Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2008 10:24:35 -0400
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Engine Replacement or Gasket Fix?
In-Reply-To: <4d1b79350808230714y2e8b05a2pc1838ce63d0b6bfe@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Double nut trick! Get 2 10mm nuts place them on the stud and tighten the 2
against each other, hard. Then use an open end wrench to turn the inner
nut. You will still need some heat at the bottom as these things are
factory lock tited in place. Install the new ones the same way only
turning the outer nut down. As for broken studs, I have welded nuts on
with great success. I have also done that remove exhaust studs. That are
not plated work best for this.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Felder [mailto:jim.felder@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2008 10:15 AM
To: Dennis Haynes
Cc: vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com
Subject: Re: Engine Replacement or Gasket Fix?
Dennis,
I considered replacing the studs on my recent rebuild. I ended up
using another block with no evidence of overheating. The main reason I
didn't replace the studs (besides the cost) was the fact that they are
so hard I couldn't grab them to remove them. Is there some trick, like
welding on a nut, that I overlooked? How do you normally get them out?
Jim
On Sat, Aug 23, 2008 at 8:30 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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