I have a 1.6L NA head that was "rebuilt" six years ago by a local salvage
yard. It was installed and the engine didn't run correctly (it ran away) so
he parked the van and left it sit until I came along.

I got around to tearing down the head to put it in my rabbit (replacing a
cracked head).  I found that the valve stem seals weren't installed well at
all. Just barely pressed on, and some visible damage.

I did my usual, lapped the valves, cleaned everything up, and time to
install the new valve seals and they won't fit!  They're just too damn
small.  The valves are audi/vw, and they fit nicely in the guides.  I'm not
sure what's original, and what isn't.

Any advice? Larger valve stem seals? "Machining" them down a bit to make the
seals fit??

I'm used to the seals just pressing into place.  These require a small deep
socket and hammer.. that's just not right.

Bradley Flubacher
State College, PA
'81 diesel rabbit
'82 diesel westy
'82 diesel van
'84 GL wasserboxer