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The guide to first generation (U.S.) Escort/Exp, Lynx/Ln7 cylinder heads:
Intro:
Hello everyone, my name is Sean. Before I begin, let me start off this write-up with a guarantee, and a disclaimer. First off I guarantee that the information in this guide is to the best of my knowledge 100% accurate. All of my resorces are of first hand account. I have spent countless hours for the past year and a half, looking over nearlly 200 heads in junk yards, parts suppliers, and machine shops. There is no hear-say or speculation. So if I did not see it, I did not write it. As for my disclaimer, All I can say is I'm only human and we can all make mistakes. Please!!! If you catch any mistakes or have something you would like to address, feel free to let me know, but I do ask that it be handled in a somewhat professional manner though. I'm not interested in starting any arguments.
Goal:
My goal is to impower the facts, and lay to rest the speculation by starting a permenent collection of information about the 1st gen (1981-1990) heads. My personal focus has been on the uncommon, little known, and unique facts about the heads. I'm not going to just retype every measurment, clearance, and spec that can be found in any service manual. I want to collect info that woun't be found in books like, port shape and size, casting #'s, plant codes, ect.
Help:
If anyone has any additial information or write-ups to share, they are more than welcome and encouage to do so. I'm looking for all the info I can get for this page, so if you have a head sitting around please send me any info you can. (in a PM preferablly).
Genral info:
Some basics on the CVH heads; The abbreviation CVH stands for Compound Valve-angle Hemisphereical chamber head. No wonder it's abbreviated. The CVH engine came in two displacements in the US 1st gens, a 1.6L, and 1.9L. A 1.3L is mentioned in some service manuals, but was never used in the US. There are three different combustion chamber designs; the first is the HEMI, it has a round dome shaped (hemisphrical) chamber. The second is the High Swirl Combustion or HSC, it uses a heart-shaped chamber. Finally the Third is the Lean Burn, or Semi Hemi. and it has a D-shaped dome chamber.
Some more specific aspects;
The CVH heads were cast in six different years: 1981, 83', 85', 87', 88', and 90' in a number of different casting plants. All 1.6L CVH heads are HEMI chamber heads. Also all 1.6L heads have larger exhaust ports than the 1.9L. I know that it has been said many times it the past that only the heads on the turbocharged cars have the large exh. ports, but it's just not true. Actually there is nothing special or different at all about the heads that got put on the turbo cars. All of the 1.9L heads use the smaller exh. ports. Both The HEMI, and The HSC heads use round intake ports. The Lean burn heads use oval ports. All of the HEMI heads share one size intake valve and the one size exhaust valve. The int & exh. valves on the Lean burn and HSC heads are alittle smaller. Also it's a bit insigniffigant, but I found that the HEMI heads have larger thermostat outlets than the HSC or the Lean burn heads.
Casting lable & code info:
The most important thing on a head is the casting lable. It can be located at the top and center of the intake side of the head, and will read something like this: RF-E5EE-A7E. That number holds the key information about that head. Namely the casting year, and the design/application code. The casting year can be identified with the 1st and 2nd digits in the 2nd code group on the lable RF-E5EE-A7E. ford uses an alpabetical lettering code for the tens place (decade) of the year, so A = 1940's, B = 1950's, C = 1960's, D = 70's, E = 80's, F = 90's and so on. The 2nd digit is the specific year code, 1 = 81, 2 = 82......ect. So an RF-E5EE-A7E is a 1985 casting. Now the design code is needed to identifiy that heads engine application group. It is the last code on the lable, so in this case it's A7E
Another lable on the head is the casting plant I.D. It can be found in the upper right hand corner of the intake side. I have seen a number of different plant I.D.'s The most common is: Essex, CAE, NL, DJ, and one that looks like a little pyramid of four lines. and they are followed by a number; 1 - 99. Another code that you may or may not find is the ford part code 6090 between the casting year and the design code: RF-E5EE-6090-A7E. The 6090 is the code for a cylinder head. Hopefully this lable information can be used with good old trial & error, too see the benifits or downsides of using one head over another. For more information about reading Ford casting numbers, just search the web. there are a handfull of great sites on the subject.
