Bently head gasket torque procedure

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

I idled it for about 20 minutes with the hood closed watching the temp gauge and making sure not to overheat it. There were no leaks other than a very slow drip at the corroded radiator and aux fan switch on the coolant flange at the end of the head. Got a scare when I saw a few drops of oil in the coolant expansion globe. That was likely from oil that made it's way into the coolant passages in the block when the head was removed. I used paper towel to soak up the oil and saw no more after that. Torqued the head an additional 1/4 turn while the engine was hot. Engine sounds good. Actually sounds a little smoother than before. Maybe due to re-sealing the injection pump so there are no more leaks.

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

All of the bolts except 2 turned smoothly without any noise. There were 2 that creaked really loud! What causes the creaking? It sounded and felt as if the creaking was from the washer on the  bolt head slipping and catching.

[Quantum TD]

All of the bolts except 2 turned smoothly without any noise. There were 2 that creaked really loud! What causes the creaking? It sounded and felt as if the creaking was from the washer on the  bolt head slipping and catching.

Did you lube the bolts before you installed them, as indicated in the Bentley and the gasket manufacturer?

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

All of the bolts except 2 turned smoothly without any noise. There were 2 that creaked really loud! What causes the creaking? It sounded and felt as if the creaking was from the washer on the  bolt head slipping and catching.

Did you lube the bolts before you installed them, as indicated in the Bentley and the gasket manufacturer?

The Bently does not say to lube the bolts before installation. This is Bently's exact wording:

"Clean the threads of the head bolts and bolt holes with thread chasers, and remove all foreign matter from the holes". I interpret that as dry. metal chips, oil, carbon etc is foreign matter.

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

The engine's been fine and running great for 1000 miles since the new head gasket, not a drop of coolant loss. I gave the head bolts that last 1/4 turn (from advise given in this thread) last night on a hot engine, then ran it for a minute idling and shut it off. This morning, pulled lower radiator hose and hose at cyl head flange and with a garden hose flushed the radiator and what's in the block from the expansion tank till clear. Took car for short drive 10- 20 mph to warm up the engine. I had bought a combustion leak test kit http://www.blockchek.com/ to verify that there is not the slightest amount of combustion gas leak into the cooling system. As I was idling the engine squeezing the aspirator to run the test, I noticed the blue liquid level in the tester rising. I pulled out the tester and saw that water was blowing out of the expansion tank!

So what went wrong? Now I wish I followed the Bently which stated the 1/4 turn after 1,000 miles is for the ME and MF engine, not the 1V.

Now I get to do the job all over again. What should I do different this time to insure this won't happen again?

[guy plain]

i found woth my 1.6 that it can take a couple try,s to get all the air out of the cooling system.....mine did the same thing...lots of (air farting out of the expanion tank....i let it cool down and refilled the tank....and it was fine....im thinking with the air traped in the block what i was seeing was steam comming out.....mostly cause it stoped doing it after a couple heat cycles....tank stays at the full mark all the time now....that was over a week ago and have been driving in 30 degree heat (c) on long hills...with no problems...the first drive she was almost to over heat....but like i said all good now...

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

I hope you're right but I am not hopeful because I filled the cooling system the same way the previous time (right after the head gasket install) and there was no boilover from air trapped.

[Luckypabst]

Fill the expansion tank to the brim, to the point that it's about to overflow. With the engine running, a steady stream of small bubbles that increases with engine speed is a fine indicator of a combustion leak.

You've posted several threads regarding the same general subject so I apologize if I forgot, but what did you do to ensure that the block and deck were within spec for flatness?

Head torque procedure is the same across the board. If you don't believe it, buy a Bentley that covers your engine.

Chris

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

Guy Plain was right. It was air that caused the boilover. Funny that I filled it the same way both times and only got air this time. I had to put in 3 quarts of water, idled it to operating temp then checked with the block test kit again and it was negative also no more boilovers.

I drained the entire system while the engine was hot by pulling the hose at the thernostat housing (using a rope). I'll do that a few more times then fill with G12...

