Head Gasket Replacement

[Guest djd4n]

I have posted about the cause of this here, but thought I'd repost with a more appropriate title. (Also means people can search for it more easily when it's archived)

 

I need to replace the head gasket on my 1992 1.6 GTI

 

I have the Haynes manual and have read through the procedure, do you have any more tips for the job? It mentions being careful not to disturb the cylinder liners, how do I avoid this? Haynes has a tip for keeping them in place by using 4 large washers once the head is off, but i'm worried about when taking it off.

 

Never taken the head off an engine before, apprehensively looking forward to it though. Should I try to get the whole thing done in one day? Can't imagine having the head off the engine for a long period is good...?

 

What should I look to do at the same time?

 

skim head - if needed

new gasket

head bolts

timing belt

inlet and exhaust mainfold gaskets

spark plugs

valve stem seals

relap the valves and valve seats (not sure what this is??)

 

Any more? - maintenance really - my mate says race cam, polished and ported, and fit a turbo while i'm at it! if only I had the money!

 

Also what do you get in a headgasket set, compared to just buying a headgasket? Been looking at parts online and some have odd descriptions like ' CYLINDER HEAD GASKET SET 205 1.6/1.9 GTi(EXCL H/GASK)' , surely that doesn't make sense, a head gasket set that excludes the head gasket (that's from GSF by the way)?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

Thanks

 

Dan

[steve@cornwall 100]

I have posted about the cause of this here, but thought I'd repost with a more appropriate title. (Also means people can search for it more easily when it's archived)

 

I need to replace the head gasket on my 1992 1.6 GTI

 

I have the Haynes manual and have read through the procedure, do you have any more tips for the job? It mentions being careful not to disturb the cylinder liners, how do I avoid this? Haynes has a tip for keeping them in place by using 4 large washers once the head is off, but i'm worried about when taking it off.

 

Never taken the head off an engine before, apprehensively looking forward to it though. Should I try to get the whole thing done in one day? Can't imagine having the head off the engine for a long period is good...?

 

What should I look to do at the same time?

 

skim head - if needed

new gasket

head bolts

timing belt

inlet and exhaust mainfold gaskets

spark plugs

valve stem seals

relap the valves and valve seats (not sure what this is??)

 

Any more? - maintenance really - my mate says race cam, polished and ported, and fit a turbo while i'm at it! if only I had the money!

 

Also what do you get in a headgasket set, compared to just buying a headgasket? Been looking at parts online and some have odd descriptions like ' CYLINDER HEAD GASKET SET 205 1.6/1.9 GTi(EXCL H/GASK)' , surely that doesn't make sense, a head gasket set that excludes the head gasket (that's from GSF by the way)?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

Thanks

 

Dan

 

 

I actually found Haynes very useful for the h/g change. except for the bolt tightening sequence. The shop that skimmed my head suggested tightening straight to 60ft/lbs then 90 degrees- seemed to work fine. Be especially cautious about re-fitting the extra large spacer on the head bolt at the back, nearest the cam cover, omit this and you will puncture the water gallery and effectively scrap your block!

 

I am notorious for being tight on any job, but would always skim an alloy head before re-fitting, and replace the cam belt of course. Always adviseable to replace the water pump whilst it's all apart, too. This should be sufficient to get the car back as it was - and if you were happy with it why spend more?

 

For me the rest would be dependent on how the engine was before. Any smoke on start- up? may as well have the stem seals done at this point. If it sounded "tappety" before, have the lifters re-shimmed, check for cam- wear first and maybe fit a good one if wear is apparent . If the valves look well coked up when removing the head, maybe then considder lapping / re-seating the valves. If pretty clean in there (most seem to be) I personally would not add the expense.

 

Obviously these are my views on it and others may well not agree - but then, I find it quicker and cheaper to fit a known good s/h engine, rather than do the h/g. No waiting for machine shops etc - and done in an 8 hour day with relative ease

[kate205gti 4]

just head gasket, cambelt and new head bolts are the essentials

 

ideally skim it but will involve stripping the head down of valves, etc.. unless u can find friendly company who do it for u (this is the relapping valves bit after the skim)

 

if ur doing the cambelt u may as well do the tensioners and water pump thou

 

any reason for valve stem seals? is it puffing blue smoke atm?

 

and either new mani gaskets or u can use RTV

[jeremy 68]

Just my thoughts.

 

Haynes is great for helping with this job.

 

Before taking apart just ask around a few local engineering companies as to cost and lead times to possibly weld/skim head and do the the valves. To give you an idea I paid £110 for this last christmas.

 

In my limited experience the cam should be fine unles very high milage!?!?

 

I never used liner clamps etc as when I take the head off as the liners should be fairly firm, and just give them and the tops of the piston a little clean while you are there. What you must do is make sure the crank and the cam are in the correct position before taking the head off, and DO NOT move the crank when the head is off as this will cause the liners to move.

