Need advice on '83 Van leaking head gasket

Hello,

I recently did some work on my coolant system (replacing a hose and the
thermostat, cleaning out the rear heat exchanger, new hose clamps, etc.)
on my 1983 VW Vanagon with a 1985 1.9L engine. After one failed
bleeding of the coolant system (tried to do it by myself), I finally got
the system bled properly and it seemed to be running quite well and at a
lower temp than before. However, it now seems that I am leaking coolant
out of my head gaskets, primarily the driver's side, but Ive also seen a
drop hanging off the passenger side, and I can smell vaporized coolant
when I park after driving for long enough. I do not believe it is
leaking into the cylinder, as I do not see any white smoke out the
exhaust or have any starting problems. I am and always have used
phosphate-free coolant.

I have had a similar problem before when I had my thermostat replaced
which resulted in a massive coolant leak out of the head gasket while
~100 miles from home. After getting the head gaskets replaced, the van
ran slightly hot but with no leaks. Fortunately this time I identified
the leak before leaving town. Now I am wondering whether I should just
attempt to tighten down the head bolts or go ahead with a full gasket
replacement. I expect either way this is either going to be tedious
(if I do it myself in the nice, cold, midwest winter weather) or
expensive (if I take it to a shop). I have been interested in expanding
my repair skill set into more engine work, but Im not sure if now is the
best time for it. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

aloha
Mike Braden

Tightening the heads will do nothing to fix your problem! What you will find
is the heads are pitted where the big black rubber gaskets go around the
heads. Depending how bad the pits are will determine if you need to replace
the heads or not. Usually once repaired it should last about 50,000 miles
before the problem happens again. If you never had the "water boxer" engine
apart before you may be in for some real headaches!

"Mike Braden" <mbraden.RemoveThis@pnhs.purdue.edu> wrote in message
news:bt71d9$fng$1@mozo.cc.purdue.edu...
 > Hello,
 >
 > I recently did some work on my coolant system (replacing a hose and the
 > thermostat, cleaning out the rear heat exchanger, new hose clamps, etc.)
 > on my 1983 VW Vanagon with a 1985 1.9L engine. After one failed
 > bleeding of the coolant system (tried to do it by myself), I finally got
 > the system bled properly and it seemed to be running quite well and at a
 > lower temp than before. However, it now seems that I am leaking coolant
 > out of my head gaskets, primarily the driver's side, but Ive also seen a
 > drop hanging off the passenger side, and I can smell vaporized coolant
 > when I park after driving for long enough. I do not believe it is
 > leaking into the cylinder, as I do not see any white smoke out the
 > exhaust or have any starting problems. I am and always have used
 > phosphate-free coolant.
 >
 > I have had a similar problem before when I had my thermostat replaced
 > which resulted in a massive coolant leak out of the head gasket while
 > ~100 miles from home. After getting the head gaskets replaced, the van
 > ran slightly hot but with no leaks. Fortunately this time I identified
 > the leak before leaving town. Now I am wondering whether I should just
 > attempt to tighten down the head bolts or go ahead with a full gasket
 > replacement. I expect either way this is either going to be tedious
 > (if I do it myself in the nice, cold, midwest winter weather) or
 > expensive (if I take it to a shop). I have been interested in expanding
 > my repair skill set into more engine work, but Im not sure if now is the
 > best time for it. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.
 >
 > aloha
 > Mike Braden<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->