Old Library

I actually just called my vw shop, and tomorrow morning they're going to
do a head gasket test (hydrocarbon test, examine the oil/coolant, etc),
and I'm gonna go from there.

It was $75 for the head gasket test, and a compression test would have
been another $115. I can do the $75, but both would have been a little
much for me right now.

Just got back from the shop. It is indeed a head gasket leak. Coolant is
getting into cylinder #1 (the notorious leaking part of the head, of
course). I'm going to be getting the parts next week, and next weekend
I'm going to be replacing it, and taking pictures the whole way. I'll do
a write-up and maybe Andy can add it to the library.
The gasket set that they had contained the old style head gasket (fiber,
paper, whatever) so they're going to order me a mk4 gasket (metal), and
swap it for me (I hope).

Until then, have a lovely day
And yes, I think I've totally lost it, because I'm EXCITED about doing
the head gasket. Scary.

Steve Houck
'95 Jetta GLX

Hi Steve -

While the head is off, it's easy to replace the plastic coolant pipe that runs under the intake manifold.
That has been known to leak now and then...
I'm sure you must have read the Bentley on the procedure - do you have the cam alignment tool - the piece
of plastic that fits in the slots on the non-sprocket end of the cams? I suppose that cam alignment is
possible without it, but that tool makes it easier IMO.

I'd suggest that during disassembly, you align the cams using the tool *before* you remove the cam
sprockets. My brain hurts too much to think about it now, but it has something to do with the intermediate    shaft turning at a 3:2 ratio to the crank, and a 4:3 ratio to the cams.  In other words, if the crank gets
turned a full 360 degrees (back to TDC) the cam will always be 1/2 tooth off; it won't align well unless
the crank gets turned *another* 360 degrees. I'm sorry that I'm not explaining it well; maybe after I have    a Sierra Nevada or two I can explain it better.

The suggestion to change the tensioners is a good idea, but you can't actually remove either one (lower or    upper) unless you take the tranny off, and then you'd be talking a much bigger project.

Here are some notes from when Tom Doblmaier and I put 268s in my old '96 VR6:
http://www.p-vector.com/bob/garage/vw/cams
More photos here:
http://www.p-vector.com/bob/garage/vw/cams/old-index.html

Good luck,
- Bob T.
 '96 GTI VR6 - gone but not forgotten!
 '01 S4 avant (his)
 '02 allroad (hers)
 '78 morris mini RHD (ours)

Actually you can remove the upper tensioner, its on
the exterior of the head, you dont even need to
disassemble anything.  You can also replace one of the
guide rails.
No one is doubting your ability to do the headgasket,
just that there is alot of work, to remove the head.
Heres the tough things your gonna run into
1. Removing the bolt for the camshaft sprocket
2. Removing the exhaust manifold, those bolts are nice
and rusted.
3. Removing the head bolts with a 12 point wrench,
that has a tendency to strip.  If you have the extra
cash i would switch over to ARP bolts but probably out
of your budget.
4. Lifting the head off your block, its pretty heavy
5.Cleaning your head of the old gasket and grime

I have done this a couple of hundred times now lol
it gets boring. Have fun =D

That big write up on the vortex covers the cam alignment pretty well.  Thing is, if you can make lines
parallel with your eyes, you don't really need it. But the tool, (or two pieces of 1/4" aluminum or steel
plate cut to fit) works best at holding the cams in place while your reassembling everything.

-T. (played around with the cams and chains 3 times now.  it's getting easier)

Sorry it took so long to reply, I don't check my mail from home, and
I've been dinking with my machine all morning.
The coolant pipe; I'm going to leave it alone because when it was at the
shop they said that there were absolutely no exterior coolant leaks. I'm
not going to mess with anything I don't have to.

No, I don't have the alignment tool, but I was reading this,
(http://www.bethandjames.com/Timing_chain_DIY.htm) and he just used a
couple of metal plates that were 1/8" thick. That's what I was going to
do. That page also went into awesome detail about the 3:2 & 4:3 ratio of
everything, so I'm going to print that off before I start the work, and
use that as a tool.

I'm also going to be using a mk4 head gasket, which, hopefully will make
things nice and uh... Tight.. Mmm

Steve Houck
'95 Jetta GLX

Just called my vw guy, he's going to send me a dozen new nuts for the
exhaust manifold, and I'm going to hope like HELL that I don't break any
of the studs.

He actually told me about a trick that they use there, where they heat
up the stud, then use a hot candle to get wax on the threads, which
lubricates it enough to get them off without breaking them. Nice little
trick. I'll probably stick with pb blaster, myself.

Steve Houck
'95 Jetta GLX  

Unless I'm mistaken, the bolts for the head are stretch bolts - that is, once they're torqued up to spec,     they actually stretch by a certain amount so they hold, like a spring.
Once they've stretched, they won't do it again, and your head will come loose...

Cheers,
Kai

Right. The head bolts. I'm talking about the exhaust manifolt nuts &
studs. I'm ordering a new set of head bolts as well, at like $70... For
20 bolts.

Steve Houck
'95 Jetta GLX

D'oh!
Yep, my mistake - I didn't read it properly...
anyway, $70 for 20 bolts is outrageous, but I suppose it's cheaper than not doing it properly =)

Good luck with the whole thing, dude!
Cheers,
kai