Looking into a set of AFR aluminum heads and I am trying to decide if I need to spring for the extra $170 to have them hard anodized. Budget is already way past busted, so anything I can save is important. However, I don't want to risk long term reliability. I have seen where it is a basic necessity in salt or brackish water, but I run in 100% clean fresh water. I have run aluminum intake manifolds for at least ten years and never seen any significant corrosion, save for a little bit of galvanic corrosion where the stainless steel T-stat sits on the aluminum water inlet.

Looking for opinions from those who have been running aluminum heads in fresh water long term.

Thanks!

I have seen the ugly gel in fresh water engines, with slight corrosion pits. If you do not want to spend the money, just buy; the salt-away-neutralizing solution and flush your engine with it and the water will have no mineral content at all. It works very well here in our salt water/ brackish water here in SC

Save your money.
Eddie

How about installing some threaded anode's in the intake if you have a extra port your not using?

http://www.boatzincs.com/engine-magnesium.html

MT, I'm running a Merlin intake that has the brass water jackets, so no need for protection there. Do you think that will help the heads? Maybe the place to install anodes would be in the sender ports on the heads themselves, assuming the AFR's have them like the GM heads used to have. Anyone know?

Save your money. Just flush the motor on the hose after use. Even if they are anodized and you don't flush the motor it will eat them up. The anodizing doesn't get all the aluminum and has tiny little pits in it. As soon as some corrosion starts it get under the anodizing and corrodes.

Baja, is the flushing necessary with fresh water, or just salt or brackish? What about just pulling the block plugs after use?

I have a lot of guys tell me that they run in the bay and the motor is flushed by the time they make it back into the little back rivers. I still put mine on a hose for some extra insurance. My boats stay on a trailor so it's no big deal for me to run it on a hose... And if you ask me afr makes a good head but its not worth the money. Brodix makes one heck of a head for less money and the aluminum in there heads is a lot better. Ask anyone who ports heads what it's like grinding on a Brodix head. And ask Eddie he will tell you...

How much less are the Brodix? I can get the AFR's for a little over $2K per set, with inconel valves and roller springs already installed. I have compared prices on a lot of heads - Canfield, RHS, Profiler, Edelbrock, Dart, etc., and they all seem to be at least this much or more.

For the record, here are pictures of the water passages in the Edelbrock aluminum manifold that was on my 454 for over 10 years on fresh water. Most of what I see are white mineral deposits, not a lot of erosion. Would the hard anodizing cut down on this? Would I have to worry about deposits building up inside the head passages causing hot spots?