I'm thinking of putting in new headgaskets and was wondering what things I
should do once I have the engine apart.

History
^^^^^^^^^^^
My van (now with ~200,000 miles) had them replaced at 100K and is now not
leaking externally, but it is doing so internally I think. The reason I
tink so...my expansion tank fills up and my cooling system is always
running low. I believe this is because the coolant is leaking internally
since there are no drips etc. externally whatsoever.

The Problem
^^^^^^^^^^^
I want to do this myself and have never done anything like this to my car.
I've heard people say that it isn't impossible for somebody who isn't a
mechanic to do, so I'd like to attempt this myself. I see myself driving a
vanagon for a long time and would love to become more familiar with my
car. Plus I'm a student and don't have money to pay somebody.

I need to know what I need to do to do this. I also want to know what
things I should do as "preventative maintenance" (eg. clutch, lifters
etc.). Should I have my valves reground? Will I likely need rebuilt heads?
Tose are the things that I am wondering about.

I already plan on putting in a new clutch, new exhaust, and anything else
that will help to keep my van running trouble-free for a longer period of
time. If anybody would be willing to let me in on their experiences doing
this and also point me out where I can find help on this I'd really
appreciate it.

I do have the Bentley, but that's about it. I would want to know what
tools I should have (besides a good set of sockets and wrenches) and what
other things would be good to have.

I would appreciate all of your own experiences that you have had as well.
I don't want to jump into this and then get stuck with something I can't
put back together.

Thanks
Aaron

arobinso@linknet.kitsap.lib.wa.us