Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:24:00 -0800
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: head gaskets
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reply-type=original
Which heads are they ? ........
original VW ones, or AMC heads ?
as far as I know, I am the only person saying AMC heads are not so great.
So, *if* it has AMC heads ( which can be dimensionally incorrect in the
rubber gasket area ) .....
that could be part of the problem.
if they are VW heads, then a proper re-do of gaskets and a valve job is a
great repair.
As to whether it's a lot of work or not -
that depends on how corroded and rusted things are. If it's bad, just
getting the exhaust off can take a lot of effort.
If the head nuts are corroded, that's extra scary, and can eat up lot of
time getting them off nicely.
also ......it is actually A GOOD THING to remove the heads ......
because just left on for years and years and years ............corrosion
happens, to the bottom of the heads, to the studs, the nuts etc. ......
if a stud breaks off down in the block, due to a badly corroded head nut,
you are really screwed.
So it's actually a good thing to take them off, and re-do
everything...........like I'd say, every 80,000 miles, or 10 year max.
When I hear of a waterboxer engine that's 15+ years old, and the heads have
never been off ..............that is quite a concern, same for ultra high
miles - it might be 'nice' that it went 200K on one set of heads, but it's
usually much, much worse to work on when it's never been apart in that long
a time, or that high miles.
workin' on them is a GOOD thing. They like it.
----- Original Message -----
From: "B Feddish" <bfeddish@NETREACH.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 7:30 AM
Subject: Re: head gaskets
> My apology if I missed that. Leaky heads at only 30K eh? I think the
> experts need to chime in here. You need to find out "why" they are leaking
> at only 30K. Was it a crappy rebuild, did the engine overheat, etc. Maybe
> it
> was just a bad seal and a new gasket will fix it for years. These might
> only
> be questions to answer once the heads were off or maybe possibly finding
> the
> history of the rebuild. Was it just a ring job and new gaskets or a
> complete
> rebuild with new pistons, heads, etc.
>
> Bryan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mcneely4@cox.net [mailto:mcneely4@cox.net]
> Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 10:14 AM
> To: bfeddish@netreach.net
> Cc: mcneely4@COX.NET; vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: RE: head gaskets
>
> Well, I did say that the engine only has 30K miles on a rebuild, according
> to paperwork I got when I bought the beast last spring. I have no idea
> where the rebuild came from (paperwork just states under "parts" that a
> "longblock engine replacement" was a part of the work done).
>
> So, you are saying either new heads or mill these, at minimum? thanks,
> Dave
> Mc
>
>
> On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 8:44 AM, B Feddish wrote:
>
>> You haven't mentioned how many miles were on this motor, that may
>> factor in
>> as to what you want to do. Taking the heads off is a big job whether
>> you do
>> it or somebody else does it. If I were to go that far there is no way
>> I'd
>> just slap a new rubber gasket and some sealant in there and put it all
>> back
>> together. This is of course if there are allot of miles on the engine.
>> I
>> would at least have the heads done while they were out our better yet
>> put on
>> some new ones. Yeah, the heads are expensive but so is taking them off
>> in
>> terms of time. Then again if you are budget conscious and you are
>> going to
>> do the job yourself then at least do the JB Weld thingy with the heads
>> while
>> they are out.
>>
>> Bryan
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
>> Behalf Of
>> Dave Mcneely
>> Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 9:22 AM
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: Re: head gaskets
>>
>> So, I should do the head gaskets, or not? It's very expensive, but I
>> want a
>> reliable van (or no van at all). Thanks, Dave Mc
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 6:48 PM, mark drillock wrote:
>>
>>> This is a typical failure mode. Leaks in cold weather, stops when
>>> warmed up, leaks worse as temps drop. May go on this way for years
>>> depending on you and it. Mine has. On more than one van.
>>>
>>> Mark
>>>
>>>
>>> Dave Mcneely wrote:
>>>> So, I've done about everything I thought I should to make my '91
>>>> camper as reliable as it could be, including lots of cooling system
>>>> fixes.
>>>> Just replaced all coolant hoses, since so many think that should be
>>>> done.
>>>> .......
>>>>
>>>> Head gaskets are leaking. The question: I find it difficult to think
>>>> the gaskets just all of a sudden turned loose (I'd even removed the
>>>> tins to look for evidence of leaks when I did the hoses, and saw
>>>> none).
>>>> Could it be that the heads and or gaskets were already loose or
>>>> whatever, and the cold weather made them looser and so they leak? If
>>>> I run the engine a little while, the leaks dry up, suggesting to me
>>>> that temperature plays a role -- expansion, contraction ..... . So,
>>>> could the heads be sealed better even with the temperature
>>>> difference between normal fall temps and the quite cold temps we've
>>>> had lately? I'm just trying to understand why this suddenly showed
>>>> up, and wonder if it being coincident with the cold weather is more
>>>> than a coincidence.
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