Date:         Mon, 8 Nov 2004 06:25:37 -0800
Reply-To:     TinkerMan <tinkerman007@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         TinkerMan <tinkerman007@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      # head gasket failure modes and emergency temporary fixes
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Hello Volks!

Blown head gaskets are probably the #1 wasserboxer
killers in our vans.

What interests me is which gaskets blow the most.
I know about 4 gaskets:
1. Cylinder sleeve bottom seal to the crankcase
(O-ring?) - keeps combustion gases out of crankcase.
2. Green gasket on top of the cylinder - keeps
combustion gases out of water jacket.
3. Metal gasket on top of the cylinder - also keeps
combustion gases out of water jacket.
4. Big external rubber gasket that seals head to
crankcase - keeps water in water jacket from leeking
out.

My guess is that the external rubber seal fails the
most, since it's plain rubber and has the most area to
seal and thus more chance for failure.

Can anyone verify my guess or contradict it?

The reason I'm asking this is that, in case the gasket
blows, a temporary fix might let you get by until the
end of your vacation or even until the next engine
rebuild.
The engine might be in perfect condition (and I've
heard lots of good comments about these motors except
for the head gasket problems, e.g. no timimg belt or
valve adjustments thanks to hydraulic valve lifters,
etc.), and it's a pitty a simple rubber gasket that
blows often forces an engine rebuild (at least the
head gaskets) which means lots of wasted $$$$$...

Thus, I suggest a quick and dirty solution: Hi-temp
silicon sealer applied around the external head
sealing gasket and nearby mating head and crankcase
surfaces, possibly adding some kind of re-enforcement
belt to keep it from being blown out by the coolant
pressure. Who cares if it's ugly as long as it
works?...:-)
When real engine rebuild time comes by (and I have a
feeling that a properly maintained wasserboxer can
even go as high as 200-300k Km), the sealant will have
to be scraped off of course, but it's won't be on the
sealing surfaces anyway so wouldn't bother too much.
Maybe preemptively adding this "added protection" in
advance might even give a longer engine life until
first external leak.

Of course, it all depends on the assumption that the
external gasket leaks first.
Any favorable opinions for this idea?


=====
Cheers, T-man.



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