i have a cracked head on my 98 2200 engine, i was looking online and found heads with different casting numbers, one is cast number 146 and the other is casting number 507, i am just wondering if one is better or different than the other? or do i need to get the same as the casting number on my old head?.
and did chevy revise or update the head gasket on the engine i see alot of cars around 97 or 96 had head gasket issues.
thanks for any help

There is a post somewhere on here that is fantastic full of info on all the diff heads for all the years and states which head can go with each and why. I wish I couls remember it but maybe this will jog someones memory. A quick search might help you locate it try headgasket or cyl head!!! Hope this helps.

i did a good bit of research online

casting 146 has a spot for the egr valave
casting 507 does not have a spot for the egr.
just thought it may help someone one day

Head gaskets have always been an issue with stock GM OHV engines. For whatever reasons, the 3800 Series I, II (and I'm guessing now) even possibly series III seem unaffected, as well as their overhead cam engines.

No one can say for certain if it's the material out of GM bean-counter-cheapness, or an inherent flaw in the GM small-displacement push-rod design, but once you actually replace the gasket yourself, you get to realize it's not that difficult (I've done one myself - 2200 SFI a.k.a. the last of the pushrods in 2002) and I don't think of myself as very mechanically inclined.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Wednesday, February 20, 2008 1:11 PM

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