First ... Are you absolutely sure it's a head leak and not (for example)
that little hose between the waterpump and the head?

Mike

Rocket J Squirrel wrote:
> Last night my wife and I decided to hop into Mellow Yellow, our 84
> Westy, and have a sunset dinner at the beach. We drove a few miles south
> on Highway 1 parked on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean and ate
> while watching the sunset. We had pelicans, we had surfers, I had a nice
> bottle of Porter ale from the Stone Brewing Company.
>
> We talked about how much we love camping in Mellow Yellow. We talked
> about the disappointing fact that the the engine has developed the
> famous coolant leak at the head. And we decided that our choices were to
> get rid of her or fix the problem. We want to fix the problem.
>
> Though I have replaced my 71 bus's engine myself, I just don't feel like
> tackling the considerably harder job of pulling the engine to do the JB
> Weld fix on the heads, or anything like that. I've got a full-time job,
> I'm a student and a father, yada yada yada, and the bottom line is that
> I just don't have the inclination to do the work myself.
>
> I can take it to Brad's Foreign Auto, in Encinitas (California), nearby.
> A list member recommended them, and they did some brake work on my 71
> bus -- they do seem to know what they are doing.
>
> But I need a plan before I give them Mellow Yellow. Find a good rebuilt
> 1.9l WBX? Are there such things? Hand them a printout of how the JB Weld
> the cracks and ask them to do it? Find a Subaru Legacy engine, buy a
> conversion kit and say, "Here, do this"?
>
> Though I'd like them to do the work, I just don't know what work I want
> them to do.
>
> Folks - what's the reasonably-priced approach here that won't make a
> shop crazy?
>
> --
> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
> 71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
> 84 Westfalia: "Mellow Yellow (The Electrical Banana)"
> KG6RCR
>