DadandSonEyes 1989 MAZDA B2600i 4X4 Cab Plus continues HELP

I agree. After this Mazda is all done..... I plan to get back into the Muscle Car I left behind years ago. A 1970-72 Chevelle. Going to try to find one that runs this time and modify it. Want to teach my son about real American "Muscle". Neat and clean.

Hey Guys, I don't intend to hijack your thread but reading everything I figured my question could be answered here.

I too have a 1989 Mazda 4x4 B2600i. My problem is that my head is not the same as all the replacement heads I have seen or the pictures here. Mine has a recess around the combustion chambers for piston clearance. My pistons stick out of the cylinders about 60 thousands of an inch. Does your pistons do the same and will the heads that are all I can find, flat with no recess work to replace mine? I know you will want pics. But am avoiding pulling the head at this time, It has blown another gasket and is warped.

Thanks for any info.

This is a great question for Axel Breaker Earl! He is a REAL professional. I'm not certain what to tell you. But I do believe my heads have a tiny bit recession I did send my head to machine. Shop for $200 they rebuilt it. And I had 3 bent valves. Took them 2 days. They Magnifluxed head also. Made it perfect again.

Davvious.......if your head is still on the engine and it has a blown head gasket, if coolant has gotten into the cylinders, then your cylinders are RUSTING!
You should always remove the head as soon as you can (after the engine has cooled completely of course) if your sure it has a blown head gasket or a cracked head.

So, your head does not look like this then?




How about this?

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The second picture is of the carb. G54 engine....isn't it?

Hey Earl, no it does not look like either of those photos. It looks similar to the 1st photo only it has a circle around the combustion chamber same size as cylinders with about a 60 thousands recess. I already did a pressure test on the coolant system and it holds, I did a compression tests on cylinders and number 3 and 4 are at near 0. Have already rebuild the head once, a year later it blew out again and I did a repair on it That I won't speak of knowing it was temperary. I know it needs replaced because it is at the limit for resurfacing and probably needs a weld.

Every headI have looked at that is suppose to be the right one also looks like the 1st photo. I had pulled one off an mpv just like it to use but had noticed it was flat.

Dan, You probably had your heads pressure tested not magnifluxed. They magniflux cast iron heads using a magnetic field.

My pistons stick out of my block also, but I figured that the head gasket takes up most of that .060

That is what I was hoping to hear Mazda Man, and figured the gasket was what made the difference. It should mean I can use the head with the flat deck surface! It will just drive me nuts trying to figure out mine. I am actually a retired machinist of 16 years in the head shop but have a horrid memory and can't get ahold of my old foreman who had a photo graphic memory and could tell you casting numbers of everything head related and exactly what is different from one to the other by how many bolt holes, exact head diamaters of valves/stems and so on.

Ok, I just went out and measured my pistons sticking out of my block. I am in the middle of a complete b26i restore and haven't gotten the head put back on yet. My pistons stick out of the block .032. If yours sticks out .060 maybe the block was warped at one point and they expected you to use a shim? Was there a shim when you removed it?

I meant to say that the block was warped and they milled the block down.