I recently sent my heads to a shop to get some work done. I knew of one crack prior to sending the heads. They inspected the heads and found three other cracks, one on each exhaust seat. They are 1.8l heads. I have worked on the heads quite a bit and I never saw the cracks so I do not think that they are very large.

How difficult is it to repair the cracks? How long does it typically take?

I am trying to get a rough idea so I know how much I should be paying?

Do your self a favor and buy new heads from Jake. 40 yr old heads are not worth
repairing.

$1200-1500, more or less, parts and labor. That doesn't count valves or springs. And you still have old heads.

The Cap'n

That is a common problem with 1.8 heads. I routinely find nascent cracks in the valve seat counterbores once the O.E. seats are removed (as all seats should be on all T4 heads, especially 1.8 and 2.0) that are not visisble until the seats are removed.

Jake and I don't currently offer a new 1.8 replacement through the T4 Store.

So what are my options for heads for my 2258 rebuild? Money is super tight right now and I can't afford a new set of heads.

Your heads can be repaired, though you will still have old castings that have been overheated enough to cause these cracks. We have made these repairs hundreds of times with good results, just keep in mind that you will not have the long lifespan that new castings or castings that have not been abused will have.

We do not see failures out of the heads that are repaired after overheating, but the castings loose strength and they typically won't hold a valve job on the ex as long as their healthier counterparts.

Even that isn't the end of the world. Most T4 heads are running around with a less than perfect ex valve to seat seal due to the design of the head, and their owners have no idea. The engine will usually run just fine and power loss isn't drastic until the leak gets bad. The the issue will be more noticeable on bottom end power.

The repaired heads represent a compromise that some people don't want to make, while others have no choice.