Well just an idea you could still clean/polish the new head and rebuild it new. If it needs no machine work. Then pull old head and inspect cylinder walls before dropping new head on. There is no concern for the metal shavings that come off cam? Just having carbon free valves and super clean head I would think is worth the time. I would save for cams but thats just me. Good excuse to build with gains in mind even if small gains.

Any thoughts on this?

 

I will not be taking my head off at this time, just swapping new parts that I need. If I was then yes a clean/polish would be in order. I don't want to take head off because then it would add cost of new head gasket and head studs.
I will do a compression test once the new parts are on, that will tell me the shape of cylinders.

 

I would leave the head alone as well. There is a lot to be said about an all oem repair that will go the distance.

Rest assured carbon on your valves has 0 effect on the engine.

It is very likely this had no effect on your valves, cylinders, or compression or leakdown.

This is a pretty non-invasive repair as it sits now.

 

I would lift the entire rocker assy from the new head and put it on your head. You will be using the 5 numbered cam caps from the extra head you purchased as well.

Be SURE you do not mix up the cam caps (5 lower and 5 upper). They are a 10 piece matched set and mixing them up can have serious consequences.

 

Good to know, thanks for the heads up.

 

So on an engine with a lot of unknown history you find cracked & raised retainers.
It could have bend valves too.
If you know the valve clearance was ok before you can tell by checking it again, the valves that have more clearance than before are most likely bend.
If the overrev was performed before the previous owner(s) could have (re)adjusted it.

A lot of ifs...

Tick... tack.... tick... tack....

 

Hey cracked is not yet proven lol. I mean we could play the what if game with a lot of components, sure its possible but at this time I will not be taking the head off.
Ill stick to compression test, leak down after the retainers are done.

 

Sounds like you're running a specific class in autocross, but have you considered upgrading your springs and retainers, instead of just replacing them with the AP2 retainers?

 

Im not that serious about autox, I do it for fun, so I run in whatever class I fit in at the time lol.
But why "upgrade", when AP2 retainers have been proven to hold up against abuse and time?
Many aftermarket retainers will not last as long as the AP2 ones.

 

Ap2 retainers and keepers are an upgrade. They are by far the most reliable parts you can use for this engine.

The definition of upgrade is very skewed in this forum. If by upgrade you mean Ti, I would never use them in my car or a customers. We are not racing for money where .01 HP may give us the edge. Build for reliability and longevity. I'm sure you don't want to be pulling the valve cover every 15k miles to check on your "upgrade", which is clearly a downgrade due to the decreased service life.

Sad to say, you are going to need to pull off all the exhaust retainers as well and inspect them.

After 32 cars with broken retainers, I had my first one (#33) with exhaust retainer damage this week. 4 of them had tiny cracks.