Then caffyns screwed me out of some stem seals, as when i ordered my kit they had to back order it and so made me one up from bits, didn't get stem seals and when i phoned to check why i didn't get them they told me the head gasket set doesn't come with em.
Yep - pretty sure it's the head gasket as I've done a compression test and could never find any water leaks in the past despite the car losing coolant every now and again. I don't think it's the oil cooler as there is no water in the oil by the looks of things whereas on my old 8v when the cooler burst the oil and water mised. There is oil in the water though, plus a lot of oil down the back of the block. I have started stripping it down now, got the inlet manifold off, the cam cover, breather pipes, most of the exhuast manifold bolts and a few other bits. Am I right in thinking the distributor needs to come off before I undo the head? Any more tips at this stage appreciated! Noted about the VAG gasket kit, will order one ASAP.
Bit confused now! I've just called my 'helpful' local VW dealer about the head gasket set and he tells me the following parts are available but need to be back-ordered... 1. head gasket only = 35 + vat 2. head gasket kit (inc exhaust gasket, inlet gasket etc) = 165 + vat Er...? Seems a little expensive! Does anyone know the actual part number of the kit I should be asking for as surely this isn't right?!? I want the HG, stretch bolts, nuts for exhaust manifold, exhaust gasket, inlet, rocker cover one and valve stem oil seals don't I? Surely 165 is too much for that! Looking on the GSF website they do a 'cylinder head gasket set' for my car for 38 + vat (p/n 11490) - might have to go for this instead? Help!
GSF hg kit is a Victor Reinz - good quality. Head bolts aren't included in a head kit, so you'll need to get a set as well.
Cheers for that. 11491 is the 2 litre 9a gasket set, 11490 looks to be the equivalent for my 1.8 KR Bolt kit 01159 looks like the right one
Interesting perhaps I should of bought the KR one then and saved myself a few quid, I assume it's the same, as a kr and 9a head are interchangeable are they not?
I bought Elring from GSF, looked a good quality gaskets, Victor Reinz and VAG are the only others people seem to recomend on here.
Ok, will order the GSF stuff tomorrow then no doubt ask some more questions about how to get it all back together!
Thanks for all the help so far Parts ordered from GSF, hopefully be here for the weekend. My next (probably silly) question is - how do you get the last tricky b@stard exhaust manifold stud out. It's the underside one, second from the passenger side of the car. All the others came out with a 10mm (I think) socket, this one I can't seem to get with a ring or open ender and the socket won't go on! Hacksaw? Also, now I have the head loose, when I lift it off, will all the oil that's in there go everywhere? Any good tips for making as little mess as possible? I haven't drained the engine oil as it's pretty new and doesn't seem contaminated so was going to leave it in.
I took the 6 nuts off the downpipe when I changed my head, had the luxury of a ramp and gas bottles though That manifold stud is a tricky one. Make sure you drain the coolant from the block so the bores don't get flooded Stu.
Oh to have a ramp, I dream of having a ramp... Actually, it's not too bad where I'm working in my garage, makes me think my recent house purchase (financial suicide) was worthwhile now as it came with a garage! I drained the coolant by undoing the bottom hose on the radiator and taking the exp tank cap off, let it all go that way. Will that mean the block is pretty much empty of coolant or is there a better way to get more out? Don't want any disasters!
We did'nt lose no oil out the head but we did dump a bit of water out. I drained the coolant from the bottom rad hose too, but I think if you take the thermostat out the pump you'll drop the rest out of the block, as I found out changing the stat the other week.
Ok good stuff, will see if I can flood the garage tonight! Get ready for my next questions, probably tomorrow, about how to change valve stem oil seals...
