Thanks to Eric, Dennis and all who gave great feedback on my leaking heads.
I see everyone's opinion is that the heads should be replaced soon if not
immediately. Small back story; I bought a new tin top in 1985 and it had
leaking heads almost right out of the gate and VW never really admitted
there was a problem and did bandaid "repairs"but some of the older listers
here might remember the "secret" warranty repair that VW authorized dealers
to perform . Anyway I didn't know to pursue this so I lived with the
leaking heads for the 8 years I drove it. The end of ownership came after
replacing 3 water pumps in a row and then the long coolant pipes rusting
through and letting go on a winter's day. So my current 85 Westy I
purchased in 1999 with 62K on her has always had the small leaks too again
mostly while sitting graged during winter. Now at 104K on this original
engine I guess, from reading all the replies to my post, i've been leading
a charmed life these past 20 years in not having serious damage done to the
engine. A while back when a non VW mechanic  did a small repair I mentioned
the leak and he poured in a bottle of Subaru miracle stop-leak additive and
that stopped the leak for a couple of seasons. Being an old guy that has
accepted the leaking heads as a way of life with Vanagons, I was reluctant
but went ahead and bought the GW heads this winter. Now I have to find a
competent mechanic in the Chicago area to put them on and get the tuning
and coolant bleeding correct and hoping the cure isn't worse than the
illness. If anyone has a suggested shop for this work anywhere in the
Midwest please send it along. Thanks again to everyone who replied and I
will report on the "post-op" when completed.
Spencer

On Mon, Apr 10, 2023 at 9:33 PM Eric Caron <ericcaron96@comcast.net> wrote:

> Hi Spencer,
>
> Have you come up with a plan?
>
> Eric Caron
>
>
> > On Apr 7, 2023, at 8:14 PM, Jeff Palmer <w.jeff.palmer@ICLOUD.COM>
> wrote:
> >
> > Agree! The problem won’t fix itself :)
> > Jeff
> >
> > Sent from my iPhone
> >
> >> On Apr 7, 2023, at 5:00 PM, David McNeely <davmcneely40@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> Very ignorant here, but my feeling is leaking heads mean it's time to
> do
> >> the job.  Do you want the engine to blow up when moving at high speed
> (or
> >> any time for that matter)?
> >>
> >>> On Fri, Apr 7, 2023 at 6:45 AM Spencer Allen <soxndubs1951@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> I had my 85 stock westy inspected and some brake work done and the
> mechanic
> >>> says I should replace the leaking heads. I may have jumped the gun and
> >>> ordered the GW super duper ($$$) reworked AMC heads. The thing is my OE
> >>> heads have been leaking for the last 20 years and 60K I've owned it.
> The
> >>> major leaking occurs during the winters while it's stored in my garage
> so
> >>> when spring comes I have to top up the fill tank with about a qt of
> >>> coolant. Summer it does drip but nothing major. Engine runs fine with
> no
> >>> white exhaust smoke. My question is what are the main reasons for
> replacing
> >>> heads and how do you know when you've reached that point?
> >>> Spencer
> >>>
>