Date:         Mon, 24 Mar 1997 21:20:14 -0500 (EST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Gcarlen@aol.com
Subject:      Blown Head Gasket help needed

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