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Buying Used afr heads?

1120 Views 20 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  GradyStang
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Found a decent deal on a set of afr heads, but I’ve never bought new heads, let alone used ones. These are pictures of them, any issues you all can see, and any advice on what to look for when I see them in person?

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Hard to tell from the pictures. Glad to see they have the AFR guide plates as AFR says not to use non AFR guide plates. You need to run by a machine shop and have them inspected. You can't check the valve guides without removing the valves. Also the heads need to be inspected for cracks and warpage. The good news is that AFR heads are U.S. made and good quality. I run a set of AFR 205 heads and they have been issue free. If you do buy the heads, get ARP head studs and good quality roller rockers for the heads. It would be a waste to put nice heads on your motor with cheap hardware.
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Are they even worth buying used for $1350 if I need to do all that, and possibly replace the valve springs?
You'll have to see what a machine shop would charge you to inspect them and decide if it's worth it. New the heads are $2064 a pair at Summit Racing. That includes valves, springs, guide plates and studs and assembled. You're taking a risk buying used engine parts. If it were me, I'd have to have them inspected before I'd fork over any cash.
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And the newer Renegade heads I’ve seen have “Renegade” machined in the sides, too. This is not my engine, just a pic I found on the Interwebs. If I was home I’d take a pic of my 185 Renegades.

I’m skeptical they are newer Renegades, and don’t believe they’re worth $1350, maybe $6-700 for the older AFR 165’s. If they are Renegades, and the decks are flat and the guides are in good shape then that is a fair price. Perhaps have the seller pay to have them inspected, provide the invoice from a reputable machine shop, then decide if they’re worth it. View attachment 873943

My AFR heads are older (2008) and have the old logo milled into the heads. My heads don't have the chamber sizes stamped on them like the current versions do. I think the heads the OP is interested in are probably 2018 versions has they have the previous AFR logo from the current version which they started using the last few years. I don't think AFR has changed the design of their heads. So the 2018 versions would be the same as current versions sans the current logo.

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$1350 is a little on the high side, but given the current price spikes (185 Ren's are $3k+) id offer $1000, and settle at $1200. Spend $100 on an inspection, $ well invested unless you have the tools.
The heads the OP posted are 165's and sell for slightly over $2k at Summit. AFR 185 Renegades list for the same price.

Personally, between what the the seller wanted and new heads, I would have gone with new. If you bought the used heads, you'd have to run them by a machine shop and my guess is that would be at least $100 to have them disassembled and inspected. Now if you could have got them for $1,000 or less, then I would say that's worth the risk.
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