[Vwdiesel] 91 Cyl Head

[SLATERSFB at aol.com]

I have had bad experiences buying head gaskets from other than dealer. If 
old, head gaskets will not crush properly for long term seal. Dealers trash old 
stock; at least the honest ones do.

S-K tools suck in general, except for ratchets, which are ok.
Local auto parts place here sells KD Tools. Pretty junky for the most part, 
but splined head bolt tool is good - cheap also, and guaranteed.

Your daughter is to be commended - a real trooper. Get her air tools and 
compressor.

Bob in NY

> 
> 
> My 16 yo daughter and I pulled the cyl head off my 91 Jetta this 
> weekend.  I have a couple of questions for the group:
> 
> 1. What are the favored mail-order/internet sites for parts, including 
> gaskets?
> 
> 2. Who are the known suppliers of new heads?  (eg Bowwow $780, 
> Recycle Jack / Strictly Rabbit ($590 with cam, exchange but new))
> 
> Here are the highlights of the job:
> 
> -240K miles.  Warmed the engine up, and pulled the injectors.  Compression
> was taken twice for each cylinder.  All readings 495 PSI +/- 5 PSI.  
> Unbelieveable.  At least in my experience.
> 
> -Used oil sucker to get coolant out of the cyl head, prior to work begining.
> Sucked though the "overflow" bottle, then popped a sensor at the front of 
> the
> block, and slurped it up there.  Less than 1/2 oz of total fluid escaped.
> 
> -Used the "klemfedderspreader" tool to pull the exhaust C springs
> and it worked smoothly.  It should for the price of that tool.
> 
> -Broke a SK T-55 tool getting the cylinder head bolts off.  After using
> some shock, and a new T-55 tool from Advance Auto, with a backup from 
> Autozone (Ampro and OEM, respectively), the bolts came out OK today.
> The SK tool twisted, and the socket cracked.  Local NAPA sells SK, but will
> not warranty them, because the factory doesn't give them warranty credit.
> I guess I'll think again about buying SK, after the failure, and 
> the inability to get the replacement tool on a timely basis.
> 
> -Examination of the headgasket, suggests that there was a gasket failure.
> We'll see what the machine shop has to say when they check it out.
> 
> -Except for sooty oil, the entire cyl head area, if wiped, appears 
> extremely clean.  Absolutely no visible varnish.  3000 mile oil changes
> in this puppy.
> 
> -Daughter did much of the wrench swinging.  Says actually working a wrench 
> is boring.  I suggested that I use the downtime swinging the wrench to 
> think of the next phase, or how I can do things smarter or faster.
> She is quicker than I am to try using magnets to grab things.
> By her account, we took about 5.5 hours pulling the head and doing the
> compression check.  It normally takes me just under 4 hours, but 
> I normally don't wait for an assistant to take things off, and I normally
> don't break sockets.
> 
> Val
> 
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