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Edelbrock Cylinder heads are total junk...

2858 Views 21 Replies 13 Participants Last post by  squag27
So I picked up a set of Edelbrock heads when I hopped up the 350 in my '82 a few years ago and even at the time of install I was surprised at how soft the aluminum of these heads were. Case in point I had an issue with one of the intake manifold bolt holes stripping out during initial assembly requiring a helicoil. Cut to 6 months later and one of the (apparently counterfeit) spark plugs I got online needed replacing and the threads on the spark plug hole came out with it. That was a whole endeavor in of itself getting fixed too, requiring the head to come off and get sent to the machine shop.

The last straw though occurred over this last weekend. The Chevy had been running quite well for a while at this point and with the weather briefly warming up I took the car out for a short jaunt to the auto parts store and back and then parked it up again. Then the next day I fired it up to go get breakfast with the Mrs. and heard a tick. Sounded an awful lot like an exhaust leak so I didn't think much about it. Of course during the drive I noticed that the car was definitely down on power and once home, I popped the hood and found that the tick was coming from the engine itself. Turns out once I pulled the valve covers that one of the rocker arm studs had actually pulled out of the head and the rocker was just loosely flopping in place! Bear in mind that all other rocker studs were tight still and the valvetrain hadn't been touched in a good long while.

I don't usually like to badmouth American companies but there are plenty of others online who have voiced their concerns about Edelbrock's quality control and this is the breaking point for me. It kills me that I don't have the time or funds to get the Elco's 6.0 LS ready for the swap yet so it looks like the 350 is getting a set of Vortec heads and will live to fight another day.
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Bummer to hear that,
Seems like a lot of places are going down hill with their products
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So I picked up a set of Edelbrock heads when I hopped up the 350 in my '82 a few years ago and even at the time of install I was surprised at how soft the aluminum of these heads were. Case in point I had an issue with one of the intake manifold bolt holes stripping out during initial assembly requiring a helicoil. Cut to 6 months later and one of the (apparently counterfeit) spark plugs I got online needed replacing and the threads on the spark plug hole came out with it. That was a whole endeavor in of itself getting fixed too, requiring the head to come off and get sent to the machine shop.

The last straw though occurred over this last weekend. The Chevy had been running quite well for a while at this point and with the weather briefly warming up I took the car out for a short jaunt to the auto parts store and back and then parked it up again. Then the next day I fired it up to go get breakfast with the Mrs. and heard a tick. Sounded an awful lot like an exhaust leak so I didn't think much about it. Of course during the drive I noticed that the car was definitely down on power and once home, I popped the hood and found that the tick was coming from the engine itself. Turns out once I pulled the valve covers that one of the rocker arm studs had actually pulled out of the head and the rocker was just loosely flopping in place! Bear in mind that all other rocker studs were tight still and the valvetrain hadn't been touched in a good long while.

I don't usually like to badmouth American companies but there are plenty of others online who have voiced their concerns about Edelbrock's quality control and this is the breaking point for me. It kills me that I don't have the time or funds to get the Elco's 6.0 LS ready for the swap yet so it looks like the 350 is getting a set of Vortec heads and will live to fight another day.
Made in China ? A lot of USA manufacturers moved to China !
Made in China ? A lot of USA manufacturers moved to China !
Well last I heard they made all their parts in their foundry in Cali, though maybe that's changed in recent years. Either way the whole experience has certainly turned me off of Edelbrock products. Vortec heads, a Jegs Vortec intake manifold, and some different Comp rockers are going to get me back on the road for now.
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Sorry to hear about your luck bud. It’s never fun to dealing with issue’s especially when it’s something that’s supposed to be quality. Aluminum heads are always a fickle B. Honestly I only use 1/4 ratchets on them because they can be super soft. The rocker arm thing is actually a common problem. Are the valve springs the ones that came with the heads or did you you replace them? That’s usually what pulls the stud out… too stiff of springs. Honestly though, I haven’t been a big fan of edlebrock for a long time. I think their quality has drastically diminished over the years In all their products. Yes technically they’re an “American” company however I bet the materials used to manufacture those “American made parts” are imported junk. Please keep us posted and if you need any help/advice feel free to message me.
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Squag27, damn...sorry to hear about your woes with Edelbrock cylinder heads. Have you tried reaching out to them for customer assistance? I definitely would give that a try since all they can say or do is not help. I hope that is NOT the case and they make things right for you. As for where these heads are manufactured...US or abroad, that is a whole other story indeed! The original castings could be from overseas but if the final assembly is in USA, then the manufacturers can claim "Made in America". Edelbrock is NOT the only company who may or may not do this. Several years ago, I went to AAPEX in Las Vegas during SEMA. At AAPEX, there were a boatload of vendors from China selling their products. What was most interesting is the very same products I saw downstairs were being offered upstairs by American companies under their brand name and in boxes we all recognize!

