'87 4kcsq head gasket repair/ parts and procedure (long)

[Tom B]

Hey All,
Here is my experience in replacing a 87 4kcsq head / gasket. Since I had the 
engine apart anyways, I also did a tune up and replaced the overflow 
reservoir and cooling system hoses which were old and cracked.

Here is a list of the parts replaced and approximate costs.

a) part # 035 198 012n .............head gasket set 
........................$64.70
This particular head set had all of the gaskets needed except for the vacuum 
pump gasket.
b) part # 035 109 119 ...............timing belt 
...............................$ 7.28
c) part # 857 121 403 ...............expansion 
tank.........................$50.99
e) part # 035 121 004a .............water 
pump...............................$29.15
f) part # 03-239 ........................distributer 
cap...........................$17.65
g) part # wr7dc ..........................Bosch Spark 
Plugs...................$  1.16(ea)
h) part # 04 139 ........................ignition 
rotor............................$  4.24
i) part # 069 129 620 ...............Air Filter Element ...................$ 
  5.06
j) part # 09 500 .........................Bosch Wire Set 
.......................$46.28
k) part # 069-109-243B ...........Idler 
Roller...............................$35.58
l) Exhaust 
Studs............................................................................$ 
1.19(ea)
m)have head taken to shop and checked / planed 
......................$60.00(approx)
You may want to rebuild the head at this point. Lifters are about $80.00, 
having new valve seals installed is not that expensive (they come with the 
head set), new valve guides installed would also be good. I was qouted about 
$400 total (parts/labor)for rebuild and to have head cleaned up to increase 
airflow. My wallet was limited at this point, oh well........
n)Have exhaust manifold  planed 
................................................$20.00(approx)
m)VW special tools needed for loosening/tightening crank pulley nut
and idler roller. Can be rented or borrowed,  I borrowed the ones I used off 
of another lister.
n) 12mm 12 point (triple square) hex head for removing head bolts
o) Find a nice person who is not too intelligent (read as sucker) to "help". 
  They will do the grunt work and get paid in beer :-) I do not recommend 
the use of significant others to help you with this.


Procedure:
1) Remove front grill pieces to allow access to front of engine.
2) remove ac alt ps belts
3) disconnect ps pump from brackets and set on top of overflow reservour. 
Remove brackets from engine.
4) disconnect plugwires
6) disconnect throttle cable, cruise control
7) remove isv
8)disconnect electrical connections. Mark where they go :-)
8) take off valve cover
9) remove shields over timing belt and water pump
10) set engine at tdc
11) loosen waterpump
12) loosen 4 allen head bolts holding crank pully to crank
13)using special VW tools, loosen the large bolt holding crank pully to 
crankshaft
14) pull crank pully and timing belt off
15) pull injectors out. I replaced seals while head was off.
16) take fuel distributer and very carefully tie it to the underside hood so 
it hangs above the battery box. Large zip ties work great for this.
17) remove air box
18) remove intake manifold
19) remove distributer from head. Place a reference mark with a cold chisel 
on head and distributer so that when you re-install the distributer you can 
get the timing close.

At this point make a decision: Are the exhaust manifold nuts going to come 
off of the head or not?
If you can get them off, disconnect the exhaust manifold from head. For most 
of us those nuts are going to be a real PITA to get off so go to the next 
steps, ie removing head with exhaust manifold and downpipe connected. This 
is actually easier, IMHO, than trying to take off the exhaust manifold bolts 
with the head on the engine.

a: Take everything off of the head, ie: brackets, distributer, etc.
b: cut bolts holding dp and cat together
c: loosen dp mount to subframe
d: loosen and move coil out of the way.
e: removed rf cv heat shield.
f. loosen inner rf cv and move it up and back.
g. loosen and remove head bolts
h. Place a person with one foot on engine and one foot on the front bumper. 
Have the sucker, er, I mean helper pull the head up and twist 90+ degrees 
back towards the coil bracket while you work the dp flange around the 
subframe, etc.
CAUTION The head with exhaust manifold and downpipe attatched is very heavy, 
and there is not a lot of room to work with it. Be carefull not to crush 
fingers or hurt your back.

Yesss! The head is off. Now you can get ready to start putting on new parts 
:-)

20) clean engine block-head mating surface.
21) install exhaust mainfold on to head, using new exhaust studs.
22) install new head gasket. Do not use any sealant!
22) Put head back on. Torque as per Bentley manual
23) hook up exhaust
23) Install new water pump. Use a *very* light coat of  dielectric grease to 
lube water pump gasket
24) set timing marks and install timing belt. Tighten as per Bentley
25) The rest of installation is reverse of removal, ie: steps 1-19

Now I am sure that I have missed some steps somewhere, they will become 
obvious when you run into them :-) This is not intended as the complete 
guide, only a suppliment to the bentley, which is kinda slacking for this 
job.

This job should take around 8 hours, but count on at least a weekend, maybe 
two.  There is nothing real hard about doing a head gasket, just lots of 
stuff to come out of the engine bay and and then you have to remember where 
it all went originally. MARK EVERYTHING THAT COMES OFF SO YOU CAN PUT IT 
BACK WHERE IT BELONGS (except for the battery box ;-)

After starting the car the first time I noticed a large amount of white 
smoke coming out of the exhaust. This observation caused quite a bit of 
profanity and consternation. The smoking continued for about twenty minutes 
of idling, but after a 15 minute drive the smoke cleared up. Apparently when 
the PO blew the head gasket coolant ended up in the exhaust system, which 
caused the car to smoke until the coolant burned out. I was advised that I 
should replace the OXS as antifreeze destroys them.

Anyways, this is my experience with doing a head gasket replacement. YMMV. 
Thanks to all in the list who helped me on this project and answered all of 
my questions. Doing this job would have been a lot harder without the 
collective wisdom of you wonderful fanaudics out there :-)

Hope this helps someone,
tom belrose
ps: and the job only took me 5 weekends!



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