I bought a set of used scoggin dickey cnc ported heads a while back. The seller indicated that a couple valve guides were cracked. I took them to my machine shop which is pretty well respected around here to have the guides replaced. The machinist told me not to worry about the cracks and to just run them as they are. Somehow this doesn't sit well with me. I'd like some opinions on this before I go and do the head swap. All comments and advice are appreciated. Thanks

 

You have any pictures of the cracks?

 

It never hurts to have a second opinion. The money to have someone else look at them would be worth it just for the piece of mind. Id get them looked at again.

 

If the guides are cracked, more than likely it bent the valves and that caused the guides to crack. You really cant just assume it is fine. When the guide cracks there is a high amount of force on it. That can make the new valve not line up properly with the seat. If that is the case you should replace the guide(s) and have a valve job done. I myself would not like a cracked guide in there, but I am pretty picky. You could check how the valve is seating with some lapping compound before taking it to a machine shop.

 

I agree. It seemed odd that the machinist said to go ahead and run it, especially if he had the opportunity to make some money on the repair. If I don't fix them, that will always be at the back of my mind. Thanks