[Vwdiesel] What? Head Gasket Okay!?

[LBaird119 at aol.com]

In a message dated 9/30/2006 9:17:17 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
longyard at ix.netcom.com writes:

> I just bought an 81 caddy 1.6 na.  Driving it home 600 miles and after 
> about 
> 300 suddenly I smell antifreeze, the car slows down gradually to 55 and I 
> pull over.  Opening the hood I see the overflow tank bubbling like mad, and 
> I THINK I see a bit of oil coming out from the back side of the head.  My 
> assumption was blown head gasket.


  The oil could easily be, and probably is from the valve cover 
gasket.  Boiling over could be caused from a blown head gasket, 
low coolant or a stuck thermostat (or too high a temp thermostat 
with little or no anti-freeze in the mix.)

> 
> I finally got the head off tonight and I can find NO crack or gap in the 
> head gasket.  I did notice that only three of the head bolts were on super 
> tight.  Another four were on very snug and three were easy to get off.


  I've only ever seen one you could call cracked.  A piece was 
missing.  It's a pretty subtle thing to read.  Somewhere I have 
pics with arrows to help know what to look for.  The rings around 
the bores should be shiny on each side.  The leaks will be where 
it's dull or blackish.  More obvious than that usually results from a 
REALLY blown gasket.

> 
> Looking down into the bores I found that number two cylinder has a slight 
> rounded gouged area on the firewall side of it, and the bore itself is 
> smeared with some aluminum.  The rest of the bore seems to have some white 
> crystal substance sprinkled around it.


  Shoulda stopped sooner.  :-(  Your piston got hot enough it galled 
in the cylinder.  The piston would probably run but you'll need to hone 
the bore clean, make sure it's not scratched and the rings are likely 
stuck.  All the rings likely lost some of their "springy-ness" and it'd 
use oil even if the bore's not scored.
  Not sure about the white crystals unless it's oxidized aluminum or 
residue from the antifreeze.

> 
> Please tell me what to do next, and what caused this!  I'm sure I'm into a 
> new piston, and rings for No. 2, but what other damage may be done?
> 
> Thanks for any help.
> Bill Longyard 
> 



  What caused it was continuing to drive it after you smelled 
anti freeze.  :-(  What caused that could be a leaking hose, 
water pump, cracked reservoir, etc.  If the gasket blew first, 
they sometimes do that.
  You'll need to pull the pan and the pistons and inspect what 
you have on the bottom end.  Head is almost guaranteed to be 
warped.  It'll need surfaced and it's a good time to check the valve 
guides for wear, etc.  
     Loren