I am willing to bet the heads were not cracked when VW installed them. Maybe welded, definatley oversized valve guides and machined as needed. AFAIK new german castings are not avialble and VW won't even sell the AMC heads over the counter due to the come backs, never mind use them. Most likely, Some where in 16,000 miles the engine was overheated or lost coolant, or was otherwise abused and that caused the cracks. I've used a number of these engines over th eyears and have yet to see a problem that wasn't caused by an outside failure.

Dennis

----- Original Message -----
From: Benny boy
Date: Saturday, January 13, 2007 4:29 pm
Subject: Re: 2.1 Wasserboxer
To: VANAGON@GERRY.VANAGON.COM, Dennis Haynes

> And poorly reman VW heads! i have one in the shop now, open,
> 16,560miles,both heads have cracks.... one is worse and caused
> overheathing / high
> pressure in the cooling system. Unless you have NEW VW heads,
> this is NOT an
> good option IMHO.
>
> Even me, if i'm over my head with work and in need of a fully rebuilt
> engine, i would ask Bob to built me an engine, a rarely do full engine
> rebuilt, mostly top end. And (NOW)i almost never reuse the heads
> unless they
> have NO sign of crack or damage.
>
> The only thing with GoWesty is they have their own pistons, so
> it mean that
> if you ever have a big problem, you need to deal with them.
>
> Cheers, Ben
> http://www.benplace.com/
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> -------
> VW- the dealer. No shipping charges, easy core return. 12 month
> unlimitedmileage warranty. Often a new engine case. Flywheel and
> oil cooler in place.
>
> Dennis
>