regardless because it is safe insurance. I don't plan on doing a motor swap (or so I think) but I do plan on building a high hp block from scratch and turbo'ing that. Not this block, but another one.

What would one pay for a clean used 885 head?

EDIT:
It's 1250 shipped and it can come with any cam size that they can regrind, which I didn't know.

[Northern]

The MysterE heads also come with >$300 worth of IE HD rockers.

[cmcgrogan]

I am no means under selling the MysterE head. I understand it is a wonderful product and it is done rebuilt to one of the highest standards. Currently I don't want to dump 1250 into a motor that has 220k on it. For that much I can start to build a very strong bottom end. I just found a used head in PA that I am going to pick up. 150 and it is very clean. Cant really beat the price. In the mean time, I can clean and port and polish the 885 I have now and also weld the cam valleys so it is prepped for the new block I am going to build.

[StereoInstaller1]

$150 to $200 if guaranteed to pass a pressure test sounds OK