Here is a list of all the different casting lables I have gatherd, their corosponding engine group, and some info about the group.
Reference:
HEMI......... Hemispherical chamber
HSC.......... High swirl chamber
LB............. Lean burn, semi-hemi, D shaped dome chamber
Small exhaust port size:..... 35mm high x 32mm wide
Large exhaust port size:..... 40mm high x 39mm wide
HEMI valve dia.:............... int. 41mm, exh. 37mm
HSC valve dia.:.................int. 41mm, exh. 37mm
LB valve dia.:........ int. 39mm, exh. 34mm
Small Thermostat outlet: 31mm
Large thermostat outlet: 38mm
---------------------------------------------------------------
81' - 82' 1.6L carb; (HEMI):
All:
round intake ports, 34mm high x 29mm wide
large exh. ports
large therm. outlet
castings:
RF-E1EE-6090-A4C
RF-E1EE-6090-A5C
RF-E1EE-6090-A6C
RF-E1EE-6090-A7C
RF-E1EE-6090-A8C
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
83' - 85' 1.6L carb, carb HO, EFI, EFI Turbo; (HEMI):
Ford part stock #: E3FZ-60490-A
Just so it's clear, I've seen everyone of the head castings in this group in a turbo application
All:
round intake ports, 36mm high x 32mm wide
large exh. ports
large therm. outlet
castings:
RF-E3EE-6090-A4A
RF-E3EE-6090-A5A
RF-E3EE-6090-A6A
RF-E3EE-6090-A7A
RF-E3EE-A7A
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
85 1/2' - 86' 1.9L carb; (HSC)
All:
round intake ports, 36mm high x 31mm wide
small exh. ports
small therm. outlet
castings:
RF-E5EE-A4E
RF-E5EE-A5E
RF-E5EE-A6E
RF-E5EE-A7E
RF-E5EE-A5A
RF-E5EE-AF
RF-E5EE-AH
RF-E5EE-BB
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
85 1/2' - 86' 1.9L EFI: (HEMI):
All:
round intake ports, 37mm high x 33 mm wide
small exh. ports
large therm. outlet
castings:
RF-E5EE-F4A
RF-E5EE-F7A
RF-E5EE-FA
RF-E5EE-FB
-----------------------------------------------------------------
87'- 88 1/2' 1.9L CFI; (LB):
All:
oval intake ports, 37mm high x 28mm wide
small exh. ports
small therm. outlet
castings:
RF-E7EE-D4C
RF-E7EE-D4F
RF-E7EE-D7C
RF-E7EE-D7E
RF-E7EE-D7F
RF-E7EE-A7E
RF-E7EE-A
------------------------------------------------------------------------
89' - 90' 1.9L CFI; (LB):
These are the same as the previous Lean burns, but all the ones I saw had roller cams.
castings:
RF-E8EE-A7A
RF-E8EE-AA
RF-F0EE-A7E
RF-F0EE-B7A
RF-F0EE-B74
------------------------------------------------------------------
87' - 90' 1.9L EFI; (HEMI):
All:
round intake ports, 37mm high x 33 mm wide
small exh. ports
large therm. outlet
castings:
RF-E7EE-G4A
RF-E7EE-G4D
RF-E7EE-G4E
RF-E7EE-GB
RF-E7EE-GC
RF-E7EE-G7A
RF-E7EE-G7C
RF-E7EE-G7D
-------------------------------------------------------------
Here are a few block castings I found also also:
Castings:
E5EE-AA
E5EE-BE
E7EE-BB
E7EE-FA
E8EE-AA
------------------------------------------------------------------
I try too update this regularly as I find more information, I hope to build a web page so I can be more specific and and show pics to help better explain the information I'm sharing.
