aluminum head welding will it warp

[whensparksfly]

hi all I have a aluminium head and I want to modify the rear of the head where the water outlet is for bulkhead clearance will need around 120mm in length of welding will it warp the head?

 

[cocker]

Probably , only one way to find out .

 

[JohnRUFC]

Could you not have it skimmed after?

 

[Jim Davey]

Could do with a picture of the area you wish to weld on and a little better explanation before any kind of answer can be given. Is it an issue to have the head skimmed after the modification?

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Yes it will warp.
The head will off warped on removal from the engine, so it will have to be skimmed any way.
Best thing is to get the head all ready for welding. Eg all is ready to go.
Place in an oven at about 200 deg C, for about 1 hour, take out do the welding.
Then put back in the oven and switch it of and let it cool down slowly.
Then have it skimmed, top and bottom faces.
This a basic summery of how we have our heads treated when they are converted to take an LPG conversion kit.

 

[AndyStobbs]

Yes it will warp.
The head will off warped on removal from the engine, so it will have to be skimmed any way.
Best thing is to get the head all ready for welding. Eg all is ready to go.
Place in an oven at about 200 deg C, for about 1 hour, take out do the welding.
Then put back in the oven and switch it of and let it cool down slowly.
Then have it skimmed, top and bottom faces.
This a basic summery of how we have our heads treated when they are converted to take an LPG conversion kit.

That is to say that if a head is removed to perform some other job, lets say replacement piston rings, then it'll be problematic upon refitting?

 

[Woody.v8]

I'm not a big lover in refacing a head "just because", If they are flat, bolt them on as you only have so much material to remove.

 

[AndyStobbs]

Some heads can't even be skimmed once.

 

[Justme]

Re skimming a head only give you a flat face to bolt up.

If its warped then any cams running in it will be affected too.

 

[keithski122]

You've probably looked at it but I would prefer to modify the bulkhead.

 

[hotrodder]

As said you need to give us more to go on as it's impossible to say what may or not distort from a 120mm long weld. It's not gonna turn into a banana if you go near it with a welding torch but depending what you want to do and where on the rear of the head you want to do it it may be a bad idea compared to clearancing the bulkhead

 

[chevy2]

I've built more than my fair share of modified and one-off street and race cars and always wherever possible modify the vehicle to accept the consumable component, in this case the cylinder head,

this way whenever a part fails or wears out you simply replace it with the standard available part without the need to modify what is technically a consumable part once "again".

in other words, modify the bulkhead,
job done...