Author Topic: head decision (Read 4605 times)

jstaton · « **on:** October 02, 2006, 07:25:58 am »

Okay, I have been all over the place in the form asking lots of questions. I appreciated the advice and help I have received. (I had the timing off on the new timing belt I put in my 1991 Jetta NA idi 1.6l. The car originally had a very slight oil into the coolant leak, I was going to just do the timing belt retighten the head and drive it. The engine was barley running when it went wrong and the valves hit a piston and it stopped running.) I pulled the head off this weekend and every thing "looks" okay. The pistons don't even have a scratch. The valves from the underside of the head look great. Two hydraulic lifters were sacrificed to stop the engine, but the rest look good. As soon as it happened I pulled the valve cover and relieved the stress on the cam shaft. It all comes down to this:

A) Do I take the chance buy a couple of new lifters, don't get the head checked for straightness and risk the very slight head gasket leak.

B) Buy a remanufactured head for $395

C) Take the head to a machine shop, have them order the lifter parts and check the head. You figure it is at least $100 to check it plus parts.

D) Find a turbo head and all of the parts and swap it onto the 1.6. If I do that what parts would I need, and is it worth it.

mtnsammy · « **Reply #1 on:** October 02, 2006, 11:38:59 am »

If timing skipped and the pistons hit any valve you at least bent a valve and at worse cracked the head. I still think a dip on the piston is ok but the heads do crack very easy. The first sign is bubbles in the over flow tank or just motor is too hot always. Good luck.

Check the valves to see if shaft is bent. If the bend is there most likely you also have a small crack. Pressure check the head if it is off the motor. It should show up.

jstaton · « **Reply #2 on:** October 04, 2006, 06:36:12 am »

After close inspection, it looks like the cam followers (lifters) were the weak link that broke when the pistons hit the valves. This resulted in damage on the top edge of three of the lifter bores. Given the fact that it may have a slight warp (it had a slightly leaky head gasket) and the need to machine or throw the head out. I have decided to buy a rebuilt head for $425, kind of steep, but it is a hydraulic head, not a it's mechanical (they are cheaper) $425 was the best deal I could find plus that takes the risk out of finding someone compitent enough to fix the unkown damage to the camshaft, vavles, the head.

bryanbryan89x · « **Reply #3 on:** October 04, 2006, 07:21:29 am »

That seems like a good deal for a rebuilt hydraulic head. Where did you pick that up at??

jstaton · « **Reply #4 on:** October 04, 2006, 08:41:03 am »

Originally I was going to use www.vwdieselparts.com. They advertised a rebuilt head for $395, but that turned out t0 be a mechanical lifter head. The hyraulics were $495, and they were out of them. Jack at diesel parts was really helpful and offered to rebuild my head with a fast turnaround. But my head is damaged in the lifter bores and may cost more than he quoted or not be rebuildable.
The guys at www.partsplaceinc.com were very helpful and they had them in stock for $425. It comes with everything but the glow plugs, injectors, timing tensiner stud, and the cam assembly. They heat up the heads, straighten them, heat treat them, surface grind if needed, and replace parts only if needed. They said I would have it in 3 days, hopefully in time for the weekend.