# How to tell if cylinder head has SMOG holes @ exhaust



## ITproNC (Mar 6, 2017)

How to tell if cylinder head has SMOG holes @ exhaust... How do I tell if I need to order a reman head with or without SMOG? I am in NC, we do not have strict SMOG laws,and I will save some money if I get a reman head without (with No) SMOG. But I am not really certain what I am looking for on the head I pulled from my MKi4 Jetta thats on the bench now to see if it has SMOG or not. What am I looking for exactly and do I need to order the same thing or is there any reason or argument for ordering SMOG vs not ordering SMOG? It's a 2.0 L4 BEV, 8v, 2005 MK4. - Thanks!


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## Eric D (Feb 16, 1999)

The BEV head has ports in the exhaust for secondary air injection (SAI). So yes you need SMOG holes as you call it. 

This head is missing studs for the exhaust ports. You'll see off center holes, those are your SAI ports.


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## ITproNC (Mar 6, 2017)

*Thanks for reply & are options available w/out negative ramifications for removing SAI to head*

Thanks so much for your reply Eric. SAI makes much more sense than 'smog holes', and would explain why I haven't been able to find much on the topic.. (I spent hours yesterday trying to wrap my head around "what the (&% are smog holes"... )In my case,in replacing the head I do stand to save several $'s by purchasing what they are referring to as a "no smog" head.. (As in it is on clearance... ) Are there options available (which would not have negative consequences) for switching out the current head with a head without SAI? If that's not an option, (or it isn't at all a good idea to pursue,) what would it entail, if it is even possible, to add SAI to a head which did not have it? Thanks again Eric..


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## Eric D (Feb 16, 1999)

Get a BEV head with SAI ports. You don't want to added expense of a machine shop drilling the holes for the SAI ports. Typically it also requires a line bore to connect those four exhaust holes. VW has a different casting for heads with SAI and they machine them at their engine plants. 

What is physically wrong with your existing head?


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## Eric D (Feb 16, 1999)

You will fail emissions testing with a non functioning SAI system. I don't know how strict NC is compared to CA, but here they fail you for colored vacuum hoses. :screwy:
I prefer German silicone vacuum hoses over VW's cloth covered rubber hoses as they crack within a year.
Here you fail visual tests, any non conforming aftermarket intakes will fail. They require a CARB EO#. They can fail your for an catalytic converter lacking a specific height lettering to its heat shield.
This requirement allows a smog tech to inspect visually with a mirror at a distance. They are looking for a California spec cat. This is just a few of many things they check, it just isn't worth getting dinged as a gross polluter as that requires a different smog station to test your car. Its just very goofy, but all in the name of clean air.


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## ITproNC (Mar 6, 2017)

*Current head*

My daughter ran the car hot for several days post water pump failure. I picked up a machinists straight edge, feeler gauges, and after I cleaned the top of the head and placed feeler gauges on it, for the first 3" (long-ways) on both sides, left/right I am right at 0.001 and 0.002,however when moving and measuring towards the middle, theres a graduation from 0.002 to 0.004 on one side, 0.005 on the other. Between chambers I am at 0.003, so it almost seems like if you could look at the deviation from the side, at lentgh, it makes a dip, or a "v" moving towards the center whcih I was really hoping I'd pull it and get better readings, but got what I got. The machine shop only wanted $100 for the no-smog head and locally I can't find a reputable shop to bend and resurface, that is if i am understanding the process correctly and my logic in thinking its warped is correct.. I'm a SE by trade so professionally everything is about numbers, and sometimes I get #s stuck on the brain and try to get too technical with things.. It's be great if that were the case here  however all I really have to go by is the Felpro MLS pdf and the bold "no more than 0.0002 posted all over it. (I am not opposed to going a differnt gasket route either. Wife and I have our own IT business, and slow year thus far, (as in she's picking up part time work) Same as most others though.. So I do have to be very conscience with everything we spend and do ....and w/ three in college.. uhm yeaah... granted that's why the $100 head was looking beautiful to this semi-skilled mechanic.. haha) Thanks again Eric.. I can't tell you how much I sincerely appreciate your time and input.. -Brian


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## Eric D (Feb 16, 1999)

Was there any other damage to plastic cooling parts or the cam shaft oil splash shield, or the oil pick up shield or the oil pump chain tensioner?
Along those lines there is a potential with the cam position sensor to melt as its located behind the cam gear. 
Just a few of the known issues with over heated VW engines.

