Date:         Tue, 31 Mar 1998 07:14:37 -0500
Reply-To:     EMZ <vw4x4@FYI.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         EMZ <vw4x4@FYI.NET>
Subject:      Head (gasket) fix
Comments: To: "Steven X. Schwenk" <sxs@concentric.net>
Comments: cc: Vanagon@VANAGON.COM
In-Reply-To:  <35205680.49CF0F1C@concentric.net>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

      I guess it's time to speak up. To much useless talk.
If your heads are pitted, use a belt sander to clean them,
as best you can. And reinstall.

  THE PROBLEM IS THE WATER THAT IS USED WITH THE ANTI-FREEZE
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Vanagon is proof of this. I did just this, put 70,000 miles
on the gasket job and not one problem. Never bothered with the
anti-freeze after that.

            Eric                   86-VW4x4
            vw4x4@fyi.net          72-240z
            Pittsburgh, PA USA     1936-Chrysler


On Mon, 30 Mar 1998, Steven X. Schwenk wrote:

> With all of the talk about head gasket failure, I have a coup[le of
> questions for those of you who have used JB Weld to fill in pitting on
> the gasket surface of the heads:
>
> How well has this worked for you.
>
> Any indication the JB weld damages the gasket (due to uneven surface,
> etc.).
>
> How thick do you put it on and how do you get the sealing surface
> perfectly flat and uniform?
>
> It seems that with JB weld and a cheap gasket kit, you can do a
> preventative fix on the heads for under $200 in parts...not a bad
> option.  Tim Smith has shared his success stories with me regarding his
> repairs to two sets of heads with 40,000 + miles and still holdinmg
> fine, I believe.  I thought others would be interested plus I would like
> to hear if anyone has had a bad experience with the repair.
>
> Steve
>
> Bill Collins wrote:
>
> > The PO of my van replaced the head gaskets (for the first time) at
> > about
> > 120k miles and filled the pits in the heads with JB Weld.  At around
> > 150k, he was catching the coolant in a cat litter pan and pouring it
> > back
> > in!  Then, one of the gaskets let loose (probably due to damage from
> > the
> > JB weld) and it lost most of its coolant.  When I got it, it didn't
> > leak
> > at all cold, but when it warmed up, wham, instant cloud of steam!  I
> > replaced the heads with rebuilt ones from AVP and have driven it about
> >
> > 15k since, without a drip.
> >
> > As a comparison, my Isuzu has had two cracked heads in 130k miles.
> > I'd
> > take the waterboxer over the isuzu any day.
> >
> > Bill
>