Date: Sat, 15 May 2010 13:55:00 -0400
Reply-To: Roger VanTill <motelvw@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Roger VanTill <motelvw@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Leaking head nut
In-Reply-To: <4BD9A692.6090808@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
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.
>>
>>
>>
>>
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