Date:         Fri, 9 Feb 2007 06:31:47 -0500
Reply-To:     Kurt Camealy <camealy@CTSR.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Kurt Camealy <camealy@CTSR.COM>
Subject:      Head leak again....  What next?
Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

I have a 2.1 that was rebuilt top and bottom at 150K and now it seems to be
leaking through the inner head gasket again.  I have 215K now and the engine
runs great but my coolant level will rise significantly during driving and
has a slow steady stream of small bubbles in it.  I remember this happening
last time before a catastrophic head blowout.  (engine had a roaring boil
coming of the coolant bottle and never started again after cooling off) Is
roughly 70K average for a head problem on a rebuild?

My real questing is what next.  I am still not ready to part with my
Vanagon, but I don't have a ton of money to spend on it right now.  If I
continue to drive it will I ruin the top of the Cylinders requiring more
than a top end rebuild?  If I do just a top end will I most likely need new
heads instead of just gaskets?  Should I try to re-torque the current heads
or will I most likely just crack them?

Thank you for everyone's insight,

Kurt
87 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg