Hi folks I am new to this forum and recently bought my first Japanese pickup, a b2600 4x4.
the truck needs a head gasket and I was hoping to find out about the pros and cons of machining the head or buying a new one.
appreciate any advice you folks could have...thanks

 

Take the cylinder head to a engine machining shop for inspection, they will tell you if it's reusable.

 

Thanks grim_reaper,
​​​​​​that is my plan, just wanted to know if a machined head which sits lower would cause any interference with the pistons or anything else, also. Would the length of the timing chains and the position of the cams get affected in a negative way? And if so is there a remedy? Are there shims for machined heads?.?????
sorry , I like these little trucks but don't know anything about them. I am trying to locate a manual, hopefully soon.
Thanks everybody.

 

thanks that is the plan, I just wanted to know if a machined head is inferior to a new head

 

There's limits to how much can be skimmed, a machine shop will know the limits. They only skim a fraction of a inch, maybe 5 or 10 thousandth of a inch.

Depending on how hot the engine got, it may deform the metal structure. A quality machine shop can test and asses the head for serviceability.

 

thanks Grim_reaper. If the head is machined, even 5 thou, what happens to the lowered head, does that effect the timing chain? Are there different thickness head gaskets?
Thanks for the advice.