Z_on_TE37's

I just dropped off my sr20det at the machine shop to get some machining done for my engine build. As he was looking over the head he noticed two hairline cracks starting at the spark plug holes going towards the valve seats. Does anyone have any first hand knowledge on whether this is common and safe to run or if it's going to end up as bad news. I can't find anything other than one post about the same topic and that wasn't helpful. Please help me out here guys!

angel mkiv

Ask them how much it is to repair it then look online for another..choose the cheapest route.and no I don't think this is pretty common on sr20's.definitly something that needs to get repaired

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jr_ss

Did your machine shop magnaflux or pressure check it? If they have and that's how the crack/s were found, I suggest replacing the head. Cracks are no joke and are difficult to completely repair. Start with a fresh head but this is uncommon on SR's.

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My SR20VET

ANDY black s13

I got a spare SR20 bent cam head for spares hardware shims rocker lifters etc
the head was scrap (I knew that and why it so cheap) as each plug hole has cracks from the plug holes spreading across the chambers
Story goes that my head cracked because the ignition amp go too hot and melted
and the plugs went into hyper spark mode (or something really weird happened)
the cracks are really deep and its not repairable as there will multiple cracks you can't see, the cracks can spread through the plug hole threads to the plug seat
Severe overheating will cause the cracks as well,either case its scrap
I know SR bits are dearer in the US but repair costs would far exceed another head imo

slideslidegnarslide

Yeah I'm sure you can pick up an empty head or a stock head for 100-200 bucks. Just do that and you won't have to worry

ANDY black s13

If you go that route (which is probs the best)
you have to make sure the cam caps are all there for the head your getting
the cam caps are line bored to each head,so using caps from another head will
cause the cams to bind at the very least or seize solid
IMO a bare head with no cam caps is as scrap as the cracked head you have atm
another set of caps could be re-line bored,
but chance cam bearing clearance would be too large
and its not a cheap thing to get done properly
so factor in that cost beforehand

Z_on_TE37's

Thank you all for your input. I'm glad you were willing to help me!

joe3180

It happened on mine. When my head was dropped off to get decked they found the crack. I guess you can say lucky for me that they repaired it before asking me, so I got the job done for free. I would have just went out to get a replacement. It is repairable tho....or at least mine was. don't know how bad yours is.

TheRealSy90

Pulled a head off of a friends sr20 to replace the head gasket as he had overheated the engine, every chamber had a crack from the spark plug hole out towards the valve openings. May be more common than we think.

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jr_ss

If you overheated the engine, of course there are going to be issues. I think it all depends on how much it is overheated.

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