50k miles ago I replaced the head gasket and head bolts in my eco diesel because oil was leaking out of the front side of the head somewhere around #3 / #4 cyl.
to my dismay - its started leaking again.....
I used what I thought was a good gasket (Reinz) and the stuff was purchased thru a reputable source
I torqued properly and cause its eco that has a lame turbo on it , I retorqued 1000 miles later.
When the head was off I cleaned the head and deck surface - inspected for nicks/scratches - nothing to cause concern
whats the deal with these things leaking on the front side?
Both my sons mk2 gas, and mk3 gas suffered the same issues (they wrecked the cars only a few thousand miles after doing their gaskets so I have no other frame of reference on this issue)
Is head warpage in this area of the head common?
I hesitate to stick a new head on an engine with 225k miles on it.
Is it just my bad luck (or bad technique - tho I've done head gaskets on other engines over the past 40+ years without these issues.
Ideas/suggestions appreciated
thanks...
Well, Reinz should be as good as you can get, so I don't see a problem there. Yeah, that does sound like a warped head not sealing properly. What's the history of the motor? Has it ever lost coolant or been overheated? Did you straightedge it to check for warping when you had it off?
i got the car with 165 on it did gasket at 175 - no prior history no overheats since I've had it.
Didnt think to straightedge it - no compression problems just the dammned oil leak.
I noticed in both this car as well as the 2 gas jettas that I did head gaskets on that the head bolts around the leak area were easier to loosen than the rest of them
I'm going to see if a retorque slows/stops it - worth a try - dont have high hopes...
ok - looking for comments on milling the head (in the event it proves to be warped - only for the oil leak issue - there is no other evidence of head gasket leakage)
Also pointers for a source for a new head.
PartsPlaceInc carries them - anyone ever get one from them ?
Good/bad? pro/con?
I usually deal with German auto - close to me so shipping is a lot cheaper but they dont show any heads on their site.
Other sources for a head?
also any sources for head studs (noise pro/con stud vs stock bolts)
thanks!