Would you resurface your own cylinder head?

[California98Civic]

I considered this when I pulled the head last summer to replace the head gasket. But I decided against it in the end thinking it represented a greater risk than it was worth. I took it to a good machine shop recommended by a friend who is a retired machinist. I can't remember if I spent 40 or 80 bucks right now. Either way it was damn cheap and the head was thoroughly cleaned to in the process. I do think that he took off more than was necessary, however. That disappointed me a little. But knowing that it was done right and that it'll last a long time as long as I did my part correctly in installing a new gasket and preparing the surfaces makes the small amount of money I spent totally worth it.

[me and my metro]

I would have a machine shop check to see if needed to be resurfaced. If you lost a head gasket you want to know why. The car may have overheated for other reasons resulting in a failed gasket. The head may have warped some if the car got hot. You need to determine the cause of the failure before you start spending money. Just my opinion.

[Stubby79]

Depends on the complexity of having to take it back off again if I messed it up. Meaning a modern car engine: not likely. A less complex, easy to get at engine? sure.

[ASV]

You'll need to find the specs for the part and have an accurate way to
measure. but if you can do that then its not to difficult, I have done it myself
and I am a machinist. galling can be avoided by using good paper and WD40

[Piotrsko]

Head gaskets used to come extra thick, thick, and regular. Thick compresses something like .030, extra thick maybe .060. I dunno been too long since I did this often. Hi-perf gaskets have extra compression metal around the cylinder for better seal. The cylinder area is critical, the rest of the head is an oil /water seal issue.
You can double them up, but that's risky.

I figure shaving the head costs $100 anymore, up side is you can gain some compression increase. If your bolts are reusable, you will need spacer washers that are the same thickness as what you shaved off.

You can home hone the head with silicon carbide 3M sandpaper but that will end costing about $100 for all the materials unless you can score 1/8 heat treated glass for free. Also need to know how to not hone odd features in.

[Piotrsko]

Finally: huge amounts of silicone seal. Seen successful applications of this, but is considered hugely tacky and unprofessional

[JSH]

I would pay the shop $85 to do it right.

I would also make sure the cylinder block is good before I spent the money. (The last engine I worked on that had overheated had a cracked block)

[Xist]

I did not see any cracks.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Xist

I did not see any cracks.

That is a good sign. Is the top of the block still flat?

What happened to this engine?

[Piotrsko]

Continuing on: just because you dont see cracks..........

I bet the coolant got low and it overheated locally. Typical failure mode