Others reading this thread...there was a recent episode on ENGINE MASTERS in which the "3 amigoes" dyno-tested 3 sets of SBC low budget aluminum heads: Speed Masters 190cc, AFR 195cc, and Summit brand 200cc. All these heads were below $1000. It was a very interesting and informative episode! What made it interesting for me, I happen to own a set of Summit Brand heads. For the life of me, I can't remember if they are 195cc or 200cc, regardless when I ordered them, I had been told that Summit's heads are manufactured by Trick Flow Specialties.

Bottom line: Buyer beware!
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regarding Edelbrock, found this article published 2 years ago. I wonder if that was when the cost-cutting started when they got acquired in 2010? and then the new owners started buying out other performance companies like CompCams. and then they appear to be moving all the hq's to Mississippi?


JANUARY 29, 2021
If you have a classic Ford in your garage, there’s a pretty big chance there’s at least one part on it marked with the name Edelbrock. The company, whose name is etched into the history of American muscle cars, manufactures carburetors, camshafts, cylinder heads, superchargers, and more. Since its founding by Vic Edelbrock Sr. in 1938, Edelbrock has operated out of Torrance, California, but we’ve received word today that its headquarters will soon have a new home in Olive Branch, Mississippi.
Industrial Opportunity Partners (IOP) acquired Edelbrock in 2010, and recently made headlines by also acquiring the COMP Performance Group (CPG) – including COMP Cams, TCI Automotive, FAST, ZEX, Inglese, and others. Edelbrock is moving to merge its operations with CPG. The transition has been in planning since October but began in earnest on January 15th and will continue through March 31st. The Torrance location housed sales, advertising, research and development, testing, and some manufacturing departments.
“We have a 300,000 square-foot facility in Olive Branch that will be the headquarters for five power brands – Edelbrock, COMP Cams, TCI, FAST, and Russell,” stated Chris Douglas, Chief Commercial Officer at the Edelbrock Group. “Today it is the central distribution center for all our products. A portion of that facility, which is currently vacant, will be utilized for manufacturing Edelbrock intake manifolds. We only occupy about a third of the front side of the office complex, which will be fully occupied with the transition.”
COMP’s current front-office at Democrat Road in Memphis, TN will also be part of the move to Olive Branch following the migration of Torrance employees and equipment.
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Squag27, damn...sorry to hear about your woes with Edelbrock cylinder heads. Have you tried reaching out to them for customer assistance? I definitely would give that a try since all they can say or do is not help. I hope that is NOT the case and they make things right for you. As for where these heads are manufactured...US or abroad, that is a whole other story indeed! The original castings could be from overseas but if the final assembly is in USA, then the manufacturers can claim "Made in America". Edelbrock is NOT the only company who may or may not do this. Several years ago, I went to AAPEX in Las Vegas during SEMA. At AAPEX, there were a boatload of vendors from China selling their products. What was most interesting is the very same products I saw downstairs were being offered upstairs by American companies under their brand name and in boxes we all recognize!

Others reading this thread...there was a recent episode on ENGINE MASTERS in which the "3 amigoes" dyno-tested 3 sets of SBC low budget aluminum heads: Speed Masters 190cc, AFR 195cc, and Summit brand 200cc. All these heads were below $1000. It was a very interesting and informative episode! What made it interesting for me, I happen to own a set of Summit Brand heads. For the life of me, I can't remember if they are 195cc or 200cc, regardless when I ordered them, I had been told that Summit's heads are manufactured by Trick Flow Specialties.