Thanks for reading, Sean....................
Intro:
Hello everyone, my name is Sean. Before I begin, let me start off this write-up with a guarantee, and a disclaimer. First off I guarantee that the information in this guide is to the best of my knowledge 100% accurate. All of my resorces are of first hand account. I have spent countless hours for the past year and a half, looking over nearlly 200 heads in junk yards, parts suppliers, and machine shops. There is no hear-say or speculation. So if I did not see it, I did not write it. As for my disclaimer, All I can say is I'm only human and we can all make mistakes. Please!!! If you catch any mistakes or have something you would like to address, feel free to let me know, but I do ask that it be handled in a somewhat professional manner though. I'm not interested in starting any arguments.
Goal:
My goal is to impower the facts, and lay to rest the speculation by starting a permenent collection of information about the 1st gen (1981-1990) heads. My personal focus has been on the uncommon, little known, and unique facts about the heads. I'm not going to just retype every measurment, clearance, and spec that can be found in any service manual. I want to collect info that woun't be found in books like, port shape and size, casting #'s, plant codes, ect.
Help:
If anyone has any additial information or write-ups to share, they are more than welcome and encouage to do so. I'm looking for all the info I can get for this page, so if you have a head sitting around please send me any info you can. (in a PM preferablly).
Genral info:
Some basics on the CVH heads; The abbreviation CVH stands for Compound Valve-angle Hemisphereical chamber head. No wonder it's abbreviated. The CVH engine came in two displacements in the US 1st gens, a 1.6L, and 1.9L. A 1.3L is mentioned in some service manuals, but was never used in the US. There are three different combustion chamber designs; the first is the HEMI, it has a round dome shaped (hemisphrical) chamber. The second is the High Swirl Combustion or HSC, it uses a heart-shaped chamber. Finally the Third is the Lean Burn, or Semi Hemi. and it has a D-shaped dome chamber.
Some more specific aspects;
The CVH heads were cast in six different years: 1981, 83', 85', 87', 88', and 90' in a number of different casting plants. All 1.6L CVH heads are HEMI chamber heads. Also all 1.6L heads have larger exhaust ports than the 1.9L. I know that it has been said many times it the past that only the heads on the turbocharged cars have the large exh. ports, but it's just not true. Actually there is nothing special or different at all about the heads that got put on the turbo cars. All of the 1.9L heads use the smaller exh. ports. Both The HEMI, and The HSC heads use round intake ports. The Lean burn heads use oval ports. All of the HEMI heads share one size intake valve and the one size exhaust valve. The int & exh. valves on the Lean burn and HSC heads are alittle smaller. Also it's a bit insigniffigant, but I found that the HEMI heads have larger thermostat outlets than the HSC or the Lean burn heads.
Casting lable & code info:
The most important thing on a head is the casting lable. It can be located at the top and center of the intake side of the head, and will read something like this: RF-E5EE-A7E. That number holds the key information about that head. Namely the casting year, and the design/application code. The casting year can be identified with the 1st and 2nd digits in the 2nd code group on the lable RF-E5EE-A7E. ford uses an alpabetical lettering code for the tens place (decade) of the year, so A = 1940's, B = 1950's, C = 1960's, D = 70's, E = 80's, F = 90's and so on. The 2nd digit is the specific year code, 1 = 81, 2 = 82......ect. So an RF-E5EE-A7E is a 1985 casting. Now the design code is needed to identifiy that heads engine application group. It is the last code on the lable, so in this case it's A7E
Another lable on the head is the casting plant I.D. It can be found in the upper right hand corner of the intake side. I have seen a number of different plant I.D.'s The most common is: Essex, CAE, NL, DJ, and one that looks like a little pyramid of four lines. and they are followed by a number; 1 - 99. Another code that you may or may not find is the ford part code 6090 between the casting year and the design code: RF-E5EE-6090-A7E. The 6090 is the code for a cylinder head. Hopefully this lable information can be used with good old trial & error, too see the benifits or downsides of using one head over another. For more information about reading Ford casting numbers, just search the web. there are a handfull of great sites on the subject.
