head gasket on a mk1 golf

[trooper1212]

I think the steam emmitting from the head gasket has given me a good indication of why my Golf has been playing up on the temperature front.

I've ordered a head gasket set, 10 new head bolts and a rocker gasket from GSF, any advice before I start taking it to bits? I've not changed a head gasket before.

I'm not going to bother with skimming, as to be perfectly honest, I can't be arsed I'll check the head to be sure it's not badly warped though.

Am I going to be left over with lots of fiddly bits, i've heard that the inlet manifold bolts can be a bitch?

any advice welcome.

[trooper1212]

cheers

I've already replaced the thermostat, radiator and fan switch in my hunt for why it's overheating.

If i'd had any symptoms of head gasket failure, it might have been a bit easier to diagnose

[trooper1212]

Incorrigible said:

Considering a head skim is only going to cost you £20 I can't personaly see any reason not to do it

How about the hassle of taking it somewhere to get it done.

[trooper1212]

sheepy said:

trooper1212 said: Incorrigible said: Considering a head skim is only going to cost you I can't personaly see any reason not to do it How about the hassle of taking it somewhere to get it done. Yah lazy bas! You can even get it done in Leighton (you could walk to the place!)

Who's that then? Good old Mann Motors?

It seems a pretty straightforward job as far as I can tell, my only worry is whether the gasket kit will actually be any use, as it is no longer a typical golf, big valves and an alloy head etc...
Only way to find out for sure is to take it apart and see, as the guy who build the motor is a bit elusive.

[trooper1212]

filmidget said:

Take the (cork?) rocker cover gasket back to GSF... And go get a kit from VAG that includes a proper rubber seal type gasket (reuseable I assume), and new studs to fit with it, for a surprisingly reasonable sh. No more leaks Also I would get the head skimmed as well, for the sake of an afternoons delay and  Hopefully on a Mk1 you will have the 'dual outlet' exhaust manifold, with 6 stud fitting to the downpipe. If you have got the nasty C-clips, apparently they can be put back on by the cunning use of an appropriately sized exhaust U-clamp - put it inside the clip and use the 'clamp' to spread the clip apart. Personally I just junked that deeply crap manifold and fitted a dual outlet one, purchased from Ebay for  Cheers, Phil

Thanks for the tip on the rocker gasket.

The whole exhaust system has been replaced with a high flow system at some point, so hopefully I won't have too many hassles along that front.

[trooper1212]

filmidget said:

If the block has been bored to 82.5/83mm for a 1900 conversion, then I think you need a 2.0litre engine gasket... not sure which though. Cheers, Phil

ah, it is a 1900! gasket from a 2 litre mk3?

>> Edited by trooper1212 on Wednesday 8th September 17:50

[trooper1212]

Just been looking on clubgti, it seems that the standard gasket is good for up to 83mm, so I'll just see if it fits I guess! I'm not in any rush and gaskets are hardly expensive so I'll order a mk3 gasket if it doesn't seem snug. I guess I could always get some gasket paper and make my own! It's not like it gets any major usage and I seriously doubt this will be the only time it gets taken apart due to it being a track car I don't know how much you know about mk1 engine conversions, but i've got a grant motorsports stage 4 conversion which is doing about 160bhp, not a bad little runner if I can keep the temperature down.

[trooper1212]

sheepy said:

trooper1212 said: Who's that then? Good old Mann Motors? Personally I use K&J Engine Services in Betchley (good lads, done several jobs for me on both cars), but I have been lead to believe that there's a firm somewhere down near the council depot in King St which can do a good skim, but I've no idea of the name.

Ta, k&j sound a good bet then.

[trooper1212]

deltaf said:

Whyd ya need to remove the manifolds then? Just disconnect the exhaust at the downpipe, and take the head off complete with both intake and exhaust attached......easy enough to do...just "phone a friend" (if ya have any available ) to help you lift it off the block. Sorted.

hah, very funny ;

Having a bit of a problem. I can't see any way of undoing the inlet manifold bolts with the head in the car. You just can't get enough leverage in the tiny space available. The manifold is a solid piece all the way to the centre box, it won't come out past the drive shafts and bulkhead while it is attached to the head.

