Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:55:05 -0500
Reply-To: B Feddish <bfeddish@NETREACH.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: B Feddish <bfeddish@NETREACH.NET>
Subject: Re: head gaskets
In-Reply-To: <3732492.5309.1261082227304.JavaMail.mcneely4@127.0.0.1>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
You may want to at least get the Subaru sealant. If coolant is getting out
then air is getting in. That WILL cause your engine to overheat one day and
make things allot worse. There are allot of list members that have been
driving for quite some time with Bars Leaks, Subaru Sealant, etc. but scan
the archives for correctly putting that stuff in. I'm shying away from it
since my engine rebuild will not involve the current engine and I'd rather
risk the engine blowing up this winter than having that stuff in my cooling
system for a fix that won't really help me since the van does not really
travel more than 15 miles away from home right now.
BTW, I'm ultra paranoid since I have had catastrophic head gasket failure 1
month after my current engine was rebuilt. We're talking the trail of
coolant down the road. Luckily I was on this list at the time and got good
instructions for replacing them myself. My
drunken-soon-to-be-retired-recently-divorced mechanic let me use his shop to
do the job. He was happy not to have to do the work (which it was his
responsibility) and I was happy to get the job done in 2 days instead of 2
months. That was in '96 so I guess I did not do such a bad job.
Bryan
-----Original Message-----
From: mcneely4@cox.net [mailto:mcneely4@cox.net]
Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 3:37 PM
To: bfeddish@netreach.net
Cc: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: RE: head gaskets
Well, finding the history of the rebuild might be difficult. As I
mentioned, the paperwork I have shows a longblock, does not show source.
This thing only started leaking when cold weather arrived. Some seem to
think that is simply a chronic state with waterboxers, and they evidently
just let it go. I fear finding myself out in the back of nowhere, and the
seals let go and I lose the coolant. But from what you say, I might not
have any better luck if I do the seals, or even if I get new heads. So,
what should be done with such a beast? David
On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 9:30 AM, B Feddish wrote:
> My apology if I missed that. Leaky heads at only 30K eh? I think the
> experts need to chime in here. You need to find out "why" they are
> leaking at only 30K. Was it a crappy rebuild, did the engine overheat,
> etc.
> Maybe it
> was just a bad seal and a new gasket will fix it for years. These
> might only be questions to answer once the heads were off or maybe
> possibly finding the history of the rebuild. Was it just a ring job
> and new gaskets or a complete rebuild with new pistons, heads, etc.
>
> Bryan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mcneely4@cox.net [mailto:mcneely4@cox.net] Sent: Thursday,
> December 17, 2009 10:14 AM
> To: bfeddish@netreach.net
> Cc: mcneely4@COX.NET; vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: RE: head gaskets
>
> Well, I did say that the engine only has 30K miles on a rebuild,
> according to paperwork I got when I bought the beast last spring. I
> have no idea where the rebuild came from (paperwork just states under
> "parts" that a "longblock engine replacement" was a part of the work
> done).
>
> So, you are saying either new heads or mill these, at minimum?
> thanks, Dave
> Mc
>
>
> On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 8:44 AM, B Feddish wrote:
>
>> You haven't mentioned how many miles were on this motor, that may
>> factor in as to what you want to do. Taking the heads off is a big
>> job whether you do it or somebody else does it. If I were to go that
>> far there is no way I'd just slap a new rubber gasket and some
>> sealant in there and put it all back together. This is of course if
>> there are allot of miles on the engine. I would at least have the
>> heads done while they were out our better yet put on some new ones.
>> Yeah, the heads are expensive but so is taking them off in terms of
>> time. Then again if you are budget conscious and you are going to do
>> the job yourself then at least do the JB Weld thingy with the heads
>> while they are out.
>>
>> Bryan
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
>> Behalf Of Dave Mcneely
>> Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 9:22 AM
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: Re: head gaskets
>>
>> So, I should do the head gaskets, or not? It's very expensive, but I
>> want a reliable van (or no van at all). Thanks, Dave Mc
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 6:48 PM, mark drillock wrote:
>>
>>> This is a typical failure mode. Leaks in cold weather, stops when
>>> warmed up, leaks worse as temps drop. May go on this way for years
>>> depending on you and it. Mine has. On more than one van.
>>>
>>> Mark
>>>
>>>
>>> Dave Mcneely wrote:
>>>> So, I've done about everything I thought I should to make my '91
>>>> camper as reliable as it could be, including lots of cooling system
>>>> fixes.
>>>> Just replaced all coolant hoses, since so many think that should be
>>>> done.
>>>> .......
>>>>
>>>> Head gaskets are leaking. The question: I find it difficult to
>>>> think the gaskets just all of a sudden turned loose (I'd even
>>>> removed the tins to look for evidence of leaks when I did the
>>>> hoses, and saw none).
>>>> Could it be that the heads and or gaskets were already loose or
>>>> whatever, and the cold weather made them looser and so they leak?
>>>> If I run the engine a little while, the leaks dry up, suggesting to
>>>> me that temperature plays a role -- expansion, contraction ..... .
>>>> So, could the heads be sealed better even with the temperature
>>>> difference between normal fall temps and the quite cold temps we've
>>>> had lately? I'm just trying to understand why this suddenly showed
>>>> up, and wonder if it being coincident with the cold weather is more
>>>> than a coincidence.
| 
