Received my valve covers as well.  Now I just need the engine done, and the car that it goes into done as well.  This is my motivation!

Afret, no thats not right in your case as you're not a current or former Ford employee.  Once you have the PIN number, thats all you need.  No special ID or anything.  You just need to have your name match the PIN.  How does that happen? You will need to provide the following to the person holding the Xplan PIN: full name, address, and last four SSN# of the person buying/leasing the vehicle.

The person who gets the PIN number originally needs to show proof of who he or she is.  If they are a Ford retiree apparently its all online and easy.  They get a few Xplan PIN's per year they can give out to family and friends.  You can try getting the X-plan price, but it all depends on the time of the month, year, how long the car has been on the lot, options of the car, etc.

Going with the Xpin method, I was in the dealership, bought the Fusion and traded my old one in 46 minutes.  I timed it.  It was faster than a Ford oil/tire rotation service. 

Joe

Rod C has them occasionally on the FordFE site.  Shoot an post out there and ask.

Basically, its fixed non-negotiable dollar amount over invoice.  No negotiations, take it or leave it.  You walk in with the X-plan PIN and voila, the dealer tells you the price.  BTW they have to you the price on the computer.

It doesn't apply to specialty vehicles, like the high end Mustangs.  But if you want a fully optioned or specialty build Fusion Sport like I did a few years ago, dealers wont move on price, so the X-plan gets you the best deal.

Some people also say they can negotiate a better price than an x-plan, which always makes me chuckle.  When was anyone 100% honest in saying what they actually bought a new car for, lol.

Joe

Yup, totally, which is why steel inserts are installed.  They're also designed to have thicker walls to operate in the near annealed condition whereas the rest of the head isnt.  In reality the head is probably fine, unless it warped.

Totally agree with ya Fred, assuming you started with an annealed head.  But if it was already at a temper, and then went to 370-400F, that 24 hour process can be done in an hour, or less.  Those curves show how the hardness dissipates after you reach proper temper.

Whats the likelihood it got that hot everywhere on the head, its hard to say. 

You can always have it re-done if it gets messed up.  I know on gold anodize acetone and IPA applied to a rag and then wiped on it didn't seem to affect it.

Joe

Jay,
Can I get in line for a set?

Thank you,
Joe