Now that I've got the head off I think that I was right in my guess that something was wrong with it, and that was why the car was parked in the first place. Here are photos of the head with individual photos of each combustion area going from crankshaft pulley to flywheel side of the engine.
If you notice, there is a pretty big crack from the intake valve to the prechamber area on the #2 cylinder I think that means this head is toast. It has the normal cracks between valves.
And here are two shots of the deck. I don't know what that crud is in the #1 and #2 cylinders. It looks like dandruff or something, honestly.
You could get that crack welded, but I do not think it would be worth the cost for the labor to remove the pre-chamber and valve seat, weld, machine and install pre-chamber and valve seat. Probably cheaper to find a core head that doesn't have combustion chamber cracks and start there.
Toast" ? --EH? ----well Fraulein Bunny Bondo was a slice of "TOAST" ? EH ----some "Toast" say I..
If she is "Toast" ----I want seconds. ----what a girl , what "Smileage" ---what performance -----In Skanderhoovian ( Dansk) Skoal ---or like you say Prosit -? ---is that right ?.
Whatever -- a toast from -- from hagar to you ALL --.
Is the head warped? I wonder if overheating caused that crack. It would make sense as the intake valve seat would be cooled by intake air and everything else would be hot, so with the sharp temperature differential, something had to give. It's toast.
I've read here that overheating can take the temper out of piston rings, causing low compression... and as greasy as that thing looks, you may have a few stuck rings anyway. Time to take the bottom end apart.
'82 Diesel Rabbit • '88 Fox (RIP) • '88 Jetta (work in progress)
it's greasy probably because I sprayed lube all over it. I couldn't get the head to separate from the block so it's been liberally sprayed with light oil (pb blaster).
I'm going to go clean it up right now.
I haven't got any sort of precision flat surface so I'm dubious of my ability to detect warpage.
jackfrost1031 wrote:I haven't got any sort of precision flat surface so I'm dubious of my ability to detect warpage.
I just use a large woodworking square. You can check your tool for straightness by laying it up against a window or mirror and trying to get your thinnest feeler gauge in at various points.
'82 Diesel Rabbit • '88 Fox (RIP) • '88 Jetta (work in progress)
You can also check the straightness of a tool by using a very fine pencil and drawing a line on a piece of paper running the pencil along the edge of the tool. You can then flip the tool over and draw a second line as close to overlapping the first as possible. You can then look closely at the lines and if they are true to each other, the tool is straight. If they individually bow in opposite directions, the tool is bent.
The issue of greatest concern with regard to the head is the crack. To use that head with any reasonable assurance of success you would need to get the crack welded. As my previous post stated, that would require removal of the pre-chamber insert, removal of the valve seat, welding of the crack, machining of the valve seat area, replacement of the valve seat, machining of the pre-chamber area, replacement of the pre-chamber insert, machining of the deck. All said and done, I'm pretty sure that the degree of work required would cost more than an un-cracked core head. It might not. I'd take it to a well-respected machinist and get a quote. I'd see what a core head would cost. Compare the two. If the core head is cheaper, then go that route.
The bottom end definitely needs going through from the looks of everything.
Well, I cleaned the head up a little with some parts cleaner and a piece of brown paper to brush off some of the carbon and found another crack, large than that one, on #3 cylinder. The crack goes from the intake valve to one of the water ports.
This head is a lost cause.
The bottom end will come apart tonight. I definitely need to look at the intermediate shaft bearings, but I can't get the pulley off. I need to make a set-up for my gear puller to work on these non-threaded gears.
I was gonna link to a thread on another forum about cylinder head repair but I realized this guy is selling heads in competition with Jack so instead I'll just post the pics.
Here's a damaged head before repair. Notice the seats are removed for the welding.
Heres some welding.
Some surfacing.
Finished product
The point in all these pics is that damaged/cracked heads can be repaired. Jack probably uses someone with talents like this guy. This type of repair is automotive artistry at its finest. Man I wish I could get a job doing that. I'd work for free just to be able to learn.
Last edited by CoolAirVw on Sat Nov 24, 2007 1:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
Richard
85 Jetta TD
ASE Certified Master Auto-Technician with L1 Advanced Engine Diagnostic Rating and Light Diesel certification
ATRA Certified in Rebuilding, Diagnosing & Installing Transmissions
Yeah I just downloaded them and turned around and uploaded them again to Tinypic.com. I like Tinypic 'cuz you don't have to sign up for an account to upload stuff.
'82 Diesel Rabbit • '88 Fox (RIP) • '88 Jetta (work in progress)
I think that means this head is toast. It has the normal cracks between valves.
