[Vwdiesel] swapping a good head - DIY head prep??

[Tony and Lillie]

To answer your questions, 

No, it is not necessary to resurface a head. The only reason to do so is if the head is warped. Other than that, I never resurface them. For instance, when customers come in with a 1.8T with broken belt/bent valves, we simply replace the valves, springs, and lifters, and put it back together and on the car. Oh, and clean up the tops of the pistons, they are usually slightly nicked from the valves. On the diesel, the valves sit square with the pistons, so there usually isn't much of a problem there. Also, make sure you clean off the head gasket material from the head. 

However, I don't really see the reason for needing to move the head. Figure out why it's making un-normal noises, and fix the problem. If it's the valves hitting the pistons, the tops of the valves need to be ground off, as already mentioned. If piston protrusion justifies it, also use a 3-notch head gasket. Also, make sure the pre-chambers are in there solidly. I've seen them come loose and cause noises before.

You cannot use a hydraulic head on a mechanical block without some work. You have to plug off one of the oil returns and have the other partialy blocked. Otherwise, you will have oil draining down the side of the block. It's easy to check, as you mentioned. If it has one drainback hole, it's solid. If it's got two holes it's a hydraulic head.

Hope this helsp,

Tony


-----Original Message-----
>From: DoNotReply at ac.playstation.net
>Sent: Nov 9, 2009 5:37 PM
>To: vwdiesel <vwdiesel at audifans.com>
>Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] swapping a good head - DIY head prep??
>
>okay, okay..  I realize with the Jetta I'll need to pull the valve cover
>and look at the bolts, etc.  :)
>
>With a quick look it's 068 103 373M, with a 3ME after it.  Hmmm.. ME?
>Hydraulic?  The Jetta engine looks like it's got a vanagon intake and
>pulley setup, and I only saw the single large return port between #2 and
>#3 injectors (Wife's got the hydraulic 1.6eco at work, but I think there
>should be another little bump between #1 and #2?)
>
>ANYWAY, The basic question I have is can I pull a good head and put it
>back on, with DIY prep - and what is the recommended procedure.
>
>Or is this a bad idea, and I should always have a shop resurface it,
>even if it's a good head?
>
>Thanks, 
>
>Will.
>
>On Mon, 2009-11-09 at 14:41 -0800, Bryan Belman wrote:
>> 
>> no way to say without doing some research on what heads you have and
>> specing things out with the proper measuring tools.
>>  
>> sounds like you are not sure of what you have and you can get
>> back to us when you have both heads on the work bench.
>> this is going to take some time.
>> 
>>  
>> Bryan Belman, Pt. Pleasant, NJ
>> 04 Jetta Wagon TDI PD, 100hp, 5sp -- running :)
>> 92 Jetta 1.6 Eco-Turbo Diesel -- running :)
>> 82 Diesel Westy 1.9NA -- running :}
>> 70 Type 1 stock Beetle -- Not running :( 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ______________________________________________________________________
>> From: Will Taygan <william at taygan.com>
>> To: vwdiesel <vwdiesel at audifans.com>
>> Sent: Mon, November 9, 2009 3:16:54 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] swapping a good head - DIY head prep??
>> 
>> '82 Westy rebuilt head shaved so much I've got a valve tap?? all the
>> time - would like to pull it and put on the junker Jetta (assuming
>> it's
>> mechanical - it's not the original engine).  Of course it could be a
>> loose prechamber - either way I want it off my new rebuild :)
>> 
>> Question is can I just swap the head, or do I really need a shop to
>> shave/clean it up (which isn't really an option).
>> 
>> I would then put a different rebuilt head (From the '90 Jetta) onto
>> the
>> '82 Westy, since that's the vehicle I need to run well.
>> 
>> Maybe I'm doing too much.
>> 
>> Real problem is constant valve tap on '82 Westy, I think it's shaved
>> so
>> much that I haven't been able to really adjust it out.  Maybe I could
>> pull the head and put in a 3 notch gasket?  (have a 2 notch now)  
>> 
>> ** But it's the same issue: Can I pull a "good" head and prep it at
>> home, or do I need to get it shaved at the shop - which won't work for
>> this head (that's the only way they do it up here...)
>> 
>> I didn't want to toss the Westy head, but re-use it for the '90 Jetta
>> (needs rings and gasket, so I've got to pull that head and have it
>> rebuilt anyway - just thought I'd keep the better (Jetta) head for the
>> good Westy and put the tappy one in the junker Jetta).
>> 
>> Thanks!
>> 
>> Will.
>> 
>> (On Mon, 2009-11-09 at 15:03 -0500, LBaird119 at aol.com wrote:
>> > Maybe it's the flu but I'm not getting why you need to rebuild 
>> > the rebuilt head?  Valves can "tap" and not bend, most of us have 
>> > had the cam timing off that far at least once and got away with it. 
>> > (or at least seen it happen).
>> >  If it's not crashed then all you really need, maybe, is a valve or
>> two 
>> > or so.  It shouldn't be warped should it?
>> >  In actuality you can surface those heads a lot more than most
>> shops 
>> > are willing to go.  I had one that hit the valves when he was
>> surfacing 
>> > it.  No charge, it was "junk" at that point.  We put it on the car
>> and 
>> > it ran great!  The only thing you really have to watch is when you 
>> > grind the valves and/or seats, the valves drop into the head more 
>> > so you really need to shorten the ends of the stems or you end up 
>> > using really thin shims to get them in spec.  With hydraulic valves
>> it
>> > all the more important to end up in range.
>> >    Loren
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Vwdiesel mailing list
>> > Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
>> > http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel
>> > 
>> 
>> 
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