Aluminum heads
 

I have a 302 V8 single engine in a boat primarily used in salt water.

I'm pulling the motor and plan to do a few upgrades to try to get some more HP out of her.

I currently have GT40 Iron heads. almost all of the aftermarket heads are aluminum.

How do aluminum heads get along with saltwater?
Is it a complete pain, or not a big deal?

they dont.. either add closed cooling, or stick with iron. You have 2 things working against you, dissimilar metals, and salt water.. the perfect storm.

i just went through this, and have spoke with others who went through the same

Thanks for confirming that.

I guess Iron it is.

ken2,
Certain vendors will provide a hard anodized coating of cylinder heads and intake manifolds that mitigates the effects of corrosion. We currently have 75 + sets in the field, some of which have been in service in excess of 5 years. None of these heads have been removed from service, or shown any adverse reaction to salt/brackish water conditions.
Bob

can I get any aluminum heads anodized? or is there more to it then that?

Do you guys have something for a Ford 302?

Is the anodization inside all of the water jackets??? What about the heads deck surface? Most of the corrosion I have seen with aluminum heads has occurred where the water jackets on the heads line up with the water jackets on the head gaskets and block.

The one's I've used were hard anodized and then machined. Because they are submerged in fluid for the anodizing process every orifice is anodized. Even without anodizing just taking five minutes to flush your engine every time you come out of the salt will keep everything in good shape.

I also drain them right after.

Those blue o-ringed plastic drains from Mercruiser are wonderful. Just keep a few backups in case you decided to break one off. LOL.

Ken,
Yes, all of our heads are available hard anodized. The BBC heads are stocked, the SBC/SBF heads will require ~1week additional lead time.

I have seen, on rare occurrences, slight pitting at the coolant transfer interface when the engines are run and stored for long durations (without flushing) in salt water. I am not aware of any instance where the structural integrity of the head has been compromised. We recommend Cometic MLS gaskets also, as they have less tendency to wick water.

Bob

Here's a couple pics of an anodized head. It's a little tough with the lighting but you can see the anodizing in the water jackets.