We resurfaced all the damaged heads with the exception of one 2.0L 8v. This car was severely overheated to the point of lots of melted plastic in the engine as noted above.
The plastic dripped into the heads cavities and couldn't be removed easily. Also the plastic cooling parts leached glass and nylon into the cooling system resulting in a gray slurry in the heater core and radiator too. 
This owner received a used replacement engine along with replacing many external components. Melted plastic leaves a nasty stench that wouldn't leave the work shop for days. I was so pleased when a scrapper came by and picked up that old parts. 

I would avoid Felpro, stick with Elring or Victor Reinz. These are OEM gasket brands where other aftermarket brands use inferior fitting or inferior quality components. I can tell you that dealing with junk parts is a pain, and nobody wants to deal with a come back for work just done. I don't mind a come back for new work needed.


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## Servergod (Dec 19, 2016)

Fortunate on this one this time. She was about an hour from the house and pulled over when it hit Red. An elderly southern guy from the boonies came over to her and scared her to death from driving and made her call me.we had aaa tow it home. It didn't get hot enough to damage anything else and honestly I'm not convinced the distortion is all new. The old head gasket was aftermarket and had some older rust deposits that have been there a while that thankfully didn't damage the other metals and wasn't transferred from the block. Thanks for letting me know about the gasket make. It was the only thing local when I thought this was a fast job and I'd almost decided to seal it back up and just didn't feel good about the stainless ruler from harbor freight being a decent straight edge. The one I ordered off of Prime was a machinists edge accurate surface of .0001 or better and it immediately gave different results (for the naysayers who think a cheap metal ruler is a straight enough edge.. nope.. not by .004 in one spot.... best $25 I've spent on a tool. Took it to a friends machine shop (they make/resurface counterbores) and he confirmed ruler bad, straight edge Good.... 
in between I've seen it all from high end cnc resurfaces to a guy in socal with some sandpaper and my cahonas aren't big enough to risk slapping some 500 on a 2x2 piece or particle board and sanding for an hour hoping for a good outcome.. I can't sand a patch in Sheetrock straight, not attempting a $1k head. What's proving difficult is finding somewhere locally that's reputable that's not a month backlogged because the Good shops here (both of them) do everything and not just auto... I don't want to risk a junk, shadetree, or auction part, and I think isn't the .003" doscreprency jus a tad too much to risk? If so that leaves me with finding a decent price for a reman or finding a reasonable priced machine shop who knows a VW engine and has the correct oven and resurfacing tools for the job... at least that's what my gut tells me I need to do is one of those two and nothing in between if I care at all about getting a long term fix in place....


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## ITproNC (Mar 6, 2017)

*What are your thoughts onblock, inspection, ordering head w/ cam vs w/out cam and reman facility*

Here I go, overthinking again... (Maybe that's not a bad thing)
I am staring to second-guess myself on the condition of the cam splash shield and will post a pic in a little while.

As far as the block.... Are there any red flags to be on the lookout as I get into cleaning it down and getting it's surface ready? 
My plan or thought is to use CRC brakekleen, carb cleaner, acetone, green scotch pads, and finish metal edges with grey 3m ultra fiber disc wet at low speed. on edges. I opted not to use fiber disc anywhere on the head and did that all by hand which took days... 

For that matter, although my wallet keeps telling me to get the SAI head without cam, I can't help but wonder what do I risk by NOT paying the extra $300 to get the reman head WITH cam... 