 

Get plenty of bank bags and masking tape to label everything up as if not you will forget what went where.

 

Mark the distributor to the head using a chisel.

[DamirGTI 327]

Hi !

 

Sorry i was planing to help you but i was off the site for a few days ..

 

 

 

Well from my opinion you have 2 options :

 

1- do this as quick as possible and get the car back on the road , usually few hours for just head gasket change or one day it will depend on you how quick can you do that ..

 

2- or lose a few day more , 2-3 days and refresh the head properly for many further careless miles of driving plus better fuel consumption (if you re-lap the valves and valve seats and re-shim them properly ) oil consumption (if you change the valve steam seals ) and more power !

 

For the 1 option you will need to do :

remove the head , skim the head , clean everything , fit new head gasket inlet and exhaust mainfold and other gaskets , timing belt and assembly the head back with new head bolts.

 

Parts needed for this 1 option :

-Gasket set for head or Head gasket set (usually inside this sets you will get all the gaskets including the main head gasket , further inside this sets you will get inlet and exhaust mainfold gaskets , valve steam seals , camshaft oil seal , thermostat housting gasket , dizzy seal etc. etc and a lot of other bits and bobs so basically this sets includes all the gaskets for head job repairs .. myself always buy Elring or Victor Reinz head gasket sets and inside this sets you will find all sorts of gaskets needed for head repair jobs , you will end up after the job is done with a lot of unused gaskets from the set !) so buy this complete head gasket sets , it's better that way !

-New head bolts

-New timing belt

-New oil + oil filter

 

 

For the 2 option you will need to do :

remove the head , fully dismantle the head (camshaft out , all the valves out , valve springs out etc.etc.) , clean each valve (if you wish i will explain how to do this easy with the pictures) , re-lap the valves and valve seats (also i'm offering help with pics of how to do this with the valve grinding paste by hand , or you can take the head to machine shop and they will do this valve lapping job for you ..) , remove/replace the valve steam seals , clean/oil everything and assembly the head back valves , valve springs .... , after you do all this check the valve clearances and adjust as necessary (also im offering you help for this job with pictures !) , after the head is finished skim it as needed , clean the block and liners contact surface and fit the head back on the block with new head gasket and tight with new head bolts , new inlet and exhaust gaskets , new timing belt etc.

(if you chose this option say and i will guide/help you out at each and every point with pictures as needed for the better understanding !

 

 

Parts needed for option 2 :

 

All same as above +

-Valve adjusting shims (thickness as needed..)

-Valve grinding paste and piece of rubber pipe ! (if you wish to do the lapping job by yourself !)

-Sanding paper

-And a little bit more tools > valve spring compressor (not needed as you can make this tool by yourself i will show you how if you wish!) , and feeler blades . Of course for option 1 and 2 you will need Torque wrench for head bolts tightening !

 

As for disturbing the wet liners when you lift the head off the block don't be afraid ! These engines are old and you will struggle to move them by hand as myself and my mates we all have to hammer them out (during full engine rebuildings..) with wooden bar (and i mean really heavy hammering on those wet liners to remove them fully out from the block) as for years inside they stuck a bit hard inside the block so if the engine isn't overhauled recently you will not have problems with this really trust me !

 

But one thing which is good to do before all this jobs (untightening the head bolts) first thing locate the end threads of the head bolts under the block and soak them up with a lot of WD40 fluid on both the inlet and exhaust side of the head all 10 bolts end threads (well 9 as one you can't see from the bottom and this one is at the timing belt side the bolt with the big spacer..) and try to clean them if you can with wire brush , soak some more with the WD and left the WD to work on the rusty bolt threads and start with timing belt removing .

Have you familiarize yourself with the engine locking (crankshaft camshaft position ..) and timing belt removing procedure ?

 

Damir

[jtek 0]

to save making a new thread on a similar topic, i am half way through this job at the moment and i have a few quick questions.. i am struggling to get the gasket crap off the block, so far i have just used a plastic scraper, does the block surface need to be super clean or clear of any major crap? and also the head thats going on was quite considerably skimmed as it was a bit warped previously, will this affect things much as regards to cam timing?

thanks

[steve@cornwall 100]

to save making a new thread on a similar topic, i am half way through this job at the moment and i have a few quick questions.. i am struggling to get the gasket crap off the block, so far i have just used a plastic scraper, does the block surface need to be super clean or clear of any major crap? and also the head thats going on was quite considerably skimmed as it was a bit warped previously, will this affect things much as regards to cam timing?

thanks

 

A nice sharp stanley blade, used carefully always works wonders for cleaning off gasket gunk - cleaner the better here. I believe there may be issues with the top engine mount being put under undue stress with a heavily skimmed head, sometimes causing failure of the mount and damage to the mountings on the block.drilling the mount holes oversize, or elongating with a file should take care of this, maybe someone with more experience of this could help out here?

