Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:07:29 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Head gasket O-rings
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=response
the black o-rings at the bottom of the cylinder barrels - I have yet to see
any problems ever with those.
it's the green o-rings at the top of the barrel that are weak.
they get hard, they get stuck badly in the groove, etc.
For those, you gotta have good ones there.
If you have nicely pliable semi-fresh green o-rings, with careful
workmanship, they'll be fine.
( I lube them with vaseline on the outside to help the head slide down over
them. )
the outer 'water gasket ' ..........check the gap for that gasket be
test-installing the bare head, with the metal rings on top of the barrel of
course.
The gap there has to be in the ball park.
too big and the outer water gasket won't get compressed enough.
too tight, and it will pinch and spilt after a while.
I measured the water gaskest thickness at 3.5 mm, and figure one half mm
compression is about right.
but if you put it together with near extreme attention to small
details.............like 'custom fit watch work' ..........clenan things up
well, say nice things to it.........and just do maticulous workmanship,
you'll be fine.
VW parts departments .........HELLO VW ARE YOU LISTENING !!??........THEY
ARE GETTING TO BE A JOKE.
EVEN ON AN 87 VANAGON WHICH IS in their computer system...............EVEN
WHEN I go there in person to babysit them through the process, they can't
find a part.
You know what I have to do to really get a dealer part or part number
sometime ? - I have to go on the syncro list and email Rennie, who's a parts
manager at a major southern california VW dealer - now HE can look stuff up
!
but many VW parts deptarments are quite a joke these days.
heck, there's one in Canada I call because they are so sharp, and have been
dealing with them for near 20 years.
AT my local VW dealer..........their parts dept is understaffed, the turn
over rate of parts people there is high and they're just not that sharp.
Those green o-rings should be hyper easy to see in the VW parts system at
any VW dealer.
They don't need a book either.
the real truth is it's not something they are used to looking up, they have
much better paying top dollar jobs the techs are working on .........so that
gets priority. I'll be this is true too.........the better parts people
serve the techs in the service deptmartment of a dealership.
they slower, less smart ones, that's who the public gets to talk to.
The service dept is BIG business in some dealerships - one of their main
sources of revenue - to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dallars a month
in some cases. - they make darn sure no techs are sitting around waiting for
a part, or getting the wrong part.
But the guy at the public customer window, or on the phone ............is
not really very important to them - unfortunately, it would seem, sometimes.
just do really careful work on your head and check everything 3 times, and
you'll likely be just fine.
I use Toyota black sealant on the outer water gaskets, btw.
scott
www.turbovans.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Cochran" <mxsailor@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, August 29, 2008 3:33 PM
Subject: Head gasket O-rings
> Thanks for the tip on the oil sender connection. I knew there was 2,
> it just didn't register that the spade connector was for the 2nd one.
>
> After replacing the head on left side and starting to fill coolant,
> discovered head gasket blown on right side- I have a spare head
> gasket, but not the black O-rings around the cylinders to seal those.
> Has anyone used something else? If not, this Westy will have to sit
> like this until I drive to the states again for two little rubber O-
> rings. I live in Mexico, 300 miles south of Tucson. (There's a VW
> dealership in town, but their parts department guy says he doesn't
> even have a parts number book on old Vanagons to order the parts- he
> wants me to bring the car in, rather than sell me parts, I think).
>
> I do have several versions of high-temp sealant, Permatex thermostat/
> water pump sealant, and the Anthracite sealer from Victor Reinz...
> also, have the smaller diameter green o-rings left from the left head
> gasket set. So, who's got an idea?
>
> Jim C.
> 86 Westy 2.1
| 
