Cylinder head help

[Jc951]

Going to be having my mechanic take the head off when he does the water pump and belts since there is a coolant leak coming from the head gasket. Wondering if I should pick up an already refurbished head from 944store or just wait and see what the head looks like when they take it off. Also if I go with the head from 944store, do I go for stock or stage one?

[944m3]

If it’s coming off then I would take it to machine shop. Almost a given that it could use new guides and a good cleaning to remove carbon buildup. Also ensuring valves are seating properly. If the gasket was leaking then good chance there is corrosion so would need to deck the mating surface. Depending on where you live that’s between $500 to $1500. I’ve had 2 heads refreshed.

As for stage upgrades , adding more air flow always helps but it depends on what other upgrades you are adding as well. For example don’t forget the exhaust side of things which is just as important. Lots of reading on performance improvements gained by head work. That being said, 944store stage1 seems more hardware based upgrades as opposed to porting and valve job. (But I could be wrong.) That comes in stage2. Would be interested in others opinion but in my amateur opinion I would go with porting, which would increase performance. If you’re not after that then I would stick with stock over their stage1.

[Jc951]

If it’s coming off then I would take it to machine shop. Almost a given that it could use new guides and a good cleaning to remove carbon buildup. Also ensuring valves are seating properly. If the gasket was leaking then good chance there is corrosion so would need to deck the mating surface. Depending on where you live that’s between $500 to $1500. I’ve had 2 heads refreshed.

As for stage upgrades , adding more air flow always helps but it depends on what other upgrades you are adding as well. For example don’t forget the exhaust side of things which is just as important. Lots of reading on performance improvements gained by head work. That being said, 944store stage1 seems more hardware based upgrades as opposed to porting and valve job. (But I could be wrong.) That comes in stage2. Would be interested in others opinion but in my amateur opinion I would go with porting, which would increase performance. If you’re not after that then I would stick with stock over their stage1.

Upgrades currently on the car are a set of Lindsey chips, fabspeed cat bypass, broadfoot catback and downpipe, Tial F38, MBC and the turbo will be going to Evergreen for the raptor treatment when the head comes off.

I'm not looking at maxing out the power. Just want some more efficient power before going standalone or 07k swap depending on what the future holds.

[Spencan]

I just blew my head gasket too, last month and I am in the process of putting it all back together now. There was water in the oil but no oil in the water. There was also no scoring on the cylinder walls, so I sent mine to a local machine shop to get it checked out. He installed new valve guides and stems, found minimal warpage and skimmed back to stock tolerances, did a 3 angle valve job with some lapping of the exhaust (he found a burnt exhaust valve), all for less than $1k. I'm in the south bay of Northern California....