Volks,

I did both sides in one day.....in the car.  I still have not hooked up the
exhaust, intakes and wiring, but that should not be a big deal.  The way i
see it the hard part is over. It really is not that bad if you have plenty
of tools, and patience.  If you got to do it in a hurry, forget it.  Allow
for time to get pissed and walk a way for awhile............

I had a little trouble getting the cylinders free from the
heads...........but once i jammed a big screwdriver between them and hit it
with a hammer a few dozen times, they popped off.   From there it really is
all downhill.  I probably have about an hour and a half worth of work left
on the job.

I decided to put new head gaskets and a water pump on after and only after
adding coolant dye to the system.........I then ran it for 20 minutes or so
in the driveway and checked to see where i could see dye.  I saw it on the
bottom of both head gaskets.  And, once i pulled the heads, i could oil on
the water pump, and it showed some play on the pulley, so i will replace as
a matter of course.

I can;t wait to fire it up.  Prior to this, my van was sucking air into the
coolant system.  Pressure cap fine, cylinder head gas test (no gasses
present),  pressurized system overnight (dropped a few lbs)............it
would over flow the overflow tank and not suck it back in.................I
replaced both tanks and same result.............................I hope this
fixes it all!
Adam P
Charleston,SC     Coburn, WV
81  Westy "The Brick "
70 Single Cab "Whitey"
74 Beetle "Ol Yeller"
73 Transporter (STILL at paint shop)
1988 Vanagon Wolfsburg
1976 Transporter (New CA bus)
1974 412 "Goldmember"
Used Vanagon Parts for sale (mostly aircooled)