crack in head, intake port to head bolt to outside

[vitza]

hey guys,

i finally got my bike going and it started running pretty bad at higher than cruising rpm... looked at plugs and front was lean. did the intake leak test and no bubbles. leak down test showed 40% loss on the front head with a nice hiss coming out of the intake port. took the manifold off and felt the air blowing out of the intake valve area... took the head of and found a nice crack running from the intake port to the head bolt to the outside...

ive read some threads here were everyone recommends headhog to do the repairs but people also mentioned he has a nice waiting time. do you guys think a regular local machine shop that specializes in aluminum can take care of this? is there another place that specializes in panheads besides headhog i can send this to?

[Cotten]

Vitza!

A bubble-test should have displayed that immediately.

There is no economical way to repair the head;
Even if corners are cut, the seat must be removed and replaced fpr welding the chamber, the port welded before then welding-on another conversion nipple, the gasket surface re-milled, and all of that as a gamble that every bit of leak has been sealed, and will stay sealed upon fastener torque, and that the headbolt insert will not pull out.

I've got one just like it.

....Cotten

[Northman]

Your best intrest would be to shop around for another head in nice shape. As Cotten points out ..and from experience I have have had...its a matter of time and issues will crop up, sooner than the latter.
Northman

[George Greer]

Vitza..

PM me.. if you would like... and we can discuss details OK.

I might be able to help you, with your head problem

George

[vitza]

hey guys, thanks for all the replies...

my main priority is getting this bike on the road and not having to take this head off again in the near future. id rather do it right the first time and save myself another headache later. with that in mind, would doing it right consist of sending it to headhog or just putting a different head on?

cotton, what are your thoughts on this? i very much value your opinion but just personally dont know which option would be the better to go with. repair or replace...

george, ill send a pm in a few

[Cotten]

Vitza!

I had hoped I was clear when I said I had one just like it.
If you find a reasonable quality repair in the coming years, let me know!

...Cotten

[jdpan]

What I would do is send a pic of this to Don at Headhog and get a price to repair it, then start pricing a good replacement head on Ebay or wherever, compare prices and make a decision from there... If that head is part of an original set that came from the factory on your engine, I'd be more inclined to have it repaired unless you find a decent replacement of the same year and the price was right.

[vitza]

spoke to don and he pretty much hinted at repair being a temporary band-aid that might or might not work. he said the biggest issue was the steel seats. he can guarantee the welding but said i might end up having more problems with the seats.

the heads are not matched to the lower end so i guess replacement is the option of choice...

thanks for all the advice guys. much appreciated.

[Cotten]

Vitza!

If there are steel seats installed, they were most likely the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Don would have to completely chew out all of the original bronze to then weld up a support for a new seat.
But installing a bronze insert, at much less of a press-fit, would greatly reduce the chances of re-breaking.
I hope he is aware that Kibblewhite now supplies them.

...Cotten

[vitza]

thanks cotton, im pretty convinced that the steel seats were the cause.

what are your thoughts on these STD heads? my dealer guy can get them for me for $1,200

http://www.vtwincatalog.com/dl/index.ph ... DS.Panhead" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

part # 10-1061

im not doing a factory resto bike so sticking with originals doesnt matter to me too much. i just want reliability.

thank you cotton.

-victor

[Cotten]

Victor!

I am nobody to judge what $1200 means to you!

But the convenience may well be worth it: life is too short,
even for a young man.

Yet please shop around, as V-TWIN prices are inflated.
(And the shipment I just unpacked was tragic.)

....Cotten

[vitza]

it is a pretty heavy amount of money but with all the problems ive had with building this bike, i just want reliability at this point. all the stock heads ive found need work, headhog's prices are very reasonable for my budget but the wait time is just something i dont have the patience for any longer. i guess spending more money is the only option for the word "want".

do you have any experience with these STD heads? would going the OEM HD route be a better option as far as long term reliability? (i know HD made a great product 50+ years ago. and their heads have survived well in the right hands til today. but i just dont want to be fixing another persons mistakes with getting used heads)

[jdpan]

STD heads perform well and I believe you can have them polished as well.... When they first came out, there were ugly as hell but since, they have designed the heads to be more representative of oem .. I personally could never get used to the shovel intake and exhaust, along with the boxy appearance of the older style. Go for the ones with the pan spigots and o-ring intake.

[TimmyV]

Vitza, I picked up a set of the STD panheads with original style exhaust spigots for my '61 Pan a while back. Got them from Spyke ( on E Bay ) as they are the folks that bought out STDs' tooling, etc. Quality is great & I truly believe they outperform the stock units by a mile.

[vitza]

awesome. ill be ordering these today... thanks guys!