I have a 1995 cav. with a 2.2 biught it a couple weeks ago with a blown head gasket, took it all apart had the head pressure cleaned it came out real nice my cousin said it should be resurfaced when calling the machine shop they asked me if I wanted it pressure tested or just resurfaced? does this need to be done???? Thanks
If you know for sure that the engine has never overheated, the head is not likely warped. With that, you shouldn't need resurfacing. The blown gasket is from a 'open' dowel of metal (cross section looks like a 'C') that has the open end facing a coolant passage. Slowly, coolant eats at the gasket causing it to fail. When disassembled, simply turn the dowel so the open end faces the outside corner of the head where there is no passage. Effectively completing the seal when put in right, no more blown gasket. When a buddy helped me put a gasket on my 2.2, I didn't have anything done to the head. Sure it got hot sometimes, but the fan always came on to cool things down. There's always a risk, can be big -- can be small, of warpage in aluminum heads. I rolled the dice and won. Up to you on how you wanna go.