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Date:         Sat, 23 Aug 2008 21:46:13 -0700
Reply-To:     Walter Houle <whoule@ECSCONTROLS.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Walter Houle <whoule@ECSCONTROLS.COM>
Subject:      Re: Engine Replacement or Gasket Fix?
Comments: To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>
In-Reply-To:  <BAY125-DAV47B70C2A3FE079A62F39AA0650@phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset="us-ascii"

That makes sense to me. Disappointing in that 2 local shops never recommended this. All they wanted to do then was to swap out the motor!

On Aug 23, 2008, at 6:30 AM, "Dennis Haynes" <d23haynes57@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Both of those internal compression leaks were due to the studs > failing to > maintain tension. If the new heads were bad, they would have leaked > immediately. All of the internal leaks where the cylinder meets the > heads > start out as head stud tension failure. Sometimes this can be > corrected by > re-tourqing the heads but if the studs are stretching the problem will > return. Once the internal leak begins it will get worse as the gasket > begins to burn away from the gasses being forced past it. Just > think, new > studs and nuts with that first replacement could have saved $5k. > > Dennis > > -----Original Message----- > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On > Behalf Of > Walter Houle > Sent: Friday, August 22, 2008 7:33 PM > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM > Subject: Re: Engine Replacement or Gasket Fix? > > Robert - > > Having been thru a couple of head swaps in the past, I went through my > records to see what could be learned. > > The original heads lasted approx. 8 years and 100,000 miles. They > corroded > at the water gasket and leaked coolant. I then purchased a set of new > heads and installed them myself. Total cost for the parts was > $1,000. They > lasted 3 years and 32,000 miles. Then, they failed due to a > compression > leak that pressurized the cooling system and caused overheating. A > local > mechanic told me they failed because they were of poor quality & fit > and > recommended a different brand. If my memory serves me right the 1st > set of > replacement heads were made in Spain, and the 2nd set he recommended > were > from Germany. So, I hired him to install the German heads. Total > cost was > $1,900. These heads worked fine for another 2 yrs 9 months and 22,000 > miles before they too failed with another compression leak. At this > point, > I decided to have a factory rebuilt engine installed. This cost > $3,300, > but it has gone 10 years and 50,000 miles and it is still going > strong. > Also, FWIW, the factory motor was found to have a leaky head when it > was > first fired up, a tiny pin hole sized leak near the exhaust flange. VW > warrantied it, and it was replaced by a local dealership free of > charge > after about a two month wait. > > So, my replacement heads weren't exactly cheap, but they did buy me > a few > years each time. The engine swap cost more, but it did come with a > warranty and it has proven to be very reliable. If I had known about > this > list 10 to 12 years ago I'm sure I would have done things differently. > Whatever you decide, go with experience, either in the advice from the > list or with an experienced mechanic, and only use known quality > parts. > > Walter > 85 Vanagon >


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