Pressure in the coolant

[Eric.T]

I have a 81 rabbit desel. Just got it running but before I even get warm the coolant bulids alot of pressure. My father thinks its a ht runs head gasket. The thing runs great. It sat for about ten years im hoping everything just needs to be seated again. It has 131k on it.  Im not afraid to do the head gasket but i just hope its something simple.

[rabbitman]

I have a 81 rabbit desel. Just got it running but before I even get warm the coolant bulids alot of pressure. My father thinks its a ht runs head gasket. The thing runs great. It sat for about ten years im hoping everything just needs to be seated again. It has 131k on it.  Im not afraid to do the head gasket but i just hope its something simple.

My guess says headgasket.

Being an '81 at probably has 11mm headbolts rather than 12mm like '82 and newer so if you have to pull the head you should also get ARP head studs, much less chance of cracking the block.

[maxfax]

X2 on the head gasket..   It may have just deteriorated from age...

X2 on the head studs as well..  Inspect the block VERY closely for cracks around the head bolt holes...

[8v-of-fury]

Does the pressure build with the cap off, or on.

Now when you say before it gets warm.. do you mean within a few seconds of startup, or when the engine gets to near operating temperature.

The head gasket is not difficult to replace, but you will have to affect the timing of the injection pump on the front of the engine when removing the belt. So there are some other things you should look in to before diving in to this.

http://vincewaldon.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=28

[theman53]

when I have the head off or even the timing belt I always do the water pump if it is unknown or you didn't do it recently. I hate taking off all of the covers and it is a pain to do it just for the water pump. A good water pump is also a good thing to protect overheat which helps your head and head gaskets too