1.6TD head gasket & cylinder head work

[epowell]

I finally concluded that the over-heating problem that I noticed last December is being caused by combustion gasses getting into the coolant via the head.

So today I will pull the head and have a look at the gasket and the combustion face of the head. I'm sure the gasket must be toast, I know there will be those acceptable cracks between the valves, but I HIGHLY expect that there also will be those unacceptable cracks between the exhaust valve seats toward the pre-chambers... I will know in a few hours.

If by some miracle the head casting is still OK then I will give it a valve-job and new gasket... if the casting is toast I will either get a new OEM CASTING and put my valves in there, or I will buy a new full head made by AMC.

Wish me luck!
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[dobryan]

Good luck!
_________________
Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

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[epowell]

[epowell]

Just finished getting the head out of the van... ...here are a whole bunch of fotos, but probably the one single most significant one is this:

From my understanding of these heads when there are cracks between the valves and the pre-chambers then the head is considered toast. On my head 3 of the prechambers have no cracks but one of them has this crack - which does not extend all the way to the valve. So I suppose this might be considered as a borderline case in which the head might give good service for another year or more?

--- otherwise the pulling was somewhat uneventful... However there was one thing that causes me some concern. The head was not completely drained of coolant when I loosened the head bolts and so coolant drained into the cylinder above the pistons. I immediately took out that coolant and dried out the cylinders >>> should I put a bit of engine oil in there?? Will this coolant cause any engine problems?

--- next, I can't really see any obvious defect in the head gasket but seems a bit rusty at the coolant ports --- don't forget the PO gave me the van with water in the system (no coolant) and it was like that for several months.

--- just now having looked quickly at the head's combustion face, aside from that one crack, on another cylinder-face there is a really significant build up of carbon and sort-of calcium (?) stuff...

[forgot to mention... brand new turbo and quite a bit of oil in the INTAKE.


- - -

Now the thing is to decide what to do next?
- Pressure test this head at a machine shop?
- Just throw in the towel and buy a new casting and put in my valves
- ...or buy a full new head (AMC 500EUR)
- or take a chance and run this head for a while longer?

_________________
www.edwardpowell.com

[ZsZ]

your rear two pistons look a bit melted on the prechamber side edge, so timing and/or injectors were bad for a while.

I say that crack can be welded by a shop if the head has enough height to get skimmed.

to avoid rusting wipe some oil to the surfaces of the bores.

Oil in intake can be caused by a clogged air filter or hose before filter too
_________________
Zoltan
1.9 MTdi 2wd Multivan (ex Caravelle)
Van since 2006, engine since 2008

[epowell]

[?Waldo?]

Did you drain the coolant (remove the thermostat flange and thermostat) prior to pulling the head? That typically drains the coolant out of the block so that it does not get into the cylinders.

Drying it up as best you can is the right thing to do. You might spray some WD40 on the cylinders. You should also drain/refill the oil at some point in this process. Now wouldn't be a bad time.

The oil in the intake is most likely from the crank vent and normal.

There are valve impressions in the piston crowns. That means that the cam timing was not done correctly at some point. It also means that unless the head has been replaced since then, the valves have been impacted which often results in the stem weakening. It is not unheard of that the head will eventually fall off a valve that has been hit. The result is total engine destruction usually beyond even being rebuildable as the head of the valve bounces around in the cylinder smashing into the head, scoring the cylinder wall, ruining the piston, and bending the connecting rod. I'm not saying it WILL happen, just that it might. The later AAZ's and TDI's are more prone to that with the 7mm valve stems vs. the 8mm stems in the 1.6 and early AAZ.

You asked what I would do. That would really depend on what my goals were for the vehicle and how much $$ I had available. In my current situation and wanting a reliable camper, I would probably source an AHU and install install it as an mTDI with a LR injection pump... If money was tight and I needed a vehicle on the road sooner rather than later, I would consider reusing that head. Before reusing it, I would definitely get it pressure tested. If it passed, I would consider using it. That crack will grow, though, and sometimes quickly, and so if I did use it, I would consider it a fairly temporary fix and start saving up or looking for an AAZ or AHU to swap in.

