Roger, how do I know?  Been There Done That.  I feel your pain.  Maybe
someone has a good used AMC head they can sell you.

Ken Wilford
John 3:16
www.vanagain.com

Roger VanTill wrote:
> And the winner is............Ken Wilford! I took a good look at that
> area and I can see the hairline crack. I'm f*cked! Due to unemployment
> and a future Zetec install I couldn't afford to get new heads. They
> looked fine and were only seeping at the gasket.
>
> Time to cry in my beer and figure out what's next.
>
> On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 8:08 AM, Ken Wilford <kenwilfy@comcast.net
> <mailto:kenwilfy@comcast.net>> wrote:
>
>     Roger, if you reused your old heads then what you have is a
>     hairline crack at the head nut.  This is a common failure with the
>     OE VW heads as they have a thin spot right there and can crack
>     upon retorqueing.  That is why I very, very rarely ever use them.
>      I always use the AMC heads which are brand new, but also they are
>     beefed up in this area to avoid this problem.  Most of my
>     customers come here from at least 2 to 3 hours away.  I don't want
>     them to have any problems because unlike a local shop, I just
>     don't have the "luxury" of taking chances and having people come
>     back.  So I decided a long time ago that if a customer comes in
>     with heads that have any cracks between the valves, and we are
>     doing a head gasket replacement, I will always recommend new AMC
>     heads.  I have never had one single problem with them over the
>     past 12 years of doing head replacements.  Many happy Vanagons out
>     there still purring down the road.
>
>     Just my opinion.
>
>
>     Ken Wilford
>     John 3:16
>     www.vanagain.com <http://www.vanagain.com>
>
>
>     Roger VanTill wrote:
>
>         I rebuilt my 2.1 this spring. Was very careful, read
>         everything I could,
>         watched Ben's videos, etc. Got the motor and new tranny
>         installed. Filled
>         the system with coolant this afternoon. It's sitting there,
>         not started yet,
>         unpressurized. I've got a coolant leak coming from one of the
>         upper center
>         head bolts on the driver side. Tears are still falling as I
>         write this.
>
>         Yes I sanded the bolts flat and cleaned up the mating surface
>         on the head. I
>         used the yellow goop that came with the gasket set.
>
>         Should I just drain it, remove the leaking cap nut and reseal
>         it? Do I trust
>         the other 15?
>
>         Looking for advice and a pat on the back to tell me it'll be
>         alright.
>
>
>
>