Jeff,

One of my fav visual inspection tools is an optivisor. Kinda like a
baseball cap bill with flip down magnifying lenses. Optivisor is a brand
name but there are many variants. Amazon carries several different
jeweler type magnifiers that you wear. They can be seen here and most
are under $20.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Magnifiers

To really get a good quality head-crack inspection - you might want to
investigate the Fluorescent Penetrant Inspection process. Some simply
refer to it as a Zyglo Inspection  because Zyglo is the most common
brand name. But it is properly call the Fluorescent Penetrant
Inspection. This inspection is done on non-magnetic metals and is a very
common inspection  on aluminum and magnesium components of aircraft
engines and airframes. The WBX engine being what it is - it's a good
candidate for the Zyglo check on the heads and case.  The other metal
test for cracks works for steel components like crankshafts, rods, etc,
and is called a magnaflux test whereby a magnetic field is passed
through the metal while it is washed with a solution filled with metal
particles. Any cracks disturb the magnetic lines of flux and the metal
particles deposit out along the crack line and can be  easily seen.

All that said, however - for your heads the Zyglo Dye Penetrant test
would be the best bet. If there are cracks - they will show!! It do4s
require a black light to do the test. The penetrant glows along the
crack line.

A couple of links: There is a lot on youtube about the dye penetrants.
You might also check out magnaflux while you are there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cl2ULh0_ss

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlZQKZwaglc

If I had any question about cracks in the heads all - I would definitely
do a dye penetrant test.

John

On 2/5/2014 6:07 PM, J Stewart wrote:
> With all those responses, NO ONE ACTUALLY ANSWERED THE ORIGINAL QUESTION!! Also, don't get me wrong, I appreciate all the pros here who take the time to answer questions, I really do, but don't forget most of us don't own a garage (business) that repairs Vanagons and other VW's. I'm lucky enough to have a garage and a spare engine, but not an extra bell housing, starter, battery, etc. Well, there may actually be a starter buried out there somewhere, I'm not sure. In my case I have a full time job (telecom tech) and with commuting usually put in a 10-12 hour day. Vanagons are a hobby/passion, not a business. Anyway, enough about that. After careful consideration, I think I will redo (new seals) the heads on the spare engine and just swap the engines out-new water pump too on the spare-but no new clutch, that would be a waste of money...mines an automatic. I just have a sneaking suspicion trying to pull the head with the engine in the van will be a disaster and and I'll end up dropp
ing the engine anyway. Thanks!!
>
> Oh, and I do have a magnifying glass too!
>
>
>
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> Jeff Stewart
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