I have never seen a VW reman with AMC heads on it. I have seen welded heads,
oversize valve guide heads, made in Poland heads, but not yet AMC heads.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Leonard Anthony
Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2009 3:51 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: 1.9 Head replacement (was lifter collapse / smog issue)

The lifter was fine. The valve adjuster tip (intake, cyl 1) sheared off so I
replaced it and adjusted the valves.
The exhaust valves on 3 & 4 failed the leak down test. This engine is a
Canadian VW Reman with ~ 15,000 mi.
Cyl 1&2 tested OK, German head. Cyl 3&4, bad valves, on AMC head. So this is
probably a quality issue with the valves on the AMC heads, as I've read all
about it. Even though the engine has very low miles it had been replaced in
'02, seemingly a very bad year for AMC heads, from what I have read from the
archives & elsewhere.

Before I pull the head off, I thought I would ask (those on the list who
have replaced heads before) if there are any shortcuts, hints or do's &
don'ts not covered in the Bentley on head replacement. I don't want to touch
the good side. Will 1 head gasket set be enough or will I also need exhaust
/ coolant etc. gaskets for the good side? The engine does not currently leak
anything, the water jacket is fine.

Also, I'm wondering how to tell if the heads are 1.9 or 2.1, as it sounds
like they should not be co-mingled on an engine. What about co-mingling
German & Spanish heads, as was done on my VW rebuild? I do have an extra
German 1.9 head but until I pull them off the engine(s) I won't know which
one will be better to use.

Thanks,
Leonard