Larry, the WBX engine doesn't require re-torque of the head bolts due to it's design. BTW, that engine I did probably 'could have' been fixed with just a tightening of the bolts but I pulled the heads to be sure and replaced the gaskets. ALL head bolts had approximately 20 ft/lbs of torque when I pulled it apart, AND all of the large crankcase bolts were loose as well, this after NO overheating. So where/who do we place the blame? Karl Mullendore Westy Ventures Larry Chase wrote: > Volks, > > What's your take on Scott's suggestion? > > A while back, after only 9k miles, I replaced both heads (used new > AMC) and one piston on the 2.1L "AVP" rebuilt engine in the Haus. > > Had combustion gasses in the coolant which caused "coolant blowing". > > One or more heads may have gotten warped, one piston had blow by. > > Observation ... the engine had several loose head bolts. > > Scott's suggestion kinda hit home? > > Oddly, shortly after my problem, Karl Mullendore was working on a > Vanagon in his shop that had the same problem. AVP Rebuilt engine with > ~10k miles also had several loose head bolts. Fortunately he was able to > retorque everything and it was good to go. Caught it before heads were > warped or other damage was done. > > I know the some of the head bolts aren't all that easy to get to ... so > maybe every oil change is too frequent. But I'm thinking once a year > might be a heck of a lot easier and cheaper than replacing the head > gaskets or even the heads. > > That is, if this would help. > > Thoughts, > > Larry Chase |
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