Crack in head's combustion chamber

[2-Short]

Hello All,

When cleaning a set of 8445 heads to being some port/polish work I discovered a hairline crack that goes from the outside of the combustion chamber (near the spark plug) and onto the valve seat. I am not sure of the depth of the crack, but I ground down a little bit with a 40-grit stone and it is still there so I think it is deep enough to worry about.

Is this repairable ? If so, is it worth repairing ? What methods are best for repairing ??

[JayC]

If theyre not already ported, throw them in the garbage.

[SinistrV6]

Heck, I've got a Champion iron head here that no one would even attempt a repair on, so I had to buy a single from Champion. It developed a leak from an exhaust port to the water jacket (ported too thin?) and I hated to trash it, but....

Kept it around as a pattern for porting my own one day. Course, I may leave a little more material than they did. I should point out that that head was made back when Champions were hand ported, not CNC.

If you find someone to repair it, let me know. Wouldn't mind having a spare!

[2-Short]

The concensus (sp?) I have been getting agrees with you guys. These heads aren't "ultra rare" enough to go through the trouble of repairing. Luckily I just started the port/polish job with the combustion chamber that uncovered the crack.

The cylinder that had the damage was #3 (middle driver's side) which I believe is the most susceptible to detonation. I don't know the history of the engine but would guess that there were one or two instances of detonation in its life as the piston top on that cylinder was also damaged.

At the very worst it makes a good practice head for my port/polish jobs.....

[HairDrier]

You should be able to get a set of used heads for about $100. I would go that route and then you have an extra

[Benched]

Use that head for practice with a grinding tool. If you get another head have it hot dipped and magnafluxed before starting any modifications.

[QWIKR1]

I say get it over with and call Champion....... keep those for book ends

Just my advise........ ya don't have to take it :joint: