Date: Tue, 22 Dec 2015 10:52:56 +0000
Reply-To: Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Dreaded water jacket head gasket leak strikes
In-Reply-To: <5678D865.3070900@turbovans.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
"Buick or someone like that even took 3 cars to an Auto Expo thing in New
York around then ..
tore all 3 cars appart, scrambled the parts, and put all 3 back
totogether and they all ran ...
and that was a very big deal at the time."
It was Cadillac, and that's how their slogan for decades became "The Standard of the World."
On Monday, December 21, 2015 11:58 PM, "SDF ( aka ;jim lahey' - Scott )" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM> wrote:
How many people check, and pay careful attention to how much the outer
water rubber gasket is commpressed ?
Very very important to do that,
especially if putting on a 'new-used' or otherwise different head that
was on there.
I am for 3.5 mm of rubber water gasket compression.
Check that dimension by installing the head, with metal rings on top of
the barrels, but no rubber gasket.
then measure that gap. I have seen cases where the rubber gasket is
pinched too tight ...
and , and in 6 months or so, it's likely that gasket will split and
leak ...
Or if the gap is too big ...only the sealant is doing the sealing, and
not proper compression of the rubber gasket.
I have seen a brand new AMC head built poorly so that the head was
tilted on the block ..
like 2.5 mm at one end, and 4 mm at the other end.
that was on the very first waterboxer head gasket job I did in the 90's.
I really tried to do it right, with a new head, german head gaskets etc.
it lasted less than a year.
I did some serious research to find out what might have been the issue.
Finally..after working this mystery for a month or two, a VW dealer
technician tells me..
you put the head on without the rubber gasket, and if it's not the right
gap,
you ***try another head *** ...!!!
which is insane since interchangeable standardized parts were a big deal
around 1920 in car production.
Buick or someone like that even took 3 cars to an Auto Expo thing in New
York around then ..
tore all 3 cars appart, scrambled the parts, and put all 3 back
totogether and they all ran ...
and that was a very big deal at the time.
Rather a joke 'head gasket' system ...
how far that rubber gasket is compressed depends on the 'step distance'
between the flat bottom of the head, and the part where the heads sit on
the metal rings and barrels.
Anyway ..if not paying careful attention to how much the outer rubber
water gasket is compressed...
you're just shootin' in the dark .
I got that dimension by cutting an old rubber gasket apart, and
measureing how thick it is where it's compressed..
3.5 mm looked about right. ..........and that seems to work.
last paragraph ...lol...one time on a van of my own, I rented it to
friends to go to Burning Man ..
they are all packed and loaded...and one head starts to leak.
The rubber gasket was not being compressed enough. I did an all-nighter...
pulled it apart....( the metal rings are 1 mm think if I recall
correctly ) ..
I dug through a 25 year accumulation of left over
VW gasket stuff, and found exactly two metal head sealing rings that
were half a mm thick..
no idea where they came from ..
but they did the trick perfectly and that engine ran fine without
leaking for years.
Imagine how many Vanagon waterboxer head gasket job have been done..
probably about 3 or 4 times as many vanagon as there are in existence.
but we love the dang things anyway.
Scott
On 12/20/2015 7:54 AM, J Stewart wrote:
> I had no luck with the Suby conditioner, but then my gasket was torn. I also paid a lot less than the $30.00 this Amazon ad claims is the list price, as I recall at the local Subaru dealer it was $2.50 a bottle. The FIRST head gasket replacement on mine lasted 300 miles-yes, I said the first. I was not happy that at 300 miles I developed another leak, this time around one of the head nuts. I was told by a couple of respected VW gurus that re-using a head may not work, as cracks can happen around the head stud passages. I purchased a "used" head from Go Westy for $350.00. They said it was used with very low mileage but it sure looked brand new to me. The second head gasket/head replacement went a LOT faster than the first one, lol. That repair lasted at least 5K miles. I say at least because I then sold the van. As far as I know it is still going strong. Jeff
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
>> for now you may try this Subaru coolant conditioner
>> http://www.amazon.com/Subaru-SOA635071-Coolant-System-Conditioner/dp/B00IGZP2UE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450574144&sr=8-1&keywords=subaru+coolant+conditioner
>> it's working well on my son's Jeep.. loss of coolant but no leak (internal
>> leak)
