Odessa heads - take a look.. Looking for input *solved

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318willrun

318willrun

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Refurbished Odessa heads from Ebay. Been around a while. I didn't order these from Odessa, but I got a good deal on them still New In The Box. Upon "cleaning up a little in the bowl area, I noticed ALL 4 OUTSIDE EXHAUST VALVES have what appears to be a crack and a flick.
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Also, what quality of valves to they use. I plan on calling them tomorrow.

Copied from their advertisment
ODESSA*CYLINDERHEAD thoroughly cleans, inspects, and pressure tests all our cylinder heads. All seat and guide work is performed as needed on the lastest state of the art Serdi or Sunnen seat and guide machine. The head then moves on to a Rottlier CBN resurfacing machine where it is cut to the required RMA finish. We then install a quality valve seal and pull a vacuum on each valve to insure their is a perfect seal between the valve and the seat. All machine is work performed on the latest state of the art equipment. The head is complete and ready for installation.
 
Good luck! I went round and round with them about the " valve job" they did on the set I ordered.... Even provided photos to back up my claims. They told me my machinist didn't know what he was doing. Refused to do anything at all. I've made it a point to blast them every chance I get now.
 
If it's a weld, then they did not miss them... they did a fix. I'm just looking a the shape and the different coloration of the metal. Weld IMHO.. or pins? Not new to me that it would be in a consistent spot: I knew one year range of a certain 4 banger head that would always crack in the #2 or #3 cylinder, never in #1 or #4. I'd guess it depends on the heat and coolant distribution....

Are these the 302 casting numbers that are known for seat cracks? If so this sounds like a common spot for the cracks, per below.

Where do 302 heads crack?
 
Looks like a stitch repair to me.
If they pressure tested okay, it should be fine.

That exhaust seat was finished with what looks like a coarse stone/wheel..... in need of dressing.

But that’s all typical of budget friendly remanned heads.
 
The ones I bought from them were new EQ heads. 3 out of 4 intake valves wouldn't hold water. Spoke with the tech and he assured me that he does a valve job on EVERY head there, also told me he spoke with me about the magnum intake bolt pattern and said that I confirmed it was supposed to be LA style and called out the phone number he called. He spoke with someone in Chicago (I'm in South Carolina). I explained that we're all human and make mistakes and just wanted to get it corrected. His words were " I personally cut every valve job on every head that comes through here. I promise I didn't miss anything and didn't make a mistake. But ship them back on your dime and I'll give it another valve job and ship them back to you on your dime. The intake bolt pattern, that's on you pal not me!"
Talk about customer service!
 
That's not a weld. It's a pin. It may have been welded in, but that's how larger remanufacturers repair cracks. Dover Cylinder Head does the same thing.

All that said, I've not heard or read one single good thing about Odessa/Clearwater cylinder head and machine shop.
 
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nm9stheham said:
If it's a weld, then they did not miss them... they did a fix. I'm just looking a the shape and the different coloration of the metal. Weld IMHO.. or pins? Not new to me that it would be in a consistent spot: I knew one year range of a certain 4 banger head that would always crack in the #2 or #3 cylinder, never in #1 or #4. I'd guess it depends on the heat and coolant distribution....

Are these the 302 casting numbers that are known for seat cracks? If so this sounds like a common spot for the cracks, per below.

Where do 302 heads crack?
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these are magnum heads

PRH said:
Looks like a stitch repair to me.
If they pressure tested okay, it should be fine.

That exhaust seat was finished with what looks like a coarse stone/wheel..... in need of dressing.

But that’s all typical of budget friendly remanned heads.
Click to expand...

Thanks, so you see no worries?

RustyRatRod said:
That's not a weld. It's a pin. It may have been welded in, but that's how larger remanufacturers repair cracks. Dover Cylinder does the same thing.

All that said, I'not heard or read one single good thing about Odessa/Clearwater cylinder head and machine shop.
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Thanks, so you see no worries?

I really value all your guys opinions. I have always avoided this type of thing. This time, means I own them, I'd really like to use them if I can be convinced they are ok.
 
No, I see nothing wrong with pinning a crack as long as it's done correctly.
 
318willrun said:
This time, means I own them, I'd really like to use them if I can be convinced they are ok.
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FWIW, I raced a several events on a head with a small crack. We're talking 100-150 mile full throttle events.

Do you have the option to return these? If not, have them pressure tested if it is a concern or comfort issue. Sometimes you gotta take the plunge..... and since it sounds like a standard repair process, then that says a lot positive for them holding OK.

Which engine are these going on?
 
I don't see a issue fixing a crack by pinning, but I would never do it on a valve seat. That head is junk in my opinion.
 
nm9stheham said:
FWIW, I raced a several events on a head with a small crack. We're talking 100-150 mile full throttle events.

Do you have the option to return these? If not, have them pressure tested if it is a concern or comfort issue. Sometimes you gotta take the plunge..... and since it sounds like a standard repair process, then that says a lot positive for them holding OK.

Which engine are these going on?
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  • yeah, probably most magnum heads are cracked out there, and probably the ones on my '01 Ram are cracked but it runs great and has 254,*** miles. My '89 360 ran great and both 308's were cracked between the valve seats.
  • No, I don't have the option to return them. I didn't buy them directly from Odessa. I may drop them off at a machine shop to get them pressure tested.
  • Plan was to bolt them on a LA 360 that I'm putting together for my race with Jadaharabi
 
replicaracer43 said:
I don't see a issue fixing a crack by pinning, but I would never do it on a valve seat. That head is junk in my opinion.
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I've never bought new head/refurbished heads. Always did heads my self and if they need new guides have them installed. If I found a crack, I've never repaired them. I always found another head. So working with heads that's been repaired for cracks is new to me.
 
By the way, what is shown in the picture is ONLY on the exhaust side. I see nothing on the intake side, or anything in between the two seats. But I can find this on all 4 of the outer cylinder exhaust valves (all 4)
 
318willrun said:
  • Plan was to bolt them on a LA 360 that I'm putting together for my race with Jadaharabi
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Oh, it will hold for that! LOL

If you put them on, watch for any gradual loss of coolant. If you are going from open LA heads to closed Magnum chambers, the CR is gonna jump up and the resulting higher combustion temps are gonna raise motor operating temps, so it would be hard to detect any combustion gas leaks into the water jacket from the motor temps alone. Maybe use some of the detection chemicals in the coolant for that.
 
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If they pass a pressure test, then the repair should be fine.

As for the guide and seat work....... have a machine shop you trust look them over, and see what they say.

From the pics, the valve job doesn’t look wonderful, but it may be perfectly sevicable(which is about all you can hope for with cheap reman heads).

And sometimes you get those heads that were done a long time ago, and weren't done that well at the time....... And you're tasked with trying to make them into "nice" heads(these are T/A heads).

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j par said:
everytime jab pulls out a 340 block you pull out a pair of junk heads you need to step up..:poke:
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LOL.... seems like it, right? He has more parts than I do. I think I know just enough that I "think" I know enough of jababa's plan and its a good one..... particular for this race
 
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Guess 318willrun found them at an "affordable" price.
I would continue cleaning up and run them...
 
stixx said:
Guess 318willrun found them at an "affordable" price.
I would continue cleaning up and run them...
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yes, fully assembled 300 for the pair - still in the box. 600 if you buy them from Odessa.
 
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