B7200 HST-D cylinder head question

[Rocketman69]

Hey guys....quick one for all of you folks far more knowledgeable than I am when it comes to these orange tractors:

The head on my D950 is cracked between the valves on cylinder 2. I called the dealer about a replacement and they're wanting $817.77 for a complete head with gasket and shim.

I found rebuilt OEM units online, but noticed the casting number on the front corner is K5-A, where mine is K5-B. The second group of numbers on the rebuilt unit are 7 & 1106, where mine are 8 & 1227.

Do those numbers mean anything, or are they simply casting identifiers? Are al D950 heads compatible?

Thanks in advance.

-Gib

 

[JeffL]

Typically numbers/letters you find on castings are abbreviated part number, revision level, mold or tool set, and date code.
Guess for fun:
K5-B Part number or model, all D950 heads are K5 and revision B
1227 Cast date 127th day in 1987 or '97 or...
8 Tool/mold # 8

I work with castings so this might be a good guess on the other hand it is Japanese and I could be totally wrong!

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Most if not all D950 heads are the same, I don't think a different casting # will mean a thing.

 

[Rocketman69]

K5-B Part number or model, all D950 heads are K5 and revision B

This part can't be right, because I know it's a D950 head, but has a K5-A stamping, where mine is K5-B.....just wasn't sure if there were changes made during the run, or if it was just a mold number or something.

Most if not all D950 heads are the same, I don't think a different casting # will mean a thing.

That's what I was hoping. Thanks!

 

[JeffL]

Like I said it was a guess. What I meant was K5 = D950 within the K5 family we have revisions A & B & probably many more.
I looked at my D950 and it has K2-T and a more conventional date code. So my guess remains a guess.
All D950s most likely are interchanagble. If we knew how to read the codes especially the date code I would always take the newer version if given a choice. Seldom do designers make a casting worse with a newer release. Notice I did say seldom.