[epowell]

[ZsZ]

changing the pre-chambers is not a big task for a machine shop. So if the other head is not a hydraulic lifter one (has shims at lifters) then its cheaper to repair those as no welding needed.
I paid 25000 HUF 10 years ago, that is around 2100CZK I would say its around 2500-3000 CZK nowadays

Financially a 1.9 TD code AEF from a Skoda Felicia would be the cheapest option (I saw them advertised from 3000 to 8000 CZK https://www.sbazar.cz/hrbitovaut/detail/18001101-prodam-motor-skoda-felicia-19-di https://auto.bazos.cz/inzerat/76616472/skoda-felicia-19d.php) but as you told before its not legal to change the engine there.
_________________
Zoltan
1.9 MTdi 2wd Multivan (ex Caravelle)
Van since 2006, engine since 2008

[epowell]

[MarkWard]

What headbolts did it have? 6 point Allen or 12 point? 12 points are TTY and are risky to reuse. You will also need to super clean the head bolt holes in the block. I will chase the threads. This ensures a consistent torque. If any fluid remains in the bolt holes you can crack the block torquing the head bolts.

Slap it back together with a new gasket after making sure the head is not warped. Enjoy your vacation.
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☮️

[epowell]

[MarkWard]

It was running when took it apart. It's very likely the valves that kissed the pistons may not even be in the head any more. It is also good practice for you. You can now see why the cam timing is just as if not more critical than the pump timing.

Also if it has been running hot, the piston rings may have lost their "temper" and are not working as efficiently as they can.
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☮️

[epowell]

[?Waldo?]

All the 1.6TD engines had the 12mm 12pt head bolts. Only some of the earlier 1.6 non-turbo engines had the 11mm 6pt bolts.

After seeing pics of those inserts I would not reinstall that head with them in place.

If there are not cracks in the '91 casting, then it is clearly preferable over your current head. PC inserts are available, in fact, you might be able to get them more easily than I can. I had them shipped from the UK last time I got some. They were approx. $10 each so not a huge deal.

For the head gasket job you need to replace the cylinder head bolts. I would also highly recommend getting a can of the Hylomar spray. I have gotten the cans most recently off Ebay for ~$20.

For determining piston protrusion there are various ways. Whatever way you use needs to accurately measure the protrusion of the piston crown above the block head gasket surface when the piston is at TDC. You must clean all of the carbon off the crown. The typical carbon on the piston is thick enough to change the spec from the thinnest to the thickest gasket. One simple way to measure protrusion is to place the piston at TDC, put a straightedge across a piston parallel to the wrist pin and use feeler gauges on either side of the piston to measure the gap. Another common way is to use a dial indicator and a piece of flat stock that is a little larger than the cylinder. Place the flat stock over the cylinder (piston below TDC) with the dial indicator pointing straight down at the piece of flat stock. Zero the gauge. Bring the piston to TDC.

I usually prep the block with a single edge razor blade and green scotchbrite. Don't use the razor blade on the head as it is softer aluminum and easy to gouge.

You can take a couple of the old head bolts and cut some slots across the threads with a dremel in order to make them like taps. Use them to clean the head bolt holes. Make sure to clean out any crud and fluid from the bolt holes.

Clean the new bolts and I install them with a very light coating of oil.

You can take another couple of old head bolts, remove the heads and cut slots in them to use as alignment pins when setting the head gasket and head on the block. Put them in a couple of the corner holes. Once you get a couple of the new bolts screwed in, you can remove the alignment pins with a flat blade screwdriver.

