On the East Coast it's Boston Bob.
Zoltan

----- Original Message -----
From: "Walter Houle" <whoule@ECSCONTROLS.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, August 22, 2008 4:33 PM
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