Halesowen engines had my 1.6 in for rebuild at 1100 quid,thats why i scrapped it and went 1.9,my 1.6 head was a 1986 C reg golf and when i say the head was cracked,it was frightening how wide and deep the cracks were,the surfaces of the head were no longer flush with each other and it ran perfect,just too much blowby so i took the head off to look :cry: bores were well worn,over top measured limit,I asked about a new head and they said no,its fine,the cracks are normal on every vw diesel they do,they said a new head will crack in 6-12 months so leave alone.
Bert
the cracks are very normal
best to just let the cracks be
If you are reallly worried about this, have the head pressure tested at a shop before you reinstall.. Likely, if it wasnt loosing coolant, and you weren't seeing air in the coolant bottle, you're sitting pretty.