"jim beam" <spamvortex@bad.example.net> wrote in message news:Z4mdnYYlAsIxAYnYnZ2dnUVZ_oKdnZ2d@speakeasy.ne t...

> do NOT get the head milled unless it is warped. i've seen many an alloy
> head screwed up this way. and they get slapped back on the block
> regardless so the owner has to go back again in 6 months and gets soaked
> for a new motor.
>
> 1. remove head.
> 2. do a rough check for flatness.
> 3. if ok, clean it up /carefully/.
> 4. check for flatness again.
> 5. finish cleaning.
> 6. re-use.
>
> google this group for recent talk-through of this procedure on an accord.
> oh, and the reason milling is such a gamble is because if the cutting
> piece picks up a piece of crud, it drags it all the way across the head
> gouging a deeper and deeper furrow in the surface as it goes.

People have been resurfacing head or aluminum alloys for years
and only the inexperience would drag the crud all the way across the head.

> in old cast iron heads, this doesn't happen, so in the old days, it was ok to
> do this as a routine service procedure. old habits die hard, and in
> this case, can be very destructive. the head needs to be finished to
> near mirror finish to give a long term seal. if you really /must/ skim
> the head, make sure you inspect the work of the shop on other heads
> before you let them touch yours. if they produce near mirror, go ahead
> and use them. if they produce stuff with milling marks and ridges on
> it, move right along. and don't believe any story about the head
> needing milling marks to "grip" the gasket - that's bunk.

A near mirror finishes are too expensive for the average car owner
could afford. Unless the car manufacturer requires a near mirror
finish, don't bother with it.