What are your thoughts on reman head with vs without cam? I don't know what they are installing and my first thought would be for $300 I may even be able to get a better cam that what would be installed... Then the technical side of me says "but the cam would be pre-tested and installed to spec. Common sense then says but the cam is easy.. Wait and if you really need one get one from ECS or somewhere reputable instead. 

I think at this point it will behoove me to get at the least... A new Cam position sensor while I am at it and have everything stripped down.. 

That being said, as far as affordability.. I can't drop $1500 on the head I wanted which I found online at a recommended store called ECS Tuning right now. I do think that's where I am getting my head gasket through however once I return the felpro later today, and deposit that $ back in bank. 

The reman i am leaning towards is still a questionable decision for me... The lowest priced reman head I can find is American Cyl. - They have an affordable reman head I can get through a large auto chain AND the best benefit about it is I can get the core charge back the same day I receive the reman head by going to that retailer. The coupon is 20% off and there is free shipping so my final cost is mid 4's which for me personally, is right where I 'need' to be right now. 

I saw the sme model head on I think it was JC Whit from that reman company when trying to research it and find verified reviews for the same series head. 

One reviewer posted pics, and the A/C bracket had a sloppy tig weld..(sigh...) That obviously concerns me in regards to quality control.. (Granted anything is better than what I have now). 

Jf I go that route, and go through the national retailer, it does add a second year to the mfg. warranty and removes max mileage so its flat 2 years and I have never had an issue with anything being covered under warranty at the chain, even when it was clearly not a defect caused failure.. So that and 2 years is a plus... 

I do know, I know enough to know, what I don't know... And will trust your advice over my gut any day 

While at this point I am trying to pinch pennies on this no longer cheap fast timing belt project, (albeit I am having a blast learning and doing.. 
I think for people who enjoy working on cars, who are undecided about VWs, they should work on a VW once.. I am SOLD! The JEtta makes me never want to work on the Trailblazer again... ever... 

I did get the seal kit (front and cam) but am still debating that since oil is dry and the head I assume will come with a new cam seal? 

I have a gallon of G13 coolant new Mahle OEM Temp thermostat, new thermostat housing, new coolant distribution block for the head, etc

When I calculated costs of the new (cheap) die grinder, fiber discs, scotch pads, Brake and Carb clean (Thank God Carquest has half off CRC over the past couple of weeks), the above parts, items etc. I'm right at $600 on all the misc. parts and cleaning supplies before the cylinder head, so $50 to $70 for a new Cam Sensor won't kill me.


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## ITproNC (Mar 6, 2017)

*You are correct - at lease splash shield needed and melted on one side w photos*

You are correct. It needs as well, a cam splash shield.. I yanked it in a hurry the other day and when I went to garage to look at it, sure enough the tabs I 'thought' were locking tabs? Just melted tabs instead haha - pics https://1drv.ms/f/s!Akcgg4kkEs4viv1jScCF9nL_Pru0Tg 








[/url]20170307_140213000_iOS by Brian B, on Flickr[/IMG]








[/url]20170307_185932078_iOS by Brian B, on Flickr[/IMG]


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## syncrogti (Sep 5, 2005)

It's very important not to simply "reskim" or deck the existing, warped head. Your cam caps/journals are also warped by a similar amount I would wager. you would need the cam caps and head rebored or line bored. And even then, the head is still not straight. You are doing the right thing by getting a new head.


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## ITproNC (Mar 6, 2017)

The only part being difficult to find new or used in like-new, is the cam oil shield.. Any suggestions on that part? I have found it, but The one place that had the OEM for $48 which is more than I 'wanted' to pay, didn't have it and referred me to their sister site where it was $64... 

The initial reason I was hoping it did not have smog holes, is the US Cylinder head is on clearance for $92 for the 2.0 But no such luck..  (I tried diligently..) 

My last decision was.. Head without cam, head with cam.... That became its own journey.. 

