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Doing a head gasket job on my 93 pickup. On inspecting my brand new LCE Performance head I noticed a 5 - 10 small casting/milling imperfections (photos below) in the mating surface. I can feel the pits with my finger.
It's my first time installing a new head. Is this normal or are these quality control issues? is it likely to cause early head gasket failure? should I be sending it back? Am I over thinking this?
Appreciate any guidance or reassurance.
A few pecker tracks and some small porosity of the casting metal.
Likely not serious issues unless there is unseen internal porosity.
Speaks to the reality of the lower quality of most new aftermarket parts.
Likely if you sent it back, you'd get another one just like it, or worse.
Last edited by millball; Oct 27, 2025 at 12:00 AM.