Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:30:06 -0500
Reply-To: B Feddish <bfeddish@NETREACH.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: B Feddish <bfeddish@NETREACH.NET>
Subject: Re: head gaskets
In-Reply-To: <24992856.3813.1261062815323.JavaMail.mcneely4@127.0.0.1>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
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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