[24seven 104]

personally, unless the head is fresh or fairly clean looking (ie if I feel somethin can be gained from cleaning it), I'd give it a strip down, relap the valve seats, replace valve stem seals and check the valve clearances as a matter of course. if I'm replacing a blown gasket, on an ally head I'd get it skimmed flat. Before rebuilding it, I'd give it a thorough clean in a solvent tank and make sure its all clean & shiney. A fresh head will do wonders for the efficiency of the oil flow and water cooling in the engine. fresh Mi16 heads are known to reduce the oil surge problem in them even.personally, unless the head is fresh, I'd give it a strip down, relap the valve seats, replace valve stem seals and check the valve clearances as a matter of course. if I'm replacing a blown gasket, on an ally head I'd get it skimmed flat. Before rebuilding it, I'd give it a thorough clean in a solvent tank and make sure its all clean & shiney. A fresh head will do wonders for the efficiency of the oil flow and water cooling in the engine. fresh Mi16 heads are known to reduce the oil surge problem in them even.

Edited September 8, 2007 by 24Seven

[Guest djd4n]

Hi all, thanks for the advice, been great cheers!

 

Damir - I think i'm going to go for your option 2, there's no mega rush to get it back on the road, though the sooner the better!

 

So far, i've got the cam and crank shaft pulleys lined up and am about to remove the crank shft pulley. Haynes says to jam the starter ring to do this, how do I jam this? Just asking in case there is an easy way instead of messing about for hours and annoying my dad as he'll be the one jamming it while I undo it!

[DamirGTI 327]

Hi !

 

Good choice if you do all this jobs right you will benefit for sure - less fuel and oil consumption , better engine running/more power !

 

As for flywheel locking this is what you need to do - take one big screwdriver and jam it inbetween the one teeth of the flywheel and block surface ( fine someone/mate to help you out during this - get him under and let him hold the screwdriver firmly jammed when you untight the main crank pulley bolt ! )

 

pics (for the better understanding) :

 

http://s27.photobucket.com/albums/c151/Pie...rrent=lock1.jpg

http://s27.photobucket.com/albums/c151/Pie...rrent=lock3.jpg

http://s27.photobucket.com/albums/c151/Pie...rrent=lock2.jpg

 

Let me know when you do this timing belt removing , have you clean (spray with WD40?) the head bolts end threads prior to untight them ?

 

Cheers !

Damir

[Dan Ingram 1]

Im just about to refit my head and what to make sure I do it to the correct torque settings. The haynes manual says 15ft/lbthen 300deg but earlier in this topic steve says to do it to 60 ft/lbs then another 90deg. So which one do I go for? I dont want to over tighten it but I also dont want to under tighten it and blow the gasket. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated as soon as.

 

Thanks

 

Dan

Edited September 29, 2007 by ingy

[DamirGTI 327]

Hi !

 

Try like this (it's best to split torque stages as much as you can !) :

 

1stage - torque all bolts up to 60Nm

2stage - loose all bolts completely (start loosing from bolt No10 to bolt No1 - opposite direction from tightening sequence..)

3stage - torque all bolts again up to 20Nm

4stage - angle tight all bolts at 100 degree

5stage - again + 100 degree

6stage - and final + 100 degree

 

also it's good thing to wait 2-3min. inbetween the three angle tightening stages !

 

 

Cheers !

Damir

[Dan Ingram 1]

Ok i'll give that a go, fingers crossed.

[jim21070 2]

I'm of the opinion that for good reliability, a head must always have a light skim even if it looks OK.

 

Because of the relative softness of the head, the head gasket fire-rings tend to dig in to the head face and leave a tiny indentation. No two gaskets will be precisely the same and the old fire-ring indentations are unlikely to match those of the new gasket. This will be a potential weak point.

 

For a very light skim, you may not need the services of an engineering shop. If you can get hold of a large and very thick piece of plate glass, say from a shop window, and cover it in very fine grinding paste, the head can be whizzed around on this and thus be cleaned-up. I've used this method many times on motorbike heads and other alloy mating faces that need a clean and true-up.

 

Good plate glass is optically flat.

[Dan Ingram 1]

I had mine skimmed before I put it on, definately worth it for the sake of £25 I reckon.

 

I've got my head on now and the car is running. Do I need to re-tighten the head bolts after i've let the car get up to temperature and if so by how much???

[jim21070 2]

I've got my head on now and the car is running. Do I need to re-tighten the head bolts after i've let the car get up to temperature and if so by how much???

 

No, if you follow the tightening procedure to the letter, that's it, nothing more to do. Job done. The re-torque was something that had to be done years ago on engines that did not use stretchy bolts. BMC A series engines come to mind.

[DamirGTI 327]

I'm of the opinion that for good reliability, a head must always have a light skim even if it looks OK.

 

 

Ditto !