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Date:         Mon, 7 Feb 2000 21:48:48 EST
Reply-To:     KENWILFY@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         KENWILFY@AOL.COM
Subject:      Re: HEAD JOB
Comments: To: bibliotk@xmission.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

To me it just depends on how you are driving the van. Are you using it for extended trips that are over an hour or are you just using it for around town driving? If you are just using it for short hops then you might let it slip for a while, but any extended trips should be resheduled until your heads are fixed properly. I have a List special on 2.1l Vanagon heads, new for $375 and my German engine gasket kits that come with both the black and yellow sealant are $99 (a must have for this job). I would also buy some JB weld as your case will be pitted (never seen one yet that wasn't) and you will need this to repair it before putting the old or new heads back on. I would also invest in getting your old heads pressure tested at a local machine shop. All waterboxer heads have cracks between the valve seats, but a pressure test will let you know if the cracks go up into the water jacket. My heads on my '91 Carat had never been overheated to my knowledge, yet both were cracked up into the water jacket (this not only makes them non-reusable, but also makes them bad cores as well, hence the price on the new heads).

<Rant mode on, donning flame proof garments> My opinion about rebuilt heads is that it isn't worth doing. If you are going to reuse your old heads, then fine. Have them pressure tested, and fix the pits with JB Weld and you are ready to go. However I found it very frustrating as a vendor to have every set of heads that I sent to a certain rebuilder come back as a bad core. This, despite the fact that every customer swore up and down that their van was never overheated (I believed them). Finally, after going through this process several times, I decided that it would save my customers time (hence money and frustration) to only sell new heads. With rebuilt heads you have to pay for the heads and the cores up front, then wait for the heads to be rebuilt and sent, and then pay to send your old cores back and find out they are bad and then you just spent $75 less than buying new heads. You buy new heads and there is no waiting, you get them within a few days, they are ready to go and that is it. Keep your old heads as paperweights, boat anchors, etc. :) <Rant mode off>

Thanks, Ken Wilford http://www.vanagain.com John 3:16 Office (856)-765-1583 Shop (856)-327-0027 Fax (856)-327-2242


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