Is this head dead?

Aluminum Ford 2.0l SPI cylinder head (similar to the older 1.9 CVH head). Abused for about 90,000 miles in the hands of my older daughter and SIL over a 5 year period, e.g. I know for a fact that several of the OCIs were at least a year on cheap dino oil, it was continuously run with low oil which had to have created localized hot spots, it was allowed to run low on coolant and had plain tap water added, and overheated multiple times. So, last week the head/head gasket went, sucking coolant into the #1 and #2 cylinders on the power stroke and spitting it out the exhaust valve on the exhaust stroke, and blowing the intake charge into the water passage on the compression stroke (complete with steady stream of bubbles into the overflow tank). I pulled the head Friday and it was mess. Oil in all the intake runners, chambers wet with oil nasty and in 1 and 2 coolant nasty, intake seat #2 has come half-way out of the head, and there are cracks between the intake and exhaust valve seats on 1 and 2, and just BERKLEY!!!!!!!!

So, IF welding the cracks doesn't re-crack the head as it cools, I will have the expense of the two welds, new seats installed in 1 and 2, valve jobs x4 for 1 and 2, and decking the head to get it flat again plus refinished for the MLS head gasket. Or I can get a fully re-furbished head from Heads Only (whom I have had great luck with on the past) with a full warranty and three-angle valve job for only $200 shipped. the only down sdie with that is the roughly 40 hours it will take me port and gasket match the new head, which is $0 and for which I already have the equipement and skill.

What would GRM do?

IMHO, you're putting way too much effort and money into this.

The ex's son bought a Tracer (1.9 SPFI) that had grossly overheated. So bad, that it melted around the exhaust valve. We threw a $50 CL head on it, and he drove it for another 50k, before his grandfather backed into it with his truck.

Still have it in my shop.

The current head is scrap. Order the new head and solve the issue.

The likelyhood of you(or anyo e else) permanetly fixing the aluminum cracks between the valves is very low.

Not only is the head dead, I wouldn't waste much time of the car.

spitfirebill wrote: Not only is the head dead, I wouldn't waste much time of the car.

Except track car, and future Improved Touring racer. The rest of the car is too far along to want to quit on it and start over with something else. The engine has ability to make a good 140 hp under IT engine build rules. I already had a full IT rules re-build planned over the winter, I was just crossing my fingers that it would last until then, but nope. So, I get to do the upper end re-build now, and lower end in January.

WildScotsRacing wrote: Aluminum Ford 2.0l SPI cylinder head

Scrap. These heads are grenades with the pin pulled. If they ever get hot, they drop the #4 exhaust seat and turn the engine into modern art. If they don't ever get hot, they still drop the seat regardless.

Knurled wrote:

WildScotsRacing wrote: Aluminum Ford 2.0l SPI cylinder head

Scrap. These heads are grenades with the pin pulled. If they ever get hot, they drop the #4 exhaust seat and turn the engine into modern art. If they don't ever get hot, they still drop the seat regardless.

Yup, that's why I got to rebuild it the first time, 8 years ago at 182,000 miles. I took the opportunity back then to port the new head (yes, the powdered metal seats were replaced with solid steel) and intake manifold and install a header and 2-2/4" exhaust and install a Schneider custom ground cam, and have it steady state dyno tuned. It was as quick as ZX2 S/R! I only got to enjoy it for a year and a half before I sent my older daughter to college in it. Then she got married and moved to Wichita, where the next 5 years/90,000 miles of abuse occured, resulting in the condition the head is in now.

So, it looks like Ima get the re-manned head from Heads Only, do an IT legal gasket match and keep the hot cam for now, because I use the car for pizza delivery at night (the Miata is NOT a good choice for pizza driving for mutiple reasons) and I want to make the October track session at Hallett. And pull the whole engine out in January for the rest of IT legal rebuild.