Cylinder Heads: Used vs. Remanufactured — A Buyer's Guide

A cylinder head is one of the hardest-working parts on your engine — it seals the top of each combustion chamber, carries the valves, and routes coolant and oil around some of the hottest metal in your vehicle. When a head cracks, warps, or blows a gasket, you're usually looking at overheating, coolant loss, or a misfire that won't quit. The good news is you don't always need a brand-new head from the dealer. A quality used head or a remanufactured one can get you back on the road for a fraction of new — as long as you pick the right option for your engine and your budget. Here's how to think it through, Edmonton-winter reality included.

Used vs. remanufactured cylinder heads

A used cylinder head is pulled from a running or low-kilometre donor engine. At a full-service recycler like Eskimo, that doesn't mean "as-is off the shelf" — our staff pull the part, inspect it, and back it with our standard 90-day warranty on used parts. A good used head is often the most cost-effective fix when your engine is otherwise healthy and you just need a sound casting to replace a cracked or warped one.

A remanufactured (reman) head has been fully disassembled, cleaned, machined, and rebuilt to a specification — decks resurfaced, valves and seats reground or replaced, guides serviced, and cracks screened out. On the reman side we supply remanufactured engines and heads, which carry a manufacturer warranty and a refundable core charge (you send back your old head core and get that portion refunded). Reman is the stronger choice when you want a known, restored baseline — high-kilometre trucks, engines you plan to keep for years, or platforms with a known weak-head reputation.

• Used head: lowest cost, fastest, backed by our 90-day used-parts warranty — best when the rest of the engine is solid.
• Reman head: rebuilt to spec, manufacturer warranty, refundable core charge — best for longevity and problem-prone engines.
• Either way, parts are quote-based — request a quote or call (780) 473-2424 and we'll match your exact engine.

Signs of a cracked or warped head

Cylinder head trouble tends to announce itself the same handful of ways. Any one of these is worth investigating; two or more together usually points straight at the head or head gasket:

• White sweet-smelling smoke from the tailpipe (coolant being burned in a cylinder).
• Coolant disappearing with no puddle under the truck — it's going somewhere internal.
• Milky, chocolate-coloured oil on the dipstick or under the oil cap (coolant mixing with oil).
• Bubbles or exhaust gas in the rad or overflow tank (combustion pushing into the cooling system).
• Persistent overheating, a rough idle, or a stubborn misfire on one cylinder.
• Loss of power or low compression on a cylinder that won't come back.

In Alberta winters, overheating from a failing head is easy to miss until it's serious — a marginal head gasket or a hairline crack can hold together on a cold morning and then let go once the engine is under load and fully warm. If you're topping up coolant more than you should be, don't wait.

Why pressure testing matters

You can't judge a head by looking at it — hairline cracks and warp are invisible to the naked eye. That's why proper inspection matters before a head goes on your engine. A machine shop will pressure-test the casting (seal the coolant passages, apply air pressure, and watch for leaks), check the deck for warp with a precision straightedge and feeler gauge, and use crack-detection methods — magnetic particle (Magnaflux) inspection on cast-iron heads, dye penetrant on aluminum. A warped-but-uncracked head can often be resurfaced back to flat; a cracked one gets rejected. When you buy a reman head, that screening and machining is already built into the part. When you go used, ask us about the head's history and condition — we test and inspect what we sell rather than guessing.

Gas vs. diesel: Powerstroke, Duramax, Cummins

Gas-engine heads are usually a more straightforward swap. Aluminum heads are common and prone to warping from overheating, so flatness and a fresh set of head bolts (many are torque-to-yield and single-use) matter as much as the casting itself.

Diesel heads are a different animal — they live under far higher cylinder pressures and heat, and each platform has its own reputation:

• Ford 6.0L Powerstroke: famous for head-gasket failures where the head bolts stretch and lift the head. Many owners upgrade to studs when a head is off — do the gasket, bolts, and inspection properly the first time.
• Ford 6.4L / 7.3L Powerstroke: the 7.3L is comparatively robust; the 6.4L still warrants a careful crack and deck inspection.
• GM Duramax (LB7 through LML): heads can crack and gaskets can fail, often tied to EGR heat and overheating episodes — inspection is essential before reuse.
• Dodge/Ram Cummins 5.9L & 6.7L: the inline-six heads are generally durable, but high-hour trucks and overheated engines still crack and warp.

Because diesel heads carry higher stakes and higher cost, this is the category where a reman head — screened, machined, and warrantied — often pays for itself. Tell us the exact engine and we'll walk you through used versus reman for your truck.

Choosing the right option

Start with the rest of the engine. If the block, pistons, and bottom end are healthy and you just need a sound head, a warrantied used head is usually the smart, economical call. If the engine is high-kilometre, the platform is known for head trouble, or you plan to keep the vehicle for the long haul, a reman head gives you a rebuilt baseline and manufacturer warranty. And always replace the head gasket and head bolts, confirm the coolant system is doing its job, and address whatever overheated the head in the first place — otherwise a new head lands in the same trouble.

Not sure which way to go? That's what we're here for. Since 1984 our family-run yard has helped Edmonton and shops across Canada (and into the USA) match the right part to the right job. Request a quote online or call (780) 473-2424 with your year, make, model, and engine, and we'll lay out your options.