As for the head, I went ahead and decided on the "full" reman head, "with cam" as opposed to saving the few hundred and re-using the old cam. I figured in between time spent pulling, reinstalling,and risk of the initial cam being weakened, out of balance, etc. The $ additional spent is probably in the end going to be well worth it, if for nothing else, a bit of peace of mind.. 

Interesting enough, the stock part # listed on all major auto parts sites, ended up being wrong and it was a challenge convincing 2 of the sites to actually allow me to order the head. The casting # when pulled up at the reman facility + VIN check showed with smog holes, and with the threaded hole for the cam sensor bracket. 

The part # at all the big brands, they kept saying was correct and the # I was giving them was for a 98 to 2002 head and "I couldn't order it, because it was not the correct head"... The # they had online and were pulling up for VIN that they said was correct, did not have the threaded hold for the cam sensor bracket. 

THAT became such a hassle and a problem that I ended up having the choice to pay almost $400 more and buy directly from US Cyl. or buy the head without the bracket. I was not winning the correct part battle, and that honestly was mind-blowing.. SO I ended up going with a verge reman instead which I wanted the US Cyl, because of the issues with verge subsidiaries.. But regardless, ordering through AZ I got an additional 20% off, unlimited mile 12 month warranty (would have gotten 2 years with the US Cyl). The folks at US Cyl. Head were exceptional to deal with, and lookups of their history shows an almost flawless record over many decades. Its obvious they are not trying to do quantity over quality and I wanted their reman head, but their with-cam was just out of price reach. It took me a few days to get up with the correct someone there, but as far as VW heads go for a national reman facility, they really did know the product and were happy to answer questions and eliminate concerns. It took almost a week to get a hold of the company where this head is coming from and I feel like I went into a Smith and Wollensky only to find I wanted a NY Strip and ended up having to order a chopped steak blue plate special instead.. But a reman head, is better than I have now, and at least coming from a national retailer, I get core back by dropping off at a local store same-day, and at the end of the day, they will have to stand behind the product they sold. 
With the online coupon and ship to home, AFTER the core is returned and I get that credit, I am getting a reman head, with cam and a 1 year warranty for right at $520 with tax... The heads I REALLY wanted were from a VW site but the $1500 was out of range. I also won't have the support or strict VW quality and would tell anyone looking for a head that has the money they are able to spend, to go that route. I would have gone through ECS had I had the money to spend, and unlike now, where I am worried about "what" I will receive, with ECS or another reputable VW company, there would have been no worry and unlike when I receive this head, I will take it to a feriend at a local machine ship to check it, with a head from them I could have started work the same day instead of having to worry and having to verify.. 
And with this head, if something is wrong? I am screwed. This was the only one in inventory, with no cores for my casting on standby. I'll have to wait for them to get a core in and build a reman. The guarantee I have in writing says it will meet or exceed OEM specs... Time will tell.. 

That's allot of risks, so my advice to anyone ordering a head... Like everything else in life, you get what you pay for when it comes to precision parts. 
Unfortunately I had just under $700 left on a card I could use and it was, what it was... If you can swing it? ECS or similar and if you can't? US Cyl Head is a good mass multi-brand producer IMO. They have a track record that is verifiable, and haven't changed business names a million times and they have a golden record with the BBB instead of a stack of BBB complaints. Unlike other mass producers, they don't fo engines, heads, rear ends, and transmissions. They do heads, and that's it. 

The other major issue is so many reman companies that the large retailers used, that I called for inventory verification, (after a few retailers said they could have a head next day, I wasn't buying and wanted self-verification) and when I called these reman companies most didn't have the correct head ready to ship, and almost none had a core available to rebuild for an order.. That was obviously an issue since I couldn't just drop almost a G and wait for an indefinite amount of time.. 


I did discover, there's truth to the old saying "Its probable made in the same facility" saying... 
90% of the large auto retailers use a company which is a subsidiary or a sister or Verge. 

While the largest retailers have their own brands, labels, trademarks and even businesses for reman parts, I'd say for those store-name-brands, 90% are using a subsidiary or sister company of verge.


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