Date:         Tue, 5 Aug 2008 12:39:21 -0700
Reply-To:     Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject:      Re: Leaky valve cover tip of iceberg
Comments: To: ckelmo1@COMCAST.NET
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="Windows-1252";
              reply-type=original

Hi,
not sure what 'valve head right at the gasket" means.......
but if you found an oil and water mix............
what I've found is that *all* waterboxer engines that have been running a
number of years.......
need to have their heads removed............and uually a basic valve job in
a machine shop, and new
head gasksets.
In bringing many   vanagons back to health, unless I  can tell the engine is
pretty fresh, the heads need to come off, at the
minimum.  Almost like it was part of a regular tune up ........not quite
that , but almost.

Most of the time..............that outer water retention rubber gasket is
corroded, the aluminum surface of the head where it mates with that rubber
gasket is corrodded, and the tiny green o-rings at the top of the barrels
are very hard and stuck in their grooves- like they stopped doing much
sealing a long time ago.  If it's a typical tired waterboxer
engine..........I'd say that head, or both, defenitely need to come off.
scott
www.turbovans.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Cecil Eastman" <ckelmo1@COMCAST.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2008 8:07 AM
Subject: Leaky valve cover tip of iceberg


> This is from that Pampers-wearin' 85 Westy again.
>
> Good news: I seem to have fixed the annoying drip of ATF from the tranny
> by adding some thickener to the fluid.
>
> Bad news:  The power steering lines are still leaking like a sieve,
> regardless of the viscosity of the fluid.  I'm thinking I'll have to try
> Ken's replacement hydraulic lines for the rusty metal ones.
>
> Worse news:  The oil leak at the valve head still leaks after replacing
> the gaskets, at least on the driver's side.  I did notice a small hole
> rusted through the valve head right at the gasket, so that may be the
> culprit, but that ain't all.  Turns out that the leaking fluid is a
> mixture of oil and coolant.  So am I looking at a cylinder head job here,
> or hopefully just some seals?  I don't know what other criteria I should
> be checking to see if the heads themselves are bad.
>
> All guidance is gratefully appreciated.
>
> Cecil
> '85 Westy