... seems to be that the cylinder #4 were leaking like a seive around the
head gasket interface. #3 was also leaking a bit. Looks like this engine
was barely running on 3 cylinders. No wonder it was overheating. Lots of
burning taking place under the head.

But wait - what head gasket? That's right, the heads on the left side did
not have a gasket. Haven't pulled the right side yet too see if its the
same. Mechanic says he's heard of 914 heads that warn you not to use
gaskets but this is the first time he's seen this on a VW. They are
aftermarket heads- 'AMC' is cast into them, but the id codes appear to have
been ground off the molds. I think they're Canadian, but not sure. Anyone
hear of heads that don't require gaskets?

Also found that intake valves on cylinders #1 & #2 are running around 28%
leakage. Other than that everything looks pretty good on the heads and
valves.
Current repair: lap the intake valves to get a better seal, fly cut the
head surface to get a smooth contact, install head gaskets.

Just had to share this with somebody...

-rick

Rick Gordon
Bainbridge Island, WA, USA
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rickgo@halcyon.com
http://www.halcyon.com/rickgo/
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