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

Fill the expansion tank to the brim, to the point that it's about to overflow. With the engine running, a steady stream of small bubbles that increases with engine speed is a fine indicator of a combustion leak.

You've posted several threads regarding the same general subject so I apologize if I forgot, but what did you do to ensure that the block and deck were within spec for flatness?

Head torque procedure is the same across the board. If you don't believe it, buy a Bentley that covers your engine.

Chris

I used a straight edge and feeler gauge and the head and block has less than 0.001" warpage. The shop the pressure tested the head also tested it for warpage and came up with the same number.

THe Bentley I have for VW GTI,Golf, Jetta 85-92 section 3 , p 23 says:
"For engine codes ME and MF only, after approx 1000 miles, retorque bolts in sequence an additional 1/4 turn, w/o loosening and w/o interruption."

Notice the word "only", that means my engine code 1V is not included. Is that an errata?

[R.O.R-2.0]

Fill the expansion tank to the brim, to the point that it's about to overflow. With the engine running, a steady stream of small bubbles that increases with engine speed is a fine indicator of a combustion leak.

You've posted several threads regarding the same general subject so I apologize if I forgot, but what did you do to ensure that the block and deck were within spec for flatness?

Head torque procedure is the same across the board. If you don't believe it, buy a Bentley that covers your engine.

Chris

I used a straight edge and feeler gauge and the head and block has less than 0.001" warpage. The shop the pressure tested the head also tested it for warpage and came up with the same number.

THe Bentley I have for VW GTI,Golf, Jetta 85-92 section 3 , p 23 says:
"For engine codes ME and MF onlyfor DIESEL ENGINES only, after approx 1000 miles, retorque bolts in sequence an additional 1/4 turn, w/o loosening and w/o interruption."

Notice the word "only", that means my engine code 1V is not included. Is that an errata?

it should say that.. it doesnt say anything about your 1V because it probably wasnt even produced when the book came out..

your 1V isnt special. besides being an eco diesel. the block is still a regular VW diesel..

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

....... it doesnt say anything about your 1V because it probably wasnt even produced when the book came out..

your 1V isnt special. besides being an eco diesel. the block is still a regular VW diesel..

In my 85-92 Bentley, in table b. Injection timing, the specs for ME, MF, and 1V  (Eco diesel) are provided, so the 1V is indeed covered.

[R.O.R-2.0]

....... it doesnt say anything about your 1V because it probably wasnt even produced when the book came out..

your 1V isnt special. besides being an eco diesel. the block is still a regular VW diesel..

In my 85-92 Bentley, in table b. Injection timing, the specs for ME, MF, and 1V  (Eco diesel) are provided, so the 1V is indeed covered.

ok, well thats why i said "probably" instead of making it a direct statement..

sometimes people are using an old book (book manufactured in 1990) to work on cars newer than the book..

one of my favorite volkswagen manuals only covers rigs to '90, and thats because it was printed in 90..

thats more what i was getting at.. manual may have been printed before the car was made, and before that particular engine came out.. but nope, wrong.

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

I've driven 200 miles since the 1,000 mile head gasket final torque and all seems well- no coolant loss. I'll do another (final) block chek combustion gas test just for the hell of it and call it good.

Thinking of why it boiled over while idling with 100% water, the fan switch kicks on at 214F per Bentley. The fan did kick on, and it boiled over not long after. So it must have been with the cap open and system depressurized, boiling point dropped to 212F, steam was generated causing it to boilover. Does that seem like a plausible explanation?

[Luckypabst]

I've had radiators appear to boil over when the thermostat opens with the pressure cap off. Basically it burps and blows a bunch of coolant out when the thermostat opens for the first time on a fresh fill. This might be what you experienced.
 

On another matter:

If  this is the case, why were the makers of my studs  so specific about not retorquing?

I'm bored so did a little picking about. Everything I can find regarding Raceware studs mentions the need to re-torque after a heat cycle. Theoretically, there's nothing significantly different between those and ARP studs so the process should be more or less the same.

Chris