Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 16:31:42 -0800
Reply-To: "sxs@concentric.net" <sxs@CONCENTRIC.NET>
Sender: Vanagon mailing list <Vanagon@Gerry.SDSC.EDU>
From: "sxs@concentric.net" <sxs@CONCENTRIC.NET>
Subject: Re: Leaking Heads?
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I had a similar scare recently...I smelled coolant and it appeared there
may have been some leakage at the head gasket because the heads were
slightly stained (still have not ruled this out). It turns out that the
smell was from a leaking sensor. A pressure check of the cooling system
revealed no had leak, but I am still concerned because of the stained
head.
Your symptoms point more directly to leaking head gasket. Form my
research, you options are:
Confirm that the leak is from the head; the either :
1) try barsleak or similar stuff for a temporary fix....you want to keep
the stuff in the engine and not let it circulate theough the whole
cooling system...so you have to shut engine off when thermostat opens,
and repeat after it cools a bit;
2) have heads removed and hope that the heads are not pitted or corroded
so all you need is gaskets. From what I hear, this costs about $800;
3) if you need heads, you can buy new ones (about $800 each) or rebuilt
(prices vary from about $250 each to $600 each), for a grand total of
around $2000-$2500, or
4) you can coat your old heads with a ceramic compound (a guy in Oregon
apparently does this...search the listaa)....or with another type of
bonding compound....I do not have the name of it here...(search the
list...i will look on my laptop for the posts i saved from those who
helped me) but it apparently has been used on a dozen or more heads
successfully. These treatments make it unnecessary to purchase new or
rebuilt heads and protect your heads from recurrence of the same
problem, so they have real appeal if you have the time. Total cost here
should be around $800-$900; or
5) Buy a new rebuilt engine for from $1800 to $2500. Get a vw rebuilt
if you can afford it. Most recommend not going this route unless your
compression is not good or there are over 120,000 miles on the engine.
VW had entered into a mediation/arbitration plan with the FTC over head
gasket and other engine problems. that ended last year. However, I
hear that if you owned the vehicle most of its life and/or can
demonstrate regular coolant changes and good maitenance record, VWA may
still pick up some of the cost. Can't hurt to try.
Good luck...I'm probably next...
steve
'90 syncro westy
san francisco
Stephen Jones wrote:
> It appears my heads may be leaking on my '87 Westy (80,000 miles), but
>
> I'm not sure . . . Suggestions please.
>
> Today at lunch, I noticed a small puddle of coolant under the Westy.
> A
> drip was hanging on the bottom of the engine and the coolant appeared
> to
> be coming from the ~1/4 " gasket wide on the side of the engine (I'm
> assumming this is the head gasket, Bentley and guesses lead me to this
>
> conclusion). Wiped it down, drove a few miles around town, no more
> coolant has appeared.
>
> Is this a sign of things to come? What should I check? Could the
> coolant be coming from elsewhere? Places to check? What are my
> options
> if I need new heads? Rebuild? Buy used? Buy new? Rebuild engine?
> New engine? Costs of various options?
>
> Thanks for assistance for the uninformed. It's funny how you never
> pay
> attention to certain threads until they affect you.
>
> Stephen Jones
> '87 Westy
> Jackson, WY
