Dennis is right.  The head is (was) perfectly flat and is sealed to the rubber gasket with silicone glue.  Once a channel opens up, it's just a matter of time until catastrophic failure.  The corrosion (aluminum oxide) expands, and creates more gaps in the seal in a death spiral. 

 No reason not to try Bar's Stop Leak at this point, it could buy you a lot of time while you find the money for your next engine.  I've used it on my MGBs in the past and it's never caused a problem or clogged a radiator.  I just gets your bottles dirty, but you can clean it out when you replace the engine.

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of J Stewart
Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2012 2:50 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Low Compression, Longevity of the WBX'er and $20K Vans

Yeah, <sigh> tried 3 bottles of the Subie conditioner with no luck! Then saw "industrial strength" stuff at a truck stop and almost bought some, but decided I didn't want to dump any more stuff into the cooling system for fear of causing bigger problems. Jeff Jeff Stewart ----- Original Message -----
> You probably know this, but Subaru coolant conditioner may help that 
> weeping coolant issue.
> Good on ya for setting that bus straight.
> No doubt. One could "go nuts" with $ ..... on any vehicle. My only big 
> gripe right is spending said $ on parts that sometimes aren't really 
> up to snuff. Like the rebuilt caliper that just doesn't slide right; 
> the one I just installed on the p-side is smooth as silk. Yes I could 
> take it apart, clean and lube it but why?
> < steps off soap box > ;^)
> I've looked at the SBM option. Yup. Big bucks. And as per Dennis's 
> comments on his big rig, as for maintenance, we're getting off pretty 
> easy. (shady VW repair shops aside) Neil.
> On Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 6:15 PM, J Stewart <fonman4277@comcast.net>
> wrote:
> > While this whole thread started I was out of town on a camping trip, 
> > I didn't want to chime in until I got home (didn't want to jinx
> > myself) but my '85 poptop Weekender auto/ps/a/c with 146K miles did 
> > just beautifully. I've only owned her a little over two years, and 
> > while I don't know her complete history, I do know the PO was going 
> > broke trying to keep her alive. He was getting raped by a VW 
> > "specialty shop" because he knew NOTHING about cars. .... When I 
> > bought the van it barely ran and brake pedal went all the way to the 
> > floor. .... It was running on three cylinders (bad plug wire) and 
> > had almost no exhaust system left. .... I probably have 5k in the 
> > van at this point and it now runs (and stops) fine. On my trip I 
> > cruised at 65 mph with no problems, and had to watch myself as I 
> > kept creeping up to 70+ at times. It never missed a beat all weekend 
> > in over 600 miles. I've never done a compression test on the engine, 
> > and probably never will. It leaks almost no oil. In cold weather the 
> > right cylinder head weeps a bit of coolant. But other than these few 
> > minor quirks, it has been very reliable. ..... As for the $20K van, 
> > I may end up there someday, but price a Road Trek or Sportsmobile 
> > van!
> --
> Neil n
> 65 kb image Myford Ready For Assembly http://tinyurl.com/64sx4rp
> '88 Slate Blue Westy to be named.
> '81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco" http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/ Vanagon VAG 
> Gas I4/VR Swap Google Group:
> http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines