My car wants to die, where can i find a good M30 head in Australia?

[Randell]

this is becoming ridiculous... Less than 4000km ago i had hydraulic lock in cylinder 6, thanks to a previous owner that decided to fix the head with JBweld... the head came off and was welded, looked good when it went back on, checked fluids regularly and not a problem to be seen

But on Saturday after finally finishing some suspension work (rear shocks, thrust arms and sway bar links up front) with a friend of mine, i took the car for a drive and now it's toast again! Ok, by 'took the car for a drive', i mean 'took the car to drag my mate in his supercharged trueno', but i only redlined it 6 times... this is an automatic in economy mode, shift points would be around 5900. After that i drive 60km to my girlfriend's parent's house, and the next morning i had 'low coolant level'. There's oil in the coolant and coolant in the oil...

it was the first time I've really given a beating to the car since the head work was done, it didn't really hold up to much

so... $2200 work on the head is gone, now i have to source another M30 head in Australia.. anyone have some leads? I'd preferably like one that has some kinda warranty on it, though i don't think that sorta thing exists.. Should i go for something with a hotter cam? I'm pretty happy with the performance of the engine as is (EAT chipped), it was neck and neck with the lightweight 4AGZE powered trueno, but if I'm going to have to replace the whole thing I might consider getting something more special than stock

So if anyone knows of anywhere in Australia that can get me a good M30 head at a reasonable price, let me know.. thanks!

[BigKriss]

maybe the yards like ASV (http://www.asv.com.au/carsforsale.html) or ebay. I don't really know. are you going to replace the cylinder head yourself this time? I'm about to start mine tomorrow.

[Zeuk in Oz]

Probably not as cheap as you want, but if all else fails BMA sell new heads that are cast in Spain and are apparently (According to Bill R and others from memory) good quality.

Cheaper than a new one from the dealer but much dearer than a second hand one.

Good luck.

[rob101]

So if anyone knows of anywhere in Australia that can get me a good M30 head at a reasonable price, let me know.. thanks!
your engine hates you
perhaps it'd be worth your while finding a low Km's used engine.
probably cost you about the same.

[Wes F]

So if anyone knows of anywhere in Australia that can get me good head at a reasonable price, let me know.. thanks!

Yeah, same here. ;)

[bill g]

I have had good luck with parts from B.M. Spares in Dandenong Victoria - phone 03 97916822. I think a lot of their secondhand stuff is from fairly low mileage Japanese cars. I dont know whether they will separate heads from engines.
Also try asking on European Car Club of Australia forum.

Bill G Melbourne Aus

[Randell]

thanks for the suggestions guys, i've spent a fair while looking but so far haven't found anything... however my mechanic gave me a call yesterday and said there was nothing wrong with the car apart from a failed expansion tank cap...

so i lost an expansion tank of coolant, had oily 'sand' at the bottom of the tank, and creamy residue under the oil cap, and there's nothing wrong with it? i paid for the new cap (which does seal much better than the old one), and off i went, but i'm still paranoid...

the dipstick is clean and if i look into the rocker cover it looks ok, and i guess the dirt in the coolant was from the previous head failure, but the oil on the cap and around the filler hole is still kinda creamy.. i check this stuff religiously and i've never seen anything like it before... i cleaned it up with a paper towel so i can see if it comes back

i guess all i can do is drive it gently and keep a close eye on things!