Don,
Where do you get a billet aluminum fuel injector rail ?

Don Hanson wrote:
>   Yesterday I went over my '92 Golf/Jetta/Rabbit gas-powered 1.8liter VW
> inline van (84 low top westie) following up on some suggestions from helpful
> list members, chasing down some strange cooling system behavior I began
> seeing recently.
>    I've seen a change to cooler than normal operating temps...until it
> boiled over on Sunday.  I've had excess coolant level in the overflow tank,
> too. No loss of power or poor running..just the temperature anomalies.
>
>   So I pulled the plugs (they alll look perfect) and put about 20psi
> compressed air into the coolant pressure tank, then listened (with a pipe)
> to each spark plug hole for escaping coolant coming into the cylinder.
> Nothing.  I blew out the pressure cap on the coolant pressure res. and
> replaced the hose to the overflow tank..it was a bit old and possibly
> leaky.  I found my spare thermostat and tested it in boiling water, then
> replaced the one in the van with that.  I shut down the valve to the rear
> heater and inspected all the hoses and connections everywhere.  Then I
> re-filled and re-bled the cooling system very carefully.
>
>   Alas! I still see some bubbles coming into the pressure
> reservoir..confirming I probably will still see head gasket or head (proper)
> problems.  So I found and ordered  parts online..$31 for the headgasket and
> $27 for new headbolts and washers.  When those arrive, I'll be pulling the
> head (which you can do with the motor in the van) to see where the
> combustion gasses are escaping into the coolant.
>   I've also been putting off installing a billet aluminum fuel injector rail
> (fire prevention measure), now I can do that.  If the head is not damaged, I
> don't even have to touch the valves or camshaft, so the R&R of the
> headgasket should be about 1/2 day's process...if I don't break anything and
> do it correctly the first time.
>
>   I'm posting this to perhaps give some data to those with problematic
> motors in vanagons. To  those who may be debating either fixing their engine
> problems, rebuilding their existing motors or choosing one of the
> engine-swaps, you might be interested in the relative repair simplicity and
> economy of an inline VW gas motors.  I am not advocating "My" type engine as
> the best in a vanagon...I am truthfully relating the experience I've had.
> I've been finding this van remarkably inexpensive and simple with adequate
> performance and good fuel consumption.  ~$60 and half a day in your garage
> with hand tools, you can't beat that for a leaky combustion chamber problem
> repair, can ya? (I know..."Best case scenario only")
>
>    I probably should have had the head surfaced professionally when I
> replaced a headgasket about 35k miles ago.  That time, I screwed up the
> bleeding process, being new to Vanagon cooling systems, and overheated my
> motor.  I assessed the head's true-ness with my steel carpenter's framing
> square, then lapped it a little on a piece of plate glass, deciding that was
> probably "good enuf"  but I probably should have sent it out to a
> machinist..
>
>   Don Hanson
>
>
>