Head gasket, Is this the VW bulletin? Options

[DavidSweden]

I am currently rebuilding engine. In order not to tire everyone with a lot of newbie questions I have been searching the forum (thanks for the tip Cap´n).

There has been a lot of debate about using or not using head gaskets. Is this the VW tech bulletin which has been referred to in some of the post recommending not to use the head gaskets? VW Tech bulletin head gasket

David

[Cap'n Krusty]

That's it. Applies ONLY to certain VW Bus engines, NOT 914s.

The Cap'n

[DBCooper]

That's it. Applies ONLY to certain VW Bus engines, NOT 914s.

The Cap'n

Do something for me, Cap'n. Look at the date on that bulletin. Manufacturers are required to support their products for ten years, meaning Volkswagen had an obligation to issue that bulletin while Porsche, who had stopped selling cars with those engines more than ten years previously, had no obligation. But they're the same engine if installed in a Volkswagen or a Porsche, aren't they? So why would VW's advice be any different if their engines were installed in Porsche cars or VW's?

The problem VW was addressing was the tendency of their head gaskets to fail and burn through the gaskets, usually but not always on high mileage engines. Aircooled engines run hot and the VW design sandwiches an iron cylinder between an aluminum case and an aluminum head, where the heat cycles from normal use repeatedly compress the head gasket, eventually consuming all its flexibility and ability to seal. Combustion will eventually erode through a head gasket, and usually take the head with it. You may have never had the problem, I don't know, but Volkswagen did, and they had it a lot. They didn't issue that bulletin frivolously, defective products are a very hard and expensive thing for any car company to admit. It's not an imagined problem, there was a good reason.

[Cap'n Krusty]

That's it. Applies ONLY to certain VW Bus engines, NOT 914s.

The Cap'n

Do something for me, Cap'n. Look at the date on that bulletin. Manufacturers are required to support their products for ten years, meaning Volkswagen had an obligation to issue that bulletin while Porsche, who had stopped selling cars with those engines more than ten years previously, had no obligation. But they're the same engine if installed in a Volkswagen or a Porsche, aren't they? So why would VW's advice be any different if their engines were installed in Porsche cars or VW's?

The problem VW was addressing was the tendency of their head gaskets to fail and burn through the gaskets, usually but not always on high mileage engines. Aircooled engines run hot and the VW design sandwiches an iron cylinder between an aluminum case and an aluminum head, where the heat cycles from normal use repeatedly compress the head gasket, eventually consuming all its flexibility and ability to seal. Combustion will eventually erode through a head gasket, and usually take the head with it. You may have never had the problem, I don't know, but Volkswagen did, and they had it a lot. They didn't issue that bulletin frivolously, defective products are a very hard and expensive thing for any car company to admit. It's not an imagined problem, there was a good reason.

"But they're the same engine if installed in a Volkswagen or a Porsche, aren't they? " No, they're not. The head design on the 2.0 914 is substantially different from that of the Bus. "Supporting" the engines means supplying parts, NOT fixing them or addressing problems beyond the written warranty period. You see Porsche supplying a "fix" for the smogged up 2.7 ten years down the road? Or, beyond defective valve guide replacement, even during the warranty period? I think not. You'll note the changes under discussion affect only certain original and factory remanufactured engines, hence the statement: "These changes effect Engine codes: GD, GE, CV." Note the elimination of head gaskets goes along with piston lubrication, increased piston to cylinder clearances, and replacement of the paper base gaskets.

I know Jake doesn't use head gaskets, and we've had discussions to that effect. He does a lot more engines than I, and he doesn't just "rebuild" them. EVERY case is selected and remanufactured according to strict guidelines he has established for his work. Few, if any, are what you would call "routine rebuilds". Most, in fact, are what you could call "modified for performance purposes". Some cost a lot more than the cars they're going into.

If you're willing to put the kind of basic prep work into your engine that Jake does, the absence of head gaskets is probably not going to be a bad thing. How many folks here have the cases checked for warpage, and corrected both at the bore AND the deck? People on this forum complain about the cost of a rebuild, and they don't even do a proper "remanufacture". Most just do the minimum and forget it until something fails prematurely. Not so Jake, and not so me.

The Cap'n

[DBCooper]

The 2.0 heads have a different combustion chamber, sure, but how, exactly, are the sealing surfaces any different? Again, the engine codes cited were the only ones sold by VW in that ten year period, meaning those were they only engines that VW was obligated to address. And the sealing of the heads in those particular engines are no different than any other T4 engine that came before. Only difference is falling within that 1980-1990 period or not.

Those were VW's instructions to re-manufacturers of VW products, so why exactly would it make a difference whether it's a production rebuilder, a local shop, or a home mechanic? VW's only obligation is to detail best practice recommendations, and that's what they did. At this point both Porsche AND VW are out of the picture. You know their best-practice recommendations, whether or not you follow them is your choice.