[epowell]

At the moment I am toying with buying either one of these 2:
COMPLETE HEAD (KOLBENSCHMIDT) 599EUR without shipping
https://www.tk-carparts.de/article/8833/Zylinderkopf_komplett_CS_JX_16_Diesel_Turbodiesel.html
Cylinder head complete CS, JX 1.6 Diesel, Turbodiesel
Complete with valves, camshaft
Item number: 8833
Reference number: 068103265E-KS
Weight: 15,000 kg
Manufacturer / Supplier:
Piston body (KS)
Complete NEW cylinder head from KOLBENSCHMIDT with camshaft, tappets, valves, etc .; Valves are pre-set.
Suitable for:
All 1.6l diesel and turbo diesel with mechanical rams
NO RETURNS

COMPLETE HEAD (AMC) 519EUR without shipping
https://www.tk-carparts.de/article/8832/Zylinderkopf_komplett_CS_JX_16_Diesel_Turbodiesel.html
Cylinder head complete CS, JX 1.6 Diesel, Turbodiesel
Complete with valves, camshaft
Item number: 8832
Reference number: 068103265E-AMC
Weight: 15,000 kg
Manufacturer / Supplier:
AMC - Spain
Complete NEW AMC cylinder head with camshaft, tappets, valves, etc .; Valves are pre-set.
Suitable for:
All 1.6l diesel and turbo diesel with mechanical rams
NO RETURNS

My current thinking is that my old '91 could be rebuildable and go nicely with the '91 JX block I intend on rebuilding within a few years. But getting that '91 head working 'new/fast' doesn't seem possible, and then we can forget about our van trip this Summer... that's why I am thinking to invest in the new head - then transfer that over to another JX in the future.

I am guessing that the KS (KOLBENSCHMIDT) head is going to be better than the AMC.

I wonder if these heads come with new headbolts?

- - -

So first thing to do is to clean the block and measure the piston protrusions.
_________________
www.edwardpowell.com

[Zeitgeist 13]

I imagine the KS head is better than the AMC, but a few years ago I bought a complete new AMC head for my ALH and was really impressed with the visible quality of the kit--especially for less than $300. It even came with new head bolts. I'm keeping it as a spare and thus haven't run it yet.
_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[chrissev2]

Things I noticed about your situation:

- that engine has for sure suffered from some form of either mis timing or timing belt break in the past. As pointed out by other posters, the piston crowns have valve indentations in them. That is a sure sign that at some point the timing was off enough so that the pistons hit the valves.

- I think your head is warped. You can see in the middle where there is a lot of coolant movement across the head gasket and into the oil channels and apparently also into the cylinders. It would probably be a better idea just to get a new head. I have the KOLBENSCHMIDT AAZ head on my 1.9TD in my vanagon and it is working very well.

There is a limited amount that you can really play around with a 30+ year old cylinder head with every problem in the book. At some point it becomes a piece of scrap aluminum. Yours looks close to that point.

- You should not use the 1.6TD fibre head gasket. They are garbage. Use the metal AAZ gasket. Much better and it fits fine on that engine.

- since you have the whole thing apart, you might seriously want to consider refreshing that block. It looks like it could benefit from a rebuild. Those blocks are neither difficult nor expensive to rebuild and the parts are available and cheap. With the help of a local machine shop it is not a difficult job.

I see a well used JX motor that has had a difficult life. While it would probably be possible to patch it together for some additional limited life, why bother? Just freshen it up, replace the head and then you have a trouble free motor for many hundreds of thousands of kilometers of driving.
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1986 westfalia auto 1.9TD
2023 VW Atlas 3.6 VR6 Highline
2019 Golf Wagon 4 motion
1978 Volkswagen super beetle convertible
1992 Eurovan 2.5 5spd westfalia

[Team WorldTour]

The KS WILL be better than the AMC, and no, NO new head bolts will come with the new head. You must buy them separately.

I would invest in the new head, have the summer Holiday, and then put the new head on the new engine during winter hibernation.
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1990 Feldjäger Syncro AAZ
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[epowell]