Are these ebay cylinder heads with mechanical adjustable rockers worth it? I might want to put one on the shelf for later needs. My hydraulic lifters (at least one of them) is randomly noisey and I was considering swapping the head some day in the future maybe

https://ebay.us/m/wUy3FP

 

Wow! That's a great price for sure.
There are advantages toa adjustable rocker arm.

 

Some have claimed that the Chinesium Camshafts that come with these cheap aftermarket cylinder heads are not hardened enough and will wipe the lobes even when using a quality assembly lube and the normal break-in procedure (running engine at 2000 rpm for 20 minutes or so, after initial startup). BUT......you could re-use your Mazda camshaft in the new cylinder head and avoid any issues with camshaft hardness.......I would still use the quality assembly lube on the camshaft as well.

 

Can I install mechanical rocker arms and lifters in place of my hydraulic or does changing from hydraulic to mechanical require a total head swap?

 

They are the same exact heads. The actual HEAD GASKET is the only difference. The 2.2 (B2200 or F2 engines) has an oil restrictor in the engine block, where the valvetrain oil is pumped into the cylinder head. The 2.0 (B2000 with timing BELT or FE engines) have the oil restrictor in the HEAD GASKET......and just a large open hole in the engine block, where the valvetrain oil is pumped into the cylinder head. So......you ALWAYS use the HEAD GASKET that was designed for the engine block that you are using!!!

Typically you want to use the B2000 or "FE" camshaft in the cylinder head when you use the mechanical rockers (AND the mechanical rocker shafts) in your cylinder head. BUT, I have used (more than once) the B2200 "F2" camshaft in a hydraulic rocker arm style cylinder head.......there is a slight more pronounced "ticking" when doing so, as the hydraulic camshaft lobe ramps are designed to work with the hydraulic rocker arms.

Does this hurt the engine's performance or lifespan? Well, I drove a B2200 truck, with a rebuilt B2200 engine, with it's original F2 camshaft, and the slightly more pronounced "ticking" for more than 100,000 miles without any issues whatsoever. I sold that truck to a friend, and he drove it for a few more years, then sold it to buy a larger truck. So I don't believe that it hurts the engine any at all.

The B2000 (with Timing Belt) "FE" camshaft has "FE" cast into the camshaft.......same thing for the B2200 "F2" camshaft, except it has "F2" cast into it, of course.

Below is a picture of a B2000 (with Timing Belt) camshaft that shows the "FE" that is cast into the part......

 

Whats it like running the engine with the valve cover off? I imagine trying that to listen with a stethiscope to identify which hydraulic lifter is loose and ticking. Is running with the valve cover off way too messy? Anyone ever do this?

 

Like most engine of you keep it at idle speed its not that bad. Back in the day its how I did v8s . I even made a couple custom valve covers to minimize the oil splash on the engine. The one below I cut for small block Chevy engines in the 70s.

 

I’ve run American v8 engines with the valve covers off numerous times with tolerable mess. I’m just wondering if the overhead cam design of the B2200 engine is more messy

 

It will be way too messy! Ask me how I know!
You can effectively use a Stethoscope with the valve cover in place......I do this all the time......last time? Yesterday!

I have a friends truck that I have been "fixing" for him, and the 2.0 FE engine has a "flop, flop, flop" noise in the top end somewhere. I'm not sure what it is at this point. Seems to be on the intake side of the head though. I will probably perform a leakdown test next, to rule out or confirm a slightly bent intake valve.

 

Yeah my memory fails me sometimes. Seems like I tried it once in the past on this engine and I found out real quick. It was like, start it up, hop out and take a look, holy crap shut it down!!! 😆