Bottom line: Buyer beware!
I've got some of those, check your casting #'s. iirc, I thought mine were Dart II Sportsman but may be wrong about that
Sorry to hear about your luck bud. It’s never fun to dealing with issue’s especially when it’s something that’s supposed to be quality. Aluminum heads are always a fickle B. Honestly I only use 1/4 ratchets on them because they can be super soft. The rocker arm thing is actually a common problem. Are the valve springs the ones that came with the heads or did you you replace them? That’s usually what pulls the stud out… too stiff of springs. Honestly though, I haven’t been a big fan of edlebrock for a long time. I think their quality has drastically diminished over the years In all their products. Yes technically they’re an “American” company however I bet the materials used to manufacture those “American made parts” are imported junk. Please keep us posted and if you need any help/advice feel free to message me.
I was running Edelbrock-supplied dual springs for these heads but it suprised me as I've only ever hear of press-in studs having this issue, not screwed in ones. As far as quality goes, it's funny that Edelbrock is under Comp's umbrella nowadays as I haven't heard a whole lot of good from them about some of their products in recent years either.
Kyle , Sorry to also hear about your Edelbrock heads . With the time , money and effort you have put into that nice Camino of yours , it`s certainly a bummer . Since we last talked , the Blueprint motor I ordered has arrived at the shop in Clearwater that Jay deals with . Lacking the talent that you and others have , I ordered the complete engine . The 350 cu. in. has a Holley Sniper throttle body injection , alum heads , dynoed at the shop at 431 h. p. and recommended fuel is 87 octane . 700R4 trans should be arriving soon . Let us know how you make out with the changes you are making .
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Did you use anti-seize on the sparkplugs when they were installed?
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Did you use anti-seize on the sparkplugs when they were installed?
Always do. I come from the world of LS motors which all have aluminum heads so anti-seize is a must for me.
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ok, bare with me on this puzzle. a few months ago and again a couple weeks ago. i saw this youtube video about a CNC machine company who had a big problem of not getting paid. this CNC company made intakes, heads and i think a few other thing for this very large aftermarket company. the guy continued and said that the company still wanted their orders delivered but without payment to the CNC place. the CNC place hired a lawyer and after a while of both side lawyers fighting it out . the small CNC place won. they said, if you dont pay us for all of your orders that you made we are going to sell this to a recycler and on and on went the story. the company finally paid the CNC shop what they owed them. basically a David vs Goliath story. it was interesting to me cause i watched it twice. the video jus pops up on my youtube recommendations list. hints throughout the video kinda shows it was edlebrock. hopefully if you thumb thru youtube with what i said you can find that video. that might make sense on why their quality has went down. the CNC place said they no longer do business with them
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Looks like this one ...
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Looks like this one ...
😄 ELCODUDE (aka "the puzzlemaster") . yep thats it! and now that i see that "Titans of CNC" there has been a few of their youtubes that pop up on my recommended list that i have watched. another is where the guy trains an apprentice and then the apprentice go out behind his back an opens his own shop
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😄 ELCODUDE (aka "the puzzlemaster") . yep thats it! and now that i see that "Titans of CNC"
Just did a quick search on YouTube - no biggie. Very interesting video though.
I have no experience with Edelbrock heads, I have a set of Liberty heads that seem to be good quality. This is a little info I found on them. "Liberty Engine Parts is based out of Philly. Armand Mancini is the owner. His late father owned ReCon Engines. Liberty has their own house brand and sell under the Liberty logo".
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I've heard good things on liberty heads, but I'm sticking with cast iron on this motor for the time being. I'm fixing to pick up a set of freshly gone through Vortecs for a good price down in SC this weekend. My only complaint about going to the Vortecs is they have smaller valves so they flow a bit less than my current Edelbrocks. The Vortecs have a slightly lower CR too with the 64cc chambers instead of 60cc but I'm going to run a thinner head gasket to bump that back up to 9.5:1.
I had a set of Canfield heads on a SBF engine several years ago. I put helicoils in all the threads.
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Dont use heli core,,,use time serts ,,much better,,,its a sleeve,,wont pull out,,get it in any size and length,,,,I have used them for head bolts on SBC,,,in the block,,,Fantastic
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