Cylinder Head Refacing / Re-Surfacing Liverpool

Are you looking for cylinder head refacing or re-surfacing in Liverpool? Find out more about our engine reconditioning services for Liverpool and the surrounding areas.

Cylinder heads may need to be resurfaced or milled for various reasons, such as to increase the surface polish, restore flatness, or change the deck height. The deck surface on the head may require resurfacing if it is not flat or smooth.

A head may require resurfacing or milling to increase the compression ratio after welding or other repairs. It may be necessary to clean the manifold surfaces on a head because of corrosion or erosion or to gently adjust the angle to better line with an aftermarket intake manifold.

You need to resurface these pieces for a purpose, but whatever it may be, you want to accomplish it fast, effectively, and accurately. Since metal cannot be replaced once it has been removed, mistakes here might cost a lot of money.

One of the tasks that are typically needed when rebuilding an engine or reconditioning a cylinder head is cylinder head resurfacing. It is a crucial task since how the head (and engine block) are finished influences not only the head gasket's capacity to cold seal fluids and combustion gases but also how durable it will be in the long run.

For a long period, the majority of aftermarket gasket makers insisted on surface finishes with RAs ranging from 60 to 125 RMS (55 to 110 microinches). According to them, the optimal range is between 80 and 100 RA.

However, as long as the surface condition of the head and block falls somewhere between the minimum smoothness and maximum roughness ratings, there should be no problems with cold sealing or head gasket durability (assuming everything is assembled correctly and the head bolts are torqued in the proper sequence and to the specified torque, too).

These numbers, like everything else, have been fluctuating, though. These recommendations are especially for cast iron blocks with older cast iron heads. Castings have become lighter and less rigid, which has increased the relevance of the need for smoother, flatter surfaces.

For cast iron head and block combinations, some aftermarket gasket producers now advise a surface finish of 30 to 110 RA, with a suggested range of 60 to 100 RA.

What Is Cylinder Head Resurfacing?

A skim could be necessary since a head might corrode over time in addition to being deformed. If a gasket blows, it could leave a mark on the head's surface that has to be skimmed.

While the majority of diesel cylinder heads have valves that extend beyond the surface of the head and must be removed before the head can be resurfaced, the majority of petrol cylinder heads may be resurfaced with the valves remaining in place.

Once the head has been resurfaced, we might need to resurface the valves and valve seats to get them back to the right depth/height. When resurfacing the cylinder head, we continuously work to remove the least amount of material possible in order to prevent distortion without dramatically altering compressions.

Reasons For Cylinder Head Resurfacing

Other than a head gasket failure, there are several other reasons to resurface a cylinder head, including increasing the compression ratio after repairs or welding, restoring flatness, or just improving the present surface polish. A better alignment can be achieved by changing the angle of the cylinder or by using an aftermarket intake manifold.

Depending on the kind of head gasket, different standards apply. The gasket may therefore fail to seal correctly and leak if the surface is either too rough or, in rare situations, too smooth. Here, one typical error to avoid is failing to research the necessary parameters; for a given engine or head gasket.