1.9l head gasket - 1.6l solid lifter head

[bvanetten]

So I bought a 1.9l head gasket for my solid lifter head on the off chance it could work.  What the heck it's only $40 and if it works it beats the hell out of $200 for a custom gasket.  Here are some pics...

http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/content/topic,28169.0.html

Do any of you think it would be possible to plug the area by the affected water jacket and how would you do it.

Bruce

[fspGTD]

I have tried this before and almost completely successfully sealed the water jacket.  I will be trying it again soon.  Details are in this thread: http://www.vwdiesel.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=840

Remember to search for relevant threads before making new ones, guys.

[bvanetten]

Yeah,  I'm a searching machine.  If the search button wasn't virtual it would be wore out due to my using it.

The thread you mention is the reason I bought the gasket and where I found the part #.  Problem is there is only a reference to plugging the hole.  I guess what I'm looking for is details on how you plugged it the first time and how you plan on plugging better the second time.

[greggearhead]

Hmm.  I would think about cutting some of the "extra" overhanging gasket out and cutting that to fit the hole.  Use some copper-head gasket seal spray (or whatever you like).  Then make a small hole for coolant passage.

[fspGTD]

What I did was trim a thin aluminum disc (thinner than the compressed head gasket thickness) that fits securely into the extra oil return hole in the metal head gasket.  Then I used some RTV silicone as a sealant, applied to both top and bottom of the disc, and I installed the it and the head and torqued the gasket before it cured to use the silicone as a sealant.  Maybe that was a mistake, and I should have let it cure and install it compressed, because like I said there was a slight amount of coolant weepage when the enigne was cold.  But it actually worked quite well when the engine was running, it always perfectly sealed and held in full cooling system pressure.  I think the problem was that either there wasn't enough of the resilient material left for the thickness of the disc that I made, or it wasn't under enough compression to conform as heat contracted the head and made it move away from the block.  Or maybe something else was going on, I don't know.

I didn't experience any problems from the plugged cooling passage.  I figured it couldn't be that critical because it is not present on the hydraulic lifter motors.

Hope this helps.  If you try something, let us know what you do and how it works!

[panzerx]

i have done a similar thing as jake, however i simply used a dime, and notched a small hole for the coolant passage, sealed it with silicone and the only problem i had was weeping while cold, but nothing excessive