Date: Sat, 15 May 2010 14:31:32 -0400
Reply-To: "Peter T. Owsianowski" <pnoceanwesty@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Peter T. Owsianowski" <pnoceanwesty@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Leaking head nut
In-Reply-To: <AANLkTinyDZzCUVZS1gXbTL9Wii5WfmIw1t0wBq-ozFAH@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Yessiree! Very happy for you.
Just got our '87 back yesterday from the trans shop -fixing my "fix"
on the O rings and seals.
Nice recovery, Roger! Just in time for Buses by the Beach.
On 5/15/10, Roger VanTill <motelvw@gmail.com> wrote:
> It's alive! Fired it up this morning and all systems are go. Purrs like a
> kitten and the new transmission shifts like butter. I'm a proud and happy
> man right now. My wife wants to go camping tonight.
>
> On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 11:32 AM, Ken Wilford <kenwilfy@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> Roger, how do I know? Been There Done That. I feel your pain. Maybe
>> someone has a good used AMC head they can sell you.
>>
>>
>> Ken Wilford
>> John 3:16
>> www.vanagain.com
>>
>>
>> Roger VanTill wrote:
>>
>>> And the winner is............Ken Wilford! I took a good look at that area
>>> and I can see the hairline crack. I'm f*cked! Due to unemployment and a
>>> future Zetec install I couldn't afford to get new heads. They looked fine
>>> and were only seeping at the gasket.
>>>
>>> Time to cry in my beer and figure out what's next.
>>>
>>> On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 8:08 AM, Ken Wilford
>>> <kenwilfy@comcast.net<mailto:
>>> kenwilfy@comcast.net>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Roger, if you reused your old heads then what you have is a
>>> hairline crack at the head nut. This is a common failure with the
>>> OE VW heads as they have a thin spot right there and can crack
>>> upon retorqueing. That is why I very, very rarely ever use them.
>>> I always use the AMC heads which are brand new, but also they are
>>> beefed up in this area to avoid this problem. Most of my
>>> customers come here from at least 2 to 3 hours away. I don't want
>>> them to have any problems because unlike a local shop, I just
>>> don't have the "luxury" of taking chances and having people come
>>> back. So I decided a long time ago that if a customer comes in
>>> with heads that have any cracks between the valves, and we are
>>> doing a head gasket replacement, I will always recommend new AMC
>>> heads. I have never had one single problem with them over the
>>> past 12 years of doing head replacements. Many happy Vanagons out
>>> there still purring down the road.
>>>
>>> Just my opinion.
>>>
>>>
>>> Ken Wilford
>>> John 3:16
>>> www.vanagain.com <http://www.vanagain.com>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Roger VanTill wrote:
>>>
>>> I rebuilt my 2.1 this spring. Was very careful, read
>>> everything I could,
>>> watched Ben's videos, etc. Got the motor and new tranny
>>> installed. Filled
>>> the system with coolant this afternoon. It's sitting there,
>>> not started yet,
>>> unpressurized. I've got a coolant leak coming from one of the
>>> upper center
>>> head bolts on the driver side. Tears are still falling as I
>>> write this.
>>>
>>> Yes I sanded the bolts flat and cleaned up the mating surface
>>> on the head. I
>>> used the yellow goop that came with the gasket set.
>>>
>>> Should I just drain it, remove the leaking cap nut and reseal
>>> it? Do I trust
>>> the other 15?
>>>
>>> Looking for advice and a pat on the back to tell me it'll be
>>> alright.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
--
Sent from my mobile device
Pete
'79 Westy "Aardvark"
'87 Westy "JoesVan"
WWW.Busesbythebeach.com
|