Cylinder head and valve springs replacement

AYTONLEE

MEMBER
2001 PONTIAC SUNFIRE
2.2L
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
170,000 MILES

Bought the car for $600.00, 2 door coupe. Owner told me it was overheating due to a burs-ted busted radiator hose, replaced it still overheating. Next I took out the thermostat and it was weakened but still working and the "coolant fluid" that drained when I took the thermostat off was just water, no trace of coolant. Left the thermostat off because it's summer and not getting cold anytime soon, still overheating. The more I ran the car I noticed terrible engine shaking and stuttering so I then wanted to take a look inside. Noticed oil leaking from the valve cover gasket even before starting to take the head off. Once I took the head off I noticed right away one of the valve springs were broken, and the others didn't look too good (blackened/burnt) and some spun when rotating them with my hands. Would it be cheaper to fix the valves and springs myself or to get one from a pick n pull yard? Which would be a safer bet, and easier on my pocket?

4 Replies

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

I assume you are saying to get a complete head from a salvage yard or just fix the one you have? If so, it all depends on the price of the head and your confidence level of repairing the head.

Replacing the head (remove and install the replacement) is not that complicated. Replacing the valves and springs is more involved but are you sure you need to replace the valves? If you just need to replace the springs, that is the way I would go. You just need to put air in the cylinder so that the valve doesn't drop and then compress the spring, remove the keepers and replace them.

At the end of this, it all depends on the cost of the head and your confidence level.

If it were me, I would repair the head you have with new springs and seals if that is all that is needed.

Let me know if you have questions. Thanks

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