Is it possible to remove the exhaust manifold bolts with the inlet manifold in place?

Desperately looking for suggestions at the moment, as I just can't see how it is possible to remove the inlet manifold!

[trooper1212]

Well, all changed now.

Both sets of manifolds bolts were a real bitch to get to.
It turns out that the Mk1 Golf Haynes manual is absolute rubbish, I know they don't hev the best reputation but i've seen a few and they pretty much have good information, just a bit idiosyncratic in their layout and descriptions. The mk1 Golf manual is easily the worst i've seen, little things like having no information about anything seems to have slipped past the editors.
Cue much swearing when trying to put the injectors back in, the fact that they pulled out with the rubber seal in the head, doesn't mean you can push them back in with the rubber seal still in the head, as doing that pushes the seals down into the cylinder. Time to take the head off again...

Everything is back in place, however I have a slight problem. She doesn't run anymore
Tried turning her over but she didn't even attempt to fire, I noticed that I hadn't reconnected the cold start valve, so i'm hoping that is the reason and now it's totally flooded. I'm more resigned to the fact that the timing has probably gone completely out though, as the fuel system has re-pressurised and i've double checked that everything is connected up as it should be.
I don't see how the timing got knocked out so much that it won't even fire though, as I was a bad boy and didn't even take out the cam shaft, just pulled the head and replaced the gasket. The cam stayed in the same position, the crank stayed in the same position, the adjustable pulley stayed in the same position.

I don't suppose anybody has any genius ideas?

[trooper1212]

Oh, and for future reference for all you search engines out there. No matter what some people say on ClubGTI, a 1.9 conversion needs the mk3 2 litre gasket

[trooper1212]

deltaf said:

Check the cam timing again. Have you got fuel pressure? :scratcchin:

Undone the fuel hose slightly just after the filter, after running the pump for a few seconds, and fuel pee'd out. Whether the fuel is getting past there and into the injectors I don't know, but I don't see why it wouldn't be. I only pulled out the injectors and put them back in, nothing else fancy.

I'm pretty sure it's going to end up being the timing, although i'm certain nothing moved when the head was off...

I don't want to do any damage though, as I've got big valves and I've been told that it's possible to break something if you start fiddling. Any chance of a crash course on setting the timing? I'm still very much in the learning phase of my mechanic career, but i'm not afraid to give things a go. Ordinarily i'd trust the directions in the Haynes manual, but not after today





>> Edited by trooper1212 on Saturday 25th September 23:07

[trooper1212]

Checked spark and that is ok.

Rotated the crank so that piston no.1 is at TDC (assuming piston no.1 is at the pulley side of the engine!) At this point the timing mark on the inside of the cam pulley is lined up with the rocker gasket. I have another mark on the OUTSIDE of the pulley which is about 150 degrees out when the inner pulley mark is ligned up, but i'm sure the inner mark is the correct one to be using.
When piston no.1 is at TDC, the dizzy point seems to be 10 degrees before point 1 on the cap, I haven't moved the bottom end of the engine at all when the head was off, so if this has been misaligned I don't know why. Does the dizzy point need to be aligned with point 1 on the cap at TDC whne it isn't under pressure, or when it is? I can spring it into position, but it springs back to 10 degrees off when i let go.

It's not even trying to kick, just turning over with nothing.

All leads are connected and in the right order.

[trooper1212]

well, half success.

Rotating the dizzy has given me a running engine, but she won't idle, so I assume it's blown an air hose off somewhere under the airbox (as it did that before)

The rocker cover gasket was pissing out oil onto the exhaust manifold due to one of the studs being crossthreaded, which i've now dropped down into the engine bay and i can't find.

I think i'm giving up for the day...

[trooper1212]

And the final update on the day is...

A running car! It even idles too. Needs a bit more fine tuning and i haven't taken it out for a run to test it all, but no more oil leaks from the rocker cover.

Cheers for the help guys.