Today, I'm cleaning the crankcase surfaces that mate with the heads.
I've decided to touch up some surface pitting with J-B Weld.  I'm thinking,
maybe it would be easier to just use the J-B Weld on the entire head gasket
when putting the heads back on, as a substitute for the head gasket sealent?
   UPS was at the door with the Snap-On-Tools piston ring compression tool.
I'd like to be far enough along to be using it today.
   I did get that #3 main bearing on today.  I heated the cam gear up on a
month old gas stove burner (do I tell Karen tonight?).  It was amazing.  It
just slid right into position. 
   I got some advise from a VW shop owner that might be of interest.  He
said he only replaces waterboxer cylinders in matched pairs per head. He
said I might otherwise have leaking due to small differences in cylinder
height due to wear.
   His other interesting advise was to test for valve seating condition in
my heads by filling the intake and exhaust ports with solvent and checking
if it leaks back through the valve.

   Break's over.  Time to try a batch of this J-B Weld.

   Scott Maurer

   1984 Vanagon GL