I recently bought a set of used Champion irons from a board member and I took them to my engine builder to have them checked out before I installed them. I got a call from the builder this morning and it turns out that both heads have a crack in the valve spring area. The builder says he believes that they could be repaired but of course there is no gaurantee that will work and not be an issue in the future. I went with iron heads because I have read about Champion aluminum heads cracking and I wanted to avoid that if possible. I would be interested in hearing some opinions on having these heads repaired. The builder put some machinist dye on the heads so that the cracks would show in the pics. I contacted the seller but he has not had time to respond yet.
Champion Irons with cracks in the valvespring area, what should I do?
- Thread starter Steve
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Thanks for the reply. I live in Springfield MO. Unfortunatley there is a crack in both heads. The downside to me is that if I have them repaired I will worry about the reapirs holding every time I run the car!
Look up Dover Cylinder Head Exchange. Chuck Leeper referred them to me. They have several locations...GA and TN (might have more) Call and talk to one of them. They repaired a 109 and an 016 block for me with great success. Or call Mike Zimmerman, he repaired one of Dick Kereny's 012 blocks.
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Did the shop pressure test the heads?
If they do not leak water, use them as is.
The 455 V-8 Buick heads would have similar cracks, and we still used them with no problems.
If they do not leak water, use them as is.
The 455 V-8 Buick heads would have similar cracks, and we still used them with no problems.
Thanks for the reply. They have not been pressure tested yet. The engine builder said he could pressure test them but he said that if I wanted for him to repair them he would just wait and pressure test them after the repair. I told him to hold off on doing any more to them until after I hear from the seller. By the time I get them repaired and tested I would have more in them than I would have had in a new set of Champion Irons. I am hoping the seller will come thru with something.
3.8L V-8 eater
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If you decide you have too much in them to turn back and your concerned if they will be repaired properly send them to Tom at Champion....He does great work on our ported irons and he won't repair it if it won't hold up....Won't be a cheap alternative though....
Well its been a week since I contacted the seller about the heads but no response. I filed a dispute with paypal but its been over 45 days so there is nothing that they will do. I took the heads to the engine builder as soon as I got them but it took a while for them to get worked in so now I am after the 45 day cut off. I filed a dispute with my credit card company so maybe something will come of that. The user name of the seller is gnloyalty8777 so beware.
I have had not had them tested yet. I was hoping that the seller would make it right so I have just been on hold with them so that I did not want to invest any more money in them. The engine builder said he can repair the cracks so if it comes to that I will likely just have the cracks repaired and then have them pressure tested to verify the repair.
slimtastic
yea dude...I rock
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this...the seller should respond back though, if he didnt id be pissed too
Squid4life
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The seller has a few deals like this going on: MIA after something bad shows up. I am going through the same thing with him.
slimtastic
yea dude...I rock
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post up a link to the sellers thread...
Squid4life
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Even if they pressure tested good I am just not willing to put a set of cracked heads on a $5000 shortblock. If they test good now but the cracks get worse and start leaking months down the road after some low 10 second passes then hydraulic a cylinder I will just be out of luck. It's possible the seller did not know about the cracks but when he was informed that is the time to step up. With that said I will sell them as is for $800 and that is freshened up from the builder! 
slimtastic
yea dude...I rock
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sorry to hear this bad luck. throw his ass in the feedback forum (if you havent already)...if they were my heads id buy them back if they were bad, just to save my own good name/pride.Even if they pressure tested good I am just not willing to put a set of cracked heads on a $5000 shortblock. If they test good now but the cracks get worse and start leaking months down the road after some low 10 second passes then hydraulic a cylinder I will just be out of luck. It's possible the seller did not know about the cracks but when he was informed that is the time to step up. With that said I will sell them as is for $800 and that is freshened up from the builder!
Are you 100% certain that they are even cracks instead of casting flaws?
I would contact Champion, explain the situation & e-mail the pics to them to see what they have to say. It sounds like you're stuck with the heads. You will need to pressure test them no matter what, might as well have it done & move on with the results. Hopefully they don't leak & its just a casting imperfection. Does anyone know if this is a common problem location on these heads?
Good luck
~JM~
I would contact Champion, explain the situation & e-mail the pics to them to see what they have to say. It sounds like you're stuck with the heads. You will need to pressure test them no matter what, might as well have it done & move on with the results. Hopefully they don't leak & its just a casting imperfection. Does anyone know if this is a common problem location on these heads?
Good luck
~JM~
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