Well, this is a great first post, don't you think?

My father-in-law's '97 Stratus (2.4 DOHC, Auto) drove into my shop yesterday afternoon smoking and boiling. He thinks the head gasket is blown, so we disassemble the motor to take the head off. We are slap dab in the middle of removing the cams, rockers and lifters when I noticed a rather large crack on the back side of the head. It goes top to bottom...thankyouverymuch.

Needless to say, we were a little disappointed. Him because his car will cost more to fix than we anticipated, and me because his car will be in my shop for a LOT longer.

Anyhoo...what are our options? Junkyard head and hope it works? Junkyard head that we rebuild? Professionally remanufactured head? New head? ...not likely...too much money! Weld it back together? ...not likely...too much effort!

Where can I find said parts?

 

I'd most definitely call the junkyard if money's an issue. I've bought several transmissions and other parts from the junkyard and provided you go to a reputable place, I've always had great luck. You'd be amazed at what alot of these places carry on hand.... I would also check your local Thrifty Nickel/Classifieds to see if anyone's selling those parts. You also might try e-bay as well. Granted, I think for the money problems I would definitely hit up a few junkyards, and while you are there, you might be able to score some other stuff he needs cheap...

That really sucks that this is your first post Don't feel so bad though....my first post was on a Chevy board for my Z26's blown tranny.....and I blew the entire gear housing apart....

 

It's all good. At least it's my father-in-law's car and not mine. After I noticed the crack, he just stood there looking at it and shaking his head for about 5 minutes. It was kind of funny...

Thanks for the reply.

 

Anytime man, you might even inquire on here in the Stratus section to see if anyone has parts....I know a few of them have killed their cars...

 

Done!!!

 

I would say used head and have it checked and machined flat. My first choice would be a reman. head.

 

I have a complete 2.4 head if you need one still.

 

Oooo...how much with shipping? Where are you located? Take 3rd-party-out-of-state-bad-checks?

 

Alrighty...I got a head and it's going out for machining this week. In my quest, I've found that this particular head has a cracking problem. Maybe it's the Texas heat or something but I've run across a good 6-8 Stratus/Cirrus cars that have this same problem. Is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening again with this "new" head?