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For years machine shops have returned alloy cylinder heads without being serviced claiming they were useless as they had been cooked to the pont of losing their hardness, throw it away and get another.

Now getting the older guys saying they may have had no option than to try the soft heads in the past and one car still going after ten years. They no longer even have a hardness tester at one shop. Another shop told me they rejected a head, bought a new from factory and out of curiosity tested the newie. Same result as the 'soft' head !! One method used by one truck guy was to fit fat washers under the head bolts like our subies and it fixed the head gasket blowing repeatedly using soft heads.

Hardness tester is a simple steel ball in a release tube ,bounced off the head and measure the rebound.

Curious to see what others have been told

is that referring Turbo heads or NA heads?
There is a place next to my factory they are engine rebuilders plus cylinder heads as well, even they do drag WRXs as well. If you want their details - let me know and I'll give you details from him.
Cheers
AP

any alloy head, car or truck.

My problems are solved as far as this, not testing them ! but just curious if you pop in and ask them what their experience has been and whether they bother checking for hardness anymore.

I've got two engines to play with at the moment. My good EA82T is getting machined heads with good valve springs, stripped valves out and lubed the guides, after sitting around for eight months from two blown head gaskets. To go back in the GLTA

and the other is a carb block with machined and vac tested lubed guides mpfi turbo heads and efi inlet manifold to go in Brumby LPG replacing tired old EA81. Get it all up and running with turbo modded cross member and one day may just , um turbo it for a try


so spent some time in and out of a few machine shops before chrissie

When I took a couple of EJ22 heads to a reconditioning shop for assessment, one of the first things the bloke did was to feel for indentation where the bolt heads seat. That was ok, but later on I got a call saying one was soft and US, so I guess they did a proper hardness test on them.

Interesting idea using washers. Must keep that in mind.

Dane.