Leaking Head....

[Williamtaylor33]

Well i tell you what....just as soon as i get one thing fixed...something else breaks.
I replaced the water pump on my 87' 2.1 vanagon a few days ago and had a "couple" of trouble free days.

Then this morning when i walk outside and go to get into my van...I notice alittle puddle of coolant.
So i start checking.
I found that there was a drop of coolant coming off of the water jacket seal. And on further inspection I found alittle puddle of coolant on top of the #3 cylinder. So i wiped it away and started the van.
Sure enough...Slowly seeping out right where the puddle was.

The van is still running just fine. And the coolant level has only dropped slightly in three days. (from the max mark to about a half inch below that)

After driving the van to town and back as a test. And letting it idle...it doesnt leak there anymore.

So.....Whats up with this engine? Do i have a cracked head? Bad seal? Could there be something up with the pressure in the cooling system?

Thank goodness for the samba or I would have sold this camper long ago.

W.T.
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89 Bostig powered syncro westy

[Williamtaylor33]

Figured i'd put some pictures on here.
87' 2.1 WBX
I replaced the headseals about 300 miles ago.
New waterpump and BAMM!! leakin headseal

This is where the puddle was while the engine was still cold.

See the leakage???
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89 Bostig powered syncro westy

[morymob]

Do a search in this forum-nov,07-head gasket seal (not original type) . Do this way & no more split/lleaking seals,also reusable if need to pull head for some reason. Press test90lbs & 12+ yrs life test now going on,still solid. ALSO DONE ON OTHER WBXS-no failures. Some still like origs but not worth the chance/exense , my 3cts.

[morymob]

Most likely when eng is cold leak will return,common prblm as expansion when eng warms up will compress seal enuf to stop.

[tencentlife]

William, did you put sealant on both sides of the channel gasket when you installed them, or only on the outer face like the book shows?

They can leak around the back without sealant on both sides.
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[Williamtaylor33]

I put sealant on both sides.

Quote:Most likely when eng is cold leak will return,common prblm as expansion when eng warms up will compress seal enuf to stop.

Yep. As soon as the engine cools off it starts leaking
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89 Bostig powered syncro westy

[Williamtaylor33]

[Terry Kay]

Is that silver RTV I see oozing out from both sides of the water jacket seal?

This is the reason for the leak---
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T.K.

[Terry Kay]

William---

I didn't see any reply to my question--

If you decided to make the big mistake and used silicone on them head seal's, ( which I can see you did) you might as well start yanking the heads off now and start redoing them.

The use of GM pt# 1245 6141 engine assembly adhesive would have prevented this problem.
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T.K.

[Williamtaylor33]

I bought the Cylinder head gasket set from Van-Cafe. I think its the Victor Reinz brand. I used the engine adhesive that came with that kit. It was black when i put it on.


Quote: "Terry Kay" --I didn't see any reply to my question--

Yep....My apologies for the slow response. Thank you for your quick response. I dont have internet at my home. So if i want internet access on the weekend i have to travel somewhere.
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89 Bostig powered syncro westy

[Terry Kay]

I'm not sure what came in that kit--but it sure didn't work real well for the little time since the repair.
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T.K.

[Williamtaylor33]

[Terry Kay]

Good question.

But, from taking a look at your picture's--yep--it's definatly leaking.
It really doen't make any difference why now--it's leaking and it's gonna have to come apart anyway.

Maybe you missed a spot in the gasket area with the kit sealer--who know's?

Yank the head off and take a look why---

It's gotta be something off the wall or crazy.
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T.K.

[Williamtaylor33]

[Pascal]

Did you use a bar type torque wrench to torque the heads?
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'84 Westy - 2.2wbx, GT Torque-Biasing Differential
'91 EA Cabby

[Pascal]

Did you use a bar type torque wrench to torque the heads?
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'84 Westy - 2.2wbx, GT Torque-Biasing Differential
'91 EA Cabby

[Terry Kay]

The GM engine assembly adhesive is far superior to the stuff that comes with the upper end kit.

Late model GM engines use no gaskets, just the assembly adhesive and they don't leak.

I've rebuilt too many of these leaking upper ends to count, and have used the GM stuff with no come backs due to oil or water leaks.

I was turned onto it by a Master GM wrench, 20 years ago.

I'll say this---
He was right--it works very well.

What else could be causing the leak other than you accidentally missing a spot or the adhesive not sticking?

It's right in the middle of the head--
You may have undertorqued the head, outa the stud torque order--maybe--

Take it apart and take a look at it--

There certainly has to be a reason other than the gasket being bad.

I guess my point of the last post was--
What's the difference?
You have a problem with the assembly of the heads, & it's
it's leaking for some wild reason.

Take it apart and find out-
Why guess what the reason is?
It ain't gonna get any better wondering why.

You'll know as soon as you tear it down.
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T.K.

[bucko]

When you first removed the heads to repair the seapage the first time, did you notice ant "pitting" (small crater type pits in the head sealing area)? Even a small pit in the sealing area will cause leaking under pressure. You describe that it leaks when shut off; Sure sign of coolant working it's way past some head surface pits.

Some folks have had great success using an epoxy or equiviant to fill in the pits, then sand smooth.

These pits are caused mostly because a previous owner did not flush the coolant regularly, or used an antifreeze that had phosphorous in it.

When I removed my heads, they had pits (I had the dreaded water leak). To be safe, I bought new heads, had TENCENTLIFE replace valves that are a weak point in the AMC heads, and installed them, along with a new radiator and thermostat. I've been driving in the hot Texas heat now for months; nowhere near the center of the gauge reading. And that's with an air conditioning condensor in front of the new radiator.
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Current VW drives: 1984 Westfalia

Past VW drives: 1967 Beetle, 1973 Beetle, 1977 Bus, 1971 Military Type 181

[tencentlife]

The adhesive that comes with the gasket sets from GW is Reinzosil, and it is an excellent sealer for the heads, case, halves, oil pump, etc. I've never had anything but excellent results wherever I've used the product and I doubt any other product could be very much better in these applications. As good? Maybe. But it would be hard to beat its performance. The Reinz kit is also top quality OEM supply, so I don't think our William's problem is the result of poor materials.

Perhaps there was some pitting on the heads, or just as likely pits or damge on the jacket ends. Could be a broken stud; if they were corroded they can give way without warning, and retorquing them is putting fresh stress on them.

Is there a new pressure cap on the system? No matter what else is done with the cooling system, the cap sets the top pressure it will contain. If it's stuck, pressure will rise too high and somethings gotta give.

Anyway, just thoughts; don't know details of the install so no clear opinion on this one. You'll find out something, hopefully, when you tear that head back off.
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Shop for unique Vanagon accessories at the Vanistan shop:
https://intrepidoverland.com/vanistan/

Please don't PM here, I will not reply.

Experience is kryptonite to doctrine.

[Williamtaylor33]