That makes sense to me. Disappointing in that 2 local shops never
recommended this. All they wanted to do then was to swap out the motor!

On Aug 23, 2008, at 6:30 AM, "Dennis Haynes" <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>
wrote:

> Both of those internal compression leaks were due to the studs
> failing to
> maintain tension. If the new heads were bad, they would have leaked
> immediately. All of the internal leaks where the cylinder meets the
> heads
> start out as head stud tension failure. Sometimes this can be
> corrected by
> re-tourqing the heads but if the studs are stretching the problem will
> return. Once the internal leak begins it will get worse as the gasket
> begins to burn away from the gasses being forced past it. Just
> think, new
> studs and nuts with that first replacement could have saved $5k.
>
> Dennis
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
> Behalf Of
> Walter Houle
> Sent: Friday, August 22, 2008 7:33 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Engine Replacement or Gasket Fix?
>
> Robert -
>
> Having been thru a couple of head swaps in the past, I went through my
> records to see what could be learned.
>
> The original heads lasted approx. 8 years and 100,000 miles. They
> corroded
> at the water gasket and leaked coolant. I then purchased a set of new
> heads and installed them myself. Total cost for the parts was
> $1,000. They
> lasted 3 years and 32,000 miles. Then, they failed due to a
> compression
> leak that pressurized the cooling system and caused overheating. A
> local
> mechanic told me they failed because they were of poor quality & fit
> and
> recommended a different brand. If my memory serves me right the 1st
> set of
> replacement heads were made in Spain, and the 2nd set he recommended
> were
> from Germany. So, I hired him to install the German heads. Total
> cost was
> $1,900. These heads worked fine for another 2 yrs 9 months and 22,000
> miles before they too failed with another compression leak. At this
> point,
> I decided to have a factory rebuilt engine installed. This cost
> $3,300,
> but it has gone 10 years and 50,000 miles and it is still going
> strong.
> Also, FWIW, the factory motor was found to have a leaky head when it
> was
> first fired up, a tiny pin hole sized leak near the exhaust flange. VW
> warrantied it, and it was replaced by a local dealership free of
> charge
> after about a two month wait.
>
> So, my replacement heads weren't exactly cheap, but they did buy me
> a few
> years each time. The engine swap cost more, but it did come with a
> warranty and it has proven to be very reliable. If I had known about
> this
> list 10 to 12 years ago I'm sure I would have done things differently.
> Whatever you decide, go with experience, either in the advice from the
> list or with an experienced mechanic, and only use known quality
> parts.
>
> Walter
> 85 Vanagon
>