dsddcd, In the second picture you have a plug already in one, and are tapping another one, of the holes above each exhaust port that are under that squiggly cover on the exhaust side of the head. I have always been curious what is happening under there, and what the purpose is? Out of curiosity, why are you plugging those, is there something to be gained, or just simplifying thing? And what is the purpose of the holes/channel originally? Does coolant flow through that channel, or does it have something to do with exhaust gas recirculation? Like I said, thats always something I have wondered about, and have not been able to find anything on it in the service manual.

 

[QUOTE=Boostaholic,Dec 21 2010, 03:53 PM]dsddcd, In the second picture you have a plug already in one, and are tapping another one, of the holes above each exhaust port that are under that squiggly cover on the exhaust side of the head.

 

My replacement retailers came today...

Anyone spot the difference between the new ones and the old ones?

 

These ones won't fall apart in your engine?








@dsddcd- How come you have 2 different style retainers in those pictures? Different ones for intake and exhaust? or are these 2 different heads/brands

 

That what mine looked like.

 

that (hopefully), and the fact the ones IN the engine have no Ferrea branding on them, nor any part numbers or any wording whatsoever. I'm almost lead to believe the retainers that came with the engine, are not Ferrea at all.

 

I beleive those to be just an earlier version of ferrea Ti retainers, as my ferrea retainers are a few years older and have no markings on them. Although you can of course change them without pullig the head, This might be a good excuse to do just that, and maybe the oil pan too, and check for any retainer peices that may still be stuck in the bottom end of the motor. Better safe than sorry, especially in a case like this!