7afte head replacement Options

[FunkySR]

Hey all.

as you know I have a 7afte but I need to replace my head due to crap threads for the manifold bolts to grab onto.

I have no immediate plans for engine or forged work so should i

1. buy a reconditioned, skimmed, ported and polished and valved head.
2. just rip a head off a working 7a from the junk yard and carry on as usual.

Cheers.

J

[CelicaST_CALI]

Since its turbo..#1

[Mstoochn]

#3 buy a 4a-ge head and make more sustainable power also buy a quality metal HG

[FunkySR]

not about power my friend. i wanna stay the 7afte way.

Cheers.

[hurley97]

Just buy one from a junkyard and send it to be cleaned and skimmed. That will be easier and cheaper and work just fine, especially if its not about power and you are happy with the power you are making. You aren't going to gain a whole lot in porting and polishing the 7A head. I looked into pricing on having that done and it was way more than it would have been worth, so I did it myself on the first head I had on the rebuilt motor.

Have you made a bracket to support the turbo and manifold? I had the same problem with the threads in my head until I had a bracket made. I do have my old 7A head in the basement but it needs to be resurfaced, I replaced it because it was warped on the bottom and the headgasket was leaking (less down time in having one ready and just swapping over).

You can also retap the thread and put bigger or longer studs. Sometimes when the manifold threads strip they only mess up part of it on the way out so if you put in a longer stud it will grab into the good threads that are left further back. One of my studs has a longer one and one I had to go with a bigger stud. I did start stripping out another one but its not in a crucial spot so I just left it for now. My manifold also had a spot for a stud that was not on the head so I drilled a hole, tapped it, and put in an extra stud.

This post has been edited by hurley97: Nov 26, 2009 - 7:55 PM

[Smaay]

wait wait. you said the head is stripped out so the studs wont hold? Dude! ever hear of Helicoil? just fix the damn thing. dont replace the head

[FunkySR]

I have already helicoiled once. lol.

Steff, I will get some longer studs in the mean time. I can get a head for free from one of the breakers on CCUK, so will have that resurfced. What HG do u recommend.

Also, if you have any spare longer studs email me and I will paypal u.


J

[presure2]

I have already helicoiled once. lol.

Steff, I will get some longer studs in the mean time. I can get a head for free from one of the breakers on CCUK, so will have that resurfced. What HG do u recommend.

Also, if you have any spare longer studs email me and I will paypal u.


J

isnt the stock HG MLS?
IIRC steffs is.

[FunkySR]

Manny, it is a metal one but was wondering whether to go with a thicker item.

[hurley97]

There really isn't a place that makes a thicker headgasket for the 7A. Some people say you can use a Cometic headgasket made for the 4AGZE but I looked into the option and didn't trust it. Reason being, I ordered a stock 4AGZE hg from work just so I could compare it to my 7A hg. Some of the oil passages lined up but none of the coolant passages lined up enough, they overlapped a little but I would not be happy with taking the chance.

[Smaay]

you helicoild the holes once before and it still striped out? what are you doing? help me understand why the studs wont hold?

[hurley97]

turbos are heavy

[FunkySR]

Steff, can you hook me up with some long studs. just p be safe i will use what u used. send me a paypal request.

Thanks.

J

[FunkySR]

any joy with the studs Steff? Also I emailed you about some other stuff.

J

[hurley97]

Sorry Jay, I forgot. I can just grab some from work for you but I'm not sure if its worth it for you to wait for them to get over there if you are just going to replace the head anyway. If you still want them I will send them to you, just PM me the address again.

Sorry again.