How deep is the induction hardening on magnum heads - can I do a valve job?

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kielbasa

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Hi guys, bought a pos '97 ram with a crappy running 360 to use as a plow truck. Pulled heads and the exhaust valves and seats are HORRIBLE, was able to clean up the valves and still have some margin left, but I worry about cleaning up the seats and going thru the hardened portion - I have no idea how thick that is.....I'm guessing 50 thou, give or take?? Anybody ever done a valve job on a magnum head? Thanks for any info!
 
these are beyond lapping.....i bet the pits in the seats gotta be at least 10 thou deep, maybe more....
 
kielbasa said:
Hi guys, bought a pos '97 ram with a crappy running 360 to use as a plow truck. Pulled heads and the exhaust valves and seats are HORRIBLE, was able to clean up the valves and still have some margin left, but I worry about cleaning up the seats and going thru the hardened portion - I have no idea how thick that is.....I'm guessing 50 thou, give or take?? Anybody ever done a valve job on a magnum head? Thanks for any info!
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as long as you are not hogging out the bowls, and/or putting bigger valves in, you can grind away and clean up those seats. I would hesitate to take it to a shop that uses a Serdi type cutter, but I would recommend the old school taper pilot grinding stones job.
 
The factory induction hardening surface is about as thick as your foreskin.
:welcome:
Have seats pressed in, do the guides and get a valve job.
 
allow me to clarify, this is a 300 dollar beater plowtruck with no interior, half the body left, etc.....i'm assuming to have seats installed would cost more than the truck is worth??
 
Sounds like a decent case to just do the valve job and let it go. See if there is some lead substitute additive locally if you so desire, but it is not like the valve seats will go to heck in 100 miles..... maybe 10-20k miles?
 
kielbasa said:
allow me to clarify, this is a 300 dollar beater plowtruck with no interior, half the body left, etc.....i'm assuming to have seats installed would cost more than the truck is worth??
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A plow truck sees a LOT of loaded, low RPM time. Just the type of operation that needs hardened seats.

I love posts like this where people always want to do a job on the cheap but what they need is the exact opposite. What difference does it make what the truck's worth is as a static hunk of metal?

What's it worth as a good operating plow truck?

All this talk about "it's not worth X, so I am not putting Y into it makes no sense to me.

Either fix it right, or throw it in the ditch.
 
MOPAROFFICIAL said:
The factory induction hardening surface is about as thick as your foreskin.
:welcome:
Have seats pressed in, do the guides and get a valve job.
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Uhhhuhhhuhh, Beavis!
You said ''hardening'', ''surface'', ''thick'', and ''foreskin'' in your first sentence.
Then you had ''pressed in'' in your second sentence.
Uhhhuhhhuhh!
 
RustyRatRod said:
A plow truck sees a LOT of loaded, low RPM time. Just the type of operation that needs hardened seats.

I love posts like this where people always want to do a job on the cheap but what they need is the exact opposite. What difference does it make what the truck's worth is as a static hunk of metal?

What's it worth as a good operating plow truck?

All this talk about "it's not worth X, so I am not putting Y into it makes no sense to me.

Either fix it right, or throw it in the ditch.
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I don't disagree with the "fix it right" part, why do you think I asked how deep the induction hardening goes??!! if it goes a hundred thou deep, I'm not throwing my $$$ away by installing seats! If you KNOW the answer to my original question, please state so. But you didn't even attempt to answer it.
 
He did and wasn't kidding. The hardening process is micro thin. His description was humorously vulgar.

Cut the valve seat and have the valve job done. Call it a day and don't worry.
 
kielbasa said:
I don't disagree with the "fix it right" part, why do you think I asked how deep the induction hardening goes??!! if it goes a hundred thou deep, I'm not throwing my $$$ away by installing seats! If you KNOW the answer to my original question, please state so. But you didn't even attempt to answer it.
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Your question has been answered already, did you miss it? Induction hardening goes .060" deep if you're REAL LUCKY. Usually only on the order of .010-.020.

There's no concrete answer, as each head is a little different in consistency.
 
You knew the answer before you even asked the question. Just looking for confirmation ? Do it right or don't ask silly questions.
 
The obvious fix is to buy EQ replacement heads, do it right, and when the truck dies, sell them!
 
gregsdart said:
The obvious fix is to buy EQ replacement heads, do it right, and when the truck dies, sell them!
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I think I've had enough of the "do it right" preaching......pretty sure I've got a good handle on how to do things "right", was just asking for firsthand information so I can make an informed decision TO do it "right" instead of just guessing.
 
kielbasa said:
I think I've had enough of the "do it right" preaching......pretty sure I've got a good handle on how to do things "right", was just asking for firsthand information so I can make an informed decision TO do it "right" instead of just guessing.
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hey, its your money, roll the dice if you want to and take the beating if the heads crack (or are already cracked) and force you into redoing the job. My post was intended to save you greif and recoup the $560 for the head castings when the truck dies, that is why i consider it the right way. You wanted a low cost fix apparently, and the EQs would eventually provide that, and most importantly excellent reliability.
 
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