Middle Iron Pitting
 

I was cleaning up engine parts and found this. How concerned should I be?

I'm most concerned about the circled area. It's right on the edge of the groove and there is a tiny bit of material missing. But on the flipside it's also on the outer part of the seal.

http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...50486872_o.jpg

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...61499963_o.jpg

NVM the post. I got my answer

Share the answer?

No worries at all.

looks fine to me, the intake/exhaust side is always the worst.

^^ What they said

I had a knee jerk reaction when I saw the pitting right on the edge of the groove. After posting and giving it some thought I realized that the sealing for gaskets and seals happens on the front side (facing what it's sealing) not the back side. I did a little research and found confirmation for what I had already come to realize. It's the seal doing the sealing not the mating of the metal on metal...to an extent. In a perfect world we would all use perfect irons, but pitting is pretty normal and acceptable.