Hey guys,

While working on the EF Fairmont today, noticed there has been a water leak along the exhaust side of the block in a few areas. It hasnt lost much water so its more like seepage. Drained the oil and there doesnt seem to be any water/coolant in it and vice versa for the coolant reservior. So im thinking either a slight head gasket problem and/or the head is warped

Anyways, since the head's gonna come off i was thinking of getting it reco'd (its done about 214,000kms), machined/refaced and pressure/crack tested along with a little bit of work done to the ports but nothing major. During this time, ill be doing the exhaust/intake and maybe a cam regrind similar to the Wade 1636 along with XR6 springs if the cam goes in.

I was wondering though, whether i should just scrap that idea and try and source a tickford head? Or would working on the standard head be better? I know the tickford head has the bigger valves stiffer springs cam and what not, but i would probably end up doing a bit of work on that too. Also would a AU head gasket be ideal if i decide to go with the worked EF head or is it just an 'if you have the extra money kinda thing'?

Well i better end this post, its getting too long . Any help you guys may have will be greatly appreciated. Cheers

if ya could find a recod tickford head from any of the xr6s i would go for it

ey mate recently purchased a reco'd xr6 head with a 1636 cam in it from efgiar its going in, in about 2 weeks everythings pretty standard besides 2 and a 1/2 cat back.

I can fill ya in on the changes of power and it will have a spin on the dyno so will have evidence! and oh go the au gasket dude its worth it.

if ur not gunna do much work id go for the tickford stuff just cos its easier but if ur planing on a cam and abit of head work keep what uv got n just shave the head to make sure its flat, n i recomend the au headgasket, ive neva had any trouble with mine n ul hav slightly higher comp.

Mate the only differance between the std head & the tickford head is that the tickford head has bigger exhaust valves & slightly stiffer valve springs. I'm telling you don't wast your money on a tickford head. I have the 94AB std head with bigger exhaust valves (new), crow xr6 valve springs, work around the pockets & polished ports NO BIGGER PORTS. I'm running a wade 1636 cam & a au steel head gasket for more comp. The extra money that you will give for a tickford head you could spend it on a worked std head that will give you more power.

Thanks for all the replys everyone. Yeah im leaning slightly towards working the standard head instead of getting a tickford one. Reason being the only wrecker i've found with a tickford head wont sell it to me unless ive buy the complete engine for around $1k (coz its there last one and only done just over 100k).

So i think ill go with the standard head, get it machined, clean up the ports, maybe larger valves with the xr6 springs as Racer stated as im planning on getting a cam done while the heads off. Definately gonna go with the AU gasket now, seems to be pretty good and reliable. Cant wait to see how hard the fairmont pulls once that all goes on.

One more question though, XR6 tickford ECU? Is it worth upgrading to after all these mods? Or will the standard ECU do?

I say yes it is worth it. If you have a automatic box get the fairmont ghia ecu. It has the same mapping as a tickford one but a better shift pattern than a tickford auto ecu.
The differance between the two ecu's is the mapping of the engine. The tickford ecu is a slightly better ecu due to the bigger cam.
Your car will haul a** just don't go big ports you will lose all you bottom end torque.
Exhaust valves are a must. With my car as soon as it hits 2500-3000rpm & on woulds it goe's like a rocket.