I feel your pain, my wifes truck is a money pit as well.

Pics?

If you could tell Mrs. to find the charger for my digital i would gladly post pics! lol. Ill try to get some phone ones or something up today

This is one of those rare times i find it hard to contain my language sensitivity. got a call from the machine shop. THE F@#$%ng Cylinder head is cracked!!!!! Now wtf do you find a new cylinder head for a 25 year old obsolete motor!!!!!! Auto zone wants 400 fn dollars for a new head, and my machine shop guy cant even find one

Dude- chill. Unless it also is cracked or has some other problem, the 170 motor you just bought has a head that will work fine on your 225. Just be sure to use the valve cover for the 170 motor and to use the rocker arm assembly from the 225.

One thing to note- the 1987 225 head is a hydraulic lifter slant six head. This means that the rearmost rocker arm shaft bolt is stepped, and the rocker arm shaft bolt hole is also stepped. You will need to use the hydraulic lifter rocker arms and spacers but put them on the 170 mechanical lifter rocker shaft and use the 170 rocker arm shaft hold down bolts in the 170 head. Not really a big deal, just swap the rocker arms and spacers from the 225 onto the 170. BE SURE TO KEEP THEM IN THE SAME ORDER! You don't want to space the parts wrong and trap the spacers under the rocker arm hold-down bolt washers.

That is one of the great things about slant sixes- parts interchangeability. Plus, I bet if you really dug around you could find more that one cheap 225 heads available.

Too bad you aren't closer. I have at least two heads I would sell you cheap.

when i had the /6 rebuilt in my old 86, the shop also said my head was cracked. got at a wrecking yard for $75. of coarse the shop dropped my block and cracked the block but said it wasn't connected to the head so not there fault. funny how that worked

Man, there must be something in the air in Florida. Slant sixes are renowned for rarely have any kind of head cracking problems. You might consider finding a different machine shop.

Thats awesome to know Reed. Ill get the head off it tomorrow. Bad thing is I pulled it off the truck on a 2x12 and slid it(sorta violently) onto a trailer. Hoping i didnt hurt anything. Ill definitely check it out tomorrow.

I doubt you hurt anything. Slant sixes are overbuilt chunks of cast iron. They can take a LOT of abuse.

One thing- when you install the 170 rocker arm shaft, make absolutely positively sure that the flat on the end of the shaft that goes to the front of the motor is pointed UP. If it is not installed correctly the rocker arm shaft will not let oil pass through the rocker arms and down the pushrods to pressurize the lifters.