Doin a head gasket on my '79 1.5L (PICS)

[Intolerance]

I'm in the middle of doing a head gasket on my '79 1.5L N/A diesel.

Some interesting things I've found.....

rust....lots of it....apparently, someones been running this car quiet some time with water for coolant.....even some of the holes on the head gasket are rusted shut.  :screwy:

The head gasket is a 5 notch....but i have no way to measure TDC to verify its the correct head gasket....anyone have any suggestions? I dont want to spend $100 for this tool to make one measurement.

Heres some pics...

Gallery here: http://www.operationrabbit.com/index.php?option=com_heximage&task=selector&albumselected=Diesel%20Head%20Gasket

Rusted head gasket coolant holes...


Heres a picture of TDC with a straight edge showing the gap...



What is the caked on crud in the tops of the cylinders?


Any comments or suggestions are welcome, this is my first head gasket job....

[Katmandu]

Very interesting.  :?

 I have a 1.5 here that has a (1) Notch head gasket in it.  :shock:

[Intolerance]

Very interesting.  :?

 I have a 1.5 here that has a (1) Notch head gasket in it.  :shock:

heres some info from vwdieselparts.com....

http://www.vwdieselparts.com/tools.htm

"Top Dead Center should be checked when doing a head gasket. If you are not the original owner of the car, the head gasket may not be the correct one. Shops are notorious for using the 3 notch gasket, rather that taking the time to “do it right”. Correct thickness (1, 2, or 3 notch for the 1.6, or 2, 3, 4, or 5, notch for the 1.5) notch will give optimum compression, and the best starting winter, and summer. "

looks like you might have the wrong gasket in there  :shock:

[fspGTD]

Nice pics and cool topic... but not performance enhancement related, so doesn't belong in IDI diesel section.  Moving to general.

[fspGTD]

Adding to what andrew said about the coolant passageways:

Heres a picture of TDC with a straight edge showing the gap...

I'd recommend buying a feeler gauge set.  They are cheap, super accurate for measuring gaps, and very useful for wide variety of things you may be interested in doing inside your engine.  You can also use them to check valve clearances for solid lifter motors.

Slip feeler gauges underneath that straight edge you've got laid over your piston tops to see what the thickest one is that will "go" and that is your piston projection.  Scrape everything clean with a razor blade first if you want accurate results, and also I recommend "rocking" the piston one side, measuring, and then to the opposite side, re-measuring, and taking an average for the true piston projection reading.

What is the caked on crud in the tops of the cylinders?

You mean the caked on carbon around the the tops of the cylinder bores?  That is pretty normal.  It's because the top piston ring only travels up the bore so far, and any area above it can't be "wiped clean" like the area below.

For many tips and info, search the archives here by keywords.  Feel free to ask about any specifics that aren't previously covered.  Good luck!