Hey volks, Here's the background. My 85 Westy was blowing exhaust into the coolant system. No external head gasket leak. Engine rebuilt 2 years ago and very hard driving since (towing 1000lb trailer, long trips, LOTS of stop and go, about 50k put on it over 2 years, etc....) I started to take the heads off. I took the driver side head off this evening in search of a blown gasket and found the foward cylinder (I forget the cylinder #) abnormal. The thin green o-ring that surrounds the cylinder jug was blown. Instead of the usual carbon buildup (like the other combustion chamber), I found a tan ash burnt on the piston head. I need advice. Do you think I found the only culprit or should I spend the extra time pulling the other head and look for blown head gasket parts? If this is the problem, I don't really see the need to pull the other side unless there is a possibility I have this problem in the other 2 cylinders. I suppose I could pull the spark plugs and take a look in the chambers for abnormal coloration. Is the thing green o-ring the problem? Is this just a side effect of another problem that I haven't found? I'm can only work in the evenings and I would REALLY like to have the van running by the weekend. I know this is a stretch to get it back together, but my wife wants to take a short trip and I'd much rather take the van then the compact car. The one advantage I have on my side is I was able to pull the head without removing the engine. Any advice would be appreciated. Gregg Carlen 85 (headless) Westy
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