Here is a list of all the different casting lables I have gatherd, their corosponding engine group, and some info about the group.
Reference:
HEMI......... Hemispherical chamber

HSC.......... High swirl chamber

LB............. Lean burn, semi-hemi, D shaped dome chamber

Small exhaust port size:..... 35mm high x 32mm wide
Large exhaust port size:..... 40mm high x 39mm wide
HEMI valve dia.:............... int. 41mm, exh. 37mm
HSC valve dia.:.................int. 41mm, exh. 37mm
LB valve dia.:........ int. 39mm, exh. 34mm
Small Thermostat outlet: 31mm
Large thermostat outlet: 38mm
---------------------------------------------------------------
81' - 82' 1.6L carb; (HEMI):
All:
round intake ports, 34mm high x 29mm wide
large exh. ports
large therm. outlet
castings:
RF-E1EE-6090-A4C
RF-E1EE-6090-A5C
RF-E1EE-6090-A6C
RF-E1EE-6090-A7C
RF-E1EE-6090-A8C
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
83' - 85' 1.6L carb, carb HO, EFI, EFI Turbo; (HEMI):
Ford part stock #: E3FZ-60490-A
Just so it's clear, I've seen everyone of the head castings in this group in a turbo application
All:
round intake ports, 36mm high x 32mm wide
large exh. ports
large therm. outlet
castings:
RF-E3EE-6090-A4A
RF-E3EE-6090-A5A
RF-E3EE-6090-A6A
RF-E3EE-6090-A7A
RF-E3EE-A7A
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
85 1/2' - 86' 1.9L carb; (HSC)
All:
round intake ports, 36mm high x 31mm wide
small exh. ports
small therm. outlet
castings:
RF-E5EE-A4E
RF-E5EE-A5E
RF-E5EE-A6E
RF-E5EE-A7E
RF-E5EE-A5A
RF-E5EE-AF
RF-E5EE-AH
RF-E5EE-BB
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
85 1/2' - 86' 1.9L EFI: (HEMI):
All:
round intake ports, 37mm high x 33 mm wide
small exh. ports
large therm. outlet
castings:
RF-E5EE-F4A
RF-E5EE-F7A
RF-E5EE-FA
RF-E5EE-FB
-----------------------------------------------------------------
87'- 88 1/2' 1.9L CFI; (LB):
All:
oval intake ports, 37mm high x 28mm wide
small exh. ports
small therm. outlet
castings:
RF-E7EE-D4C
RF-E7EE-D4F
RF-E7EE-D7C
RF-E7EE-D7E
RF-E7EE-D7F
RF-E7EE-A7E
RF-E7EE-A
------------------------------------------------------------------------
89' - 90' 1.9L CFI; (LB):
These are the same as the previous Lean burns, but all the ones I saw had roller cams.
castings:
RF-E8EE-A7A
RF-E8EE-AA
RF-F0EE-A7E
RF-F0EE-B7A
RF-F0EE-B74
------------------------------------------------------------------
87' - 90' 1.9L EFI; (HEMI):
All:
round intake ports, 37mm high x 33 mm wide
small exh. ports
large therm. outlet
castings:
RF-E7EE-G4A
RF-E7EE-G4D
RF-E7EE-G4E
RF-E7EE-GB
RF-E7EE-GC
RF-E7EE-G7A
RF-E7EE-G7C
RF-E7EE-G7D
-------------------------------------------------------------
Here are a few block castings I found also also:
Castings:
E5EE-AA
E5EE-BE
E7EE-BB
E7EE-FA
E8EE-AA
------------------------------------------------------------------
I try too update this regularly as I find more information, I hope to build a web page so I can be more specific and and show pics to help better explain the information I'm sharing.
Thanks for reading, Sean....................