How can you tell if your engine is warped after blowing a headgasket and if it is worth repairing?

Answer 1

Get a good straight edge and some feeler gauges. Lay them across the surface of the head in all orientations. (across front/back/middle, diagnally across corner to corners) See if the feeler gauges will slip under at the end or the middle of the straight edge. (or you can see light...)

If so, it's warped. How warped is too much? If I can get my finger nail under it, it gets some attention.

Keep in mind that having it planed will make the surface flat, but bolt it up now and the camshafts are now continuously being bent ever so slightly...

Heads can now be heat straightened. This brings the cams back in too.

If it's not bad and you don't have a Torque to Yield head bolt setup, I've over torqued the head bolts by up to 10% to compensate on minor warpage. Seems to work. No leaks yet, although all car guys will probably say I'm on crack.

Most common seems to be heads warped away from the block in the middle. This is where I over torque the bolts just a tad in a reducing pattern out from the center. So, if the head called for 70 ft pounds I'd torque the middle bolts to about 78, next row out to 75, and so forth.

Don't blame me if it doesn't work for you or you snap off bolts.

answer answer

engine wont be warped but the head may be if you didn't overheat engine too much and fixed problem pretty quick, it wont be warped above answer says about bent cam. that is bogus but if head is warped, just go buy anew one and replace specially if aluminum they cannot be straightened if torque says 70 use 70.if u snap a bolt off going over the proper torque then you got to generally take head off and hope there is enough broken bolt showing to be able to remove it with out drills and easy outs PS a camshaft will break before it bends.