Spark plug thread inserts., Should I be concerned? Options

[Erben914]

[Mblizzard]

Clean the area around the spark plugs and look for cracks. If the inserts are tight and seem to be done well then I think it is a judgement call on what to do about them. As the Cap'n said, if they are lose then thy are toast. If you are going to do a valve job I would fix them. But because you were putting the engine in they must be in pretty good shape. If there are no cracks and all are tight then it seems like you could just clean them up and go back together.

Others may disagree here but unless you are doing the heads I would leave the rings alone. This is based on the assumption that the engine was running well and had good compression when removed. At this point, all of the parts are playing well together. Changing the rings could change the compression and cause changes.

Of course for me, it would be hard to take it that far down and not fix everything I could.

[Erben914]

I couldn't find any cracks but two of the inserts are loose.
I dropped the heads off at the machine shop today. They are going to clean them up and give me a recommendation.
One of the intake valves was leaking when I did a test with gas.
I'm in for a valve job at least.
It looks like I have the flat top pistons, but I don't know if they are still good or not.
Should I pull the cylinders off to clean the outsides and inspect at this point or wait to get the heads back to do a compression test?
Will I be able to get the pistons back in without a ring compressor?
Sorry for all the questions. Any guidance is appreciated. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)