"any specialized tools involved??"
That kind of depends what you already have in your tool box and what engine it is.
Post the engine brand, numbers etc.
That will make it POSSIBLE to give you good advice.

Bill is, as usual, correct. However some pointers should help even without specifics.

Difficulty. Generally not a really hard job on most engines. You might consider looking for a used head. You do however need to use a new head gasket.

As far as special items. You need a bottle of Anti Seize and a torque wrench and appropriate socket.

You also need to know the proper torque and torque sequence for your engine. Bill will probably give you this once you post the model and brand.

Make sure to keep the inside of the cylinder CLEAN when removing any stuck gasket and preparing to install the new head.

Have fun, and good luck.

thanks..don't know about fun, but it sounds do-able. it's a tecumseh enduro xl/c...13 horse
overhead valve
mod # ohv 130
family ttp 358u
displacement 358
there are 2 other numbers on the plate also..they are:
206830b(h)
162ra
i do know that i would need to keep it clean..you mentioned a used head..where would i begin to look for one, and cost-wise, how would they compare to the 100 dollars for a new one?? the gasket will be 15 no matter what, and this supplier will ship for a flat fee of 5.95..so that's where i got the originally posted $120.00 price for the upper head. thanks for the help.

Look on ebay for a used head. If you find one ask the seller to put it on a flat surface and confirm it does not appear warped and of course look for cracks.

Certainly parts like this show up for *older* engines all the time on ebay, so take a look.

You might also check and see if any of the mower parts outfits (there are many, but check with Manufacturers supply and Foley Belsaw) can get you a better price.

Best of luck

I'm not sure if the Enduro is the same as the OHV series. (Tecs & Kaws are my weakest area)
You can download a manual at this link-
http://www.cpdonline.com/695244a.pdf

You'll have to decide IF it's the correct manual. I'm not sure!
However, you can look through it to get an idea what would be involved.
T-Man or Tecumcman is the guru for these engines.
I sent him an email, so wait for his expertise-

Here is a link that might be useful: Manual

I'm STILL...trying to "figure out" how an electric starter
"rocking" has damaged/cracked the cylinder head ???? Oh
well.....

These are VERY EASY to work on. There are no push rod tubes, no O-rings, etc to worry with. Tecumseh makes a nice
and simple tool (part# 670315A) for replacing the valve
springs. I suggest getting one. The repair manual is your
best service tool. To "describe" the procedure would take
a LOT of words, but...it's a very simple procedure since
I've done a couple of hundred of them before. You need this
tool to depress the springs as you replace the valve keepers. You can do this with the head detached from the
rest of the engine on your workbench. Just put a shop rag
under the valves on the table as you depress the springs.
This keeps the valves up and easy then to put the keepers
in. You SURE...the head is....CRACKED ???

T-Man

donnaz5, are you for sure without a doubt, certain that you are referring to the "Cylinder head"? I ask because in your OP, you refer to "the UPPER cylinder head". There is no "UPPER cylinder head" (nor lower cylinder head. There are in the ascending order, The "Cylinder" (this is where the piston lives and works), the "Cylinder head (this covers the cylinder and holds the valves, the spark plug threads into the "cylinder head"), last, you have the "Valve cover" (sometimes called the cylinder head cover, this piece was traditionally a stamped sheet metal item but it is common to see cast alloy and even plastic valve covers now). So, this upper cylinder head you refer to, does it sit squarely on top of the part of the engine where the spark plug goes or does the spark plug thread into the item you are calling a cylinder head? I'm not belittling you, it hasn't been too long ago that a different poster was referring to a "valve cover" as a "cylinder head", and as Gilda Radnor used to say "Well....that's very different".

oh boy, am i sure it's cracked!! i didn't want to bore you with the long drawn out story..but last year the starter went..not bad for a 12 year old mower, i couldn't complain..old starter had 4 bolts, 2 upper, 2 lower..replacement starter came with 2 bolts, self tapping bolts for just the upper holes..i questioned this, and was assured that this was the correct replacement starter..it was how they were doing it now..it was, but it wasn't a good plan..there were no brackets to hold the starter on the bottom, so it just dangled from the top 2 bolts..it should have had some sort of spacer at least..over time, the weight of the starter made the top tip out and the botton tip in, because there was no bracket on the botton like on the old starter..the self tapping bolts loosened up, and when i turned the key all hell broke loose, it just ripped the one bolt out and banged against the top, cracked it..so here i am...
i did look at the manual, and it seems pretty straight forward..we'll see. thanks again.

mownie..i don't feel belittled at all..i am VERY gratefull for the help. i may be calling it the wrong thing..
it is aluminum....when i look at it from the side of the mower, it has a top half and a bottom half, and i'm sure that i can see the place between them where i think i can see a gasket ..the starter bolts directly into the top half of whatever i'm looking at..( the old starter had 2 bolts going into the top and 2 oing into the bottom)...the spark plug screws into the front of it..the flywheel sits on top of the 2 halves that i just described..thnk you..donna

Whoa!
I think we have a rather bad case of terminology here.
Cylinder head-
That's the thing the spark plug screws into. Also the thing that has the metal plate that may say OHV.

Here is a picture of a V-twin which has 2 heads.
The valve covers (one lower left & one lower right), attach to the heads. Your engine only has 1 head, with 1 valve cover (in the middle)

{{gwi:332138}}

okay..just so we're all on the same page..i took pics..it's cracked in the upper left hole..out of desperation i put JB weld on it..i know it won't work, but i really don't have anything to lose..in the 002 pic, you can see what i think is the upper half and the bottom half, and the gasket i think i see between?? once we're all calling it the right thing..then maybe i can fix this?? i spent 20 minutes on the phone today with a VERY patient parts guy..from what i desribed to him..he ended up calling it the upper cylinder head..he was very patient..i originally was calling it a housing, because to me, it looks like a cover that encloses the engine..

