i had two exhaust bolts break off on the driver side that caused a major leak so i decided to go with headers and take the heads off and have them "freshened up" over 100k on engine(valve job ect..)no porting or anything major,my question is do i need to completly tear the heads down for this and is there a problem re-using everything (valves,springs,rockers etc..)on a tight budget at the moment.
any advice would be great,first time doing anything this major to my car....

 

Valves are reusable, but for around $150 you can have newer bigger valves. That isnt including the valvejob. Do not reuse springs. they are tired by now. Lifters may be ok. If you can afford to replace them you should. Make sure you look them over really well and make sure they arent damaged.

 

At the very least get new springs. If your really on a budget Im sure you can find some cheap used low mileage stockers, or better yet get some LT4 springs. For the stock cam they would be plenty.

Aaron

 

Its no big deal to tear the heads down once there sitting on a work bench, the machine shop will do this for you. On a really tight budget you can reuse everything (except the seals) unless there is some kind of problem. A basic "valve job" will reuse your old valves by machining the seat area and the tip of the stem and the seats in the heads will also be machined. The guides may or may not need to be replaced depending on wear and the heads may or may not need to be resurfaced depending on any warpage or bad scratches.

 

put some money together so now i can spend like $500 for this not including the headers they are already paid for.what would you guys recommend ? any good complete kits for that price ? this price needs to include EVERYTHING.

 

As metioned your spring could use an upgrade no matter what you decide to do for a cam. I dont think $500 will get you a valve job and port work but your really close you could buy springs and a cam . Either a hotcam kit or a Cmotorsports kit.

 

Get new valvesprings and some comp pro magnums self-aligning 1.6 roller rocker arms. Most people would recommend putting on a new spring for the 1.6's because the 1.6's put the stock springs uncomfortably close to coil bind. At 100K miles it also might be a good idea to have your valve guides checked.... That would be a sensible way to spend the $500.

BTW I have the Crane Gold (LT4) roller rockers - they are pretty noisy which is why I recommended the Pro Mag's.