It's alive! Fired it up this morning and all systems are go. Purrs like a
kitten and the new transmission shifts like butter. I'm a proud and happy
man right now. My wife wants to go camping tonight.

On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 11:32 AM, Ken Wilford <kenwilfy@comcast.net> wrote:

> 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.
>>
>>
>>
>>