Here is a link that might be useful: mower

OK- That looks like the engine BLOCK.
May be major- May be repairable.

The thread can probably be repaired with a Helicoil. That's kind of like a bushing with both internal and external threads.
The hole is drilled and tapped to a larger thread size, then the Helicoil is inserted, "restoring" the original thread.

IS the area where the 4 holes still OK? By that I mean is the case cracked away from the hole itself?
How much depth does the hole still have? A Helicoil needs a certain amount.
Do you have the OLD starter motor? MAYBE an electric motor shop could swap the "guts" into the 4 bolt case??
Is the block steel or aluminum?

The original starter (36914) was REPLACED BY a 2-bolt
starter as Donna has described (37425). The new starter
is "SUPPLIED WITH" new mounting bolts and is a much better
starter than the original one....even with just 2-mounting
bolts vs. 4. Did you use the new bolts? If not....that's
WHY the starter got loose. If tightened properly, the new
design starter will engage the flywheel much better and
will work fine. I've rarely seen one do what you are
describing. SORRY !!! The mounting holes are "PART OF"
the engine block itself, and either must be repaired as
Bill is suggesting with a heli-coil after re-tapping the
mounting hole, or replace the engine or shortblock. Of
course, the latter is pretty expensive....around $400 to
$500.

T-Man

yes, i absolutely used the new bolts supplied with the new starter, and it worked just fine all last summer..i am still convinced that if it were on a 4 bolt system that this never would have happened..but in any case, it did, now i have to deal with the aftermath..thank you all very much for helping me.

Donna, unfortunately, I would "guess" that possibly one
of the mounting holes was "damaged" when you installed
the new starter. TRUST ME....the 2-bolt...IS BETTER !!!
If you look at the mounting collar, it's VERY RIGID, and
WILL NOT flex. Again, unfortunately, I think some damage
prior to installing the new 37425 starter may have led to
this issue. SORRY it happened. If the block itself is not
cracked, you can most likely REPAIR the bolt hole. If there
is some block damage, JB Weld can fix that, or another cold
weld compound used to repair metal. If the bolt tightens
up properly...you'll be OK. You might even use some thread
locker/sealant on the bolt to help insure it stays tight.
GOOD LUCK !!!!

T-Man

I agree with T-man (prior damage). In the photos I see marking and erosion in the space between the upper right and lower right bolt holes (right, as looking at the photos) that is characteristic of a heavy component having been loose to move about it's mounting bolts for an extended period of time. I surmise that the threaded holes were damaged from the old starter banging around (not just from reaction to torque during cranking, but also from bouncing and jostling during using the machine). When this happens to a threaded hole, the threads deepest into the hole might remain virtually damage free, but the threads closest to the entry point of the hole will be have the most severe damage. The replacement bolts might have tried to follow a path different from the undamaged threads deeper into the hole. As the bolt turned further into the hole, it may have tried to alter it's course as it encountered a change in the threads. The end result is that ALL the threads in the hole became damaged and the holding capacity of the hole was compromised. This led to the new starter loosening and since there were only 2 mtg bolts to wrestle with this time, the loosening probably happened quicker. As a result, the side area of the hole (upper left one) broke out. Unfortunately, it appears that the best methods to try salvaging this engine would require removing the engine from the tractor. As bill stated, "Heli-coil" would be one way to POSSIBLY restore the holes (and both holes need to be restored). A Heli-coil insert (boy, the name seems to imply that you just "pop" them in, wrong) is like a coil spring except it is a precision thread after installation, and the repaired hole accepts the original bolt size. I can't tell from looking at the photos if these holes are deep enough to allow for the drilling and tapping required to prepare the hole for a Heli-coil repair. Also, since it seems that the side of the hole has broken out, I doubt there is enough base material present around the hole to actually "hold" a Heli-coil insert. If the holes are deep enough to support the drilling and tapping for Heli-coil repair, long length Heli-coil inserts could be installed and corespondingly longer bolts used to mount the starter to the "block". Whether the holes are deep enough to support this is a question best answered by a machine shop. The other method to salvage this engine would be to weld up the damaged holes and retap them to the original size bolts. Either method would ideally require a competent machine shop and/or welding shop capable of welding aluminum with T.I.G.( the material appears to be cast aluminum in the photos) If you can measure the depth of the holes accurately, I'll try to determine if there is enough space to try Heli-coil (measure depth of both upper holes, be sure there is no dirt or foreign matter pack in the bottom of the holes, clean them out with a small screwdriver, stiff wire or other tool.) For you to implement a Heli-coil repair yourself, you would need to obtain a Heli-coil kit for the specific size bolt diameter and pitch of the threads. If it goes that far, you'll just take one of your old mtg bolts with you to the store. The Heli-coil kit will have: The correct diameter drill bit necessary to enlarge the damaged hole, a special sized Heli-coil tap to thread the hole so it will accept the Heli-coil insert, a tap handle to turn the tap with, a Heli-coil insert installation tool (the tap handle is used to turn this tool also), and a limited number of inserts. Instructions included. If you want more insight into the Heli-coil method and products you can do a www.helicoil thing to check out whether you are tempted to try it or not. If you decide to attempt this your self, it will not be entirely necessary to remove the engine, but I already anticipate some clearance issues that would require the use of a 3/8" drive extension to turn the tap handle instead of the cross bar that is furnished in the kit. BTW, all that JB Weld will have to be sanded flat before re-mounting the starter. Maybe T-man can post the diameter and thread pitch for us. The holes appear to be sized for 3/8" bolts but might be 7/16".