Dan,

I've had my 84 for about 18 months. It has 92k miles on it's 1.9L and last fall I replaced the gaskets. After what I went through getting the sleeves off the cylinder heads I'm sure that was the first time they had ever been off. I just cleaned them up and put them back on after a very tiny bit of JB weld on one small area. 18 years on original gaskets does not seem bad to me, you be the judge. It now runns perfectly.

Joe 84 vanagon 93 Eurovan MV 99.5 jetta tdi. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Daniel Curran" <daniel_curran@TYS.ON.CA> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2002 2:01 PM Subject: leaky head gasket question again

> Hello all; > > I am searching for a waterboxer Westy, having owned a 72 and a 75 > previously, and have been thoroughly frightened off by the head gasket > corrosion problems. I have read that this problem is much more common on > 83-86 (or 87?) Vanagons, due to some change in the manufacturing of the > head. Is this the case? Are 88-91 Vanagons not susceptible to the pitting, > corrosion, and coolant leakage that the early waterboxers were? > > Best, > Daniel Curran >