16v head gasket Q

[mk1mark at gmail.com (Mark F.)]

On 8/28/06, Daun Yeagley <vwdaun@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Long story short, it looks like my head gasket on my 16v is
> leaking oil down the back of the block at the passenger
> side corner.
> ...
> Opinions?  I'm part-way into disassembly.  If I do pull the
> head, how can I check to make sure it's in good shape?  I'd
> hate to put a new gasket on only to find the same problem
> cropping up again.


Check to see if the head is warped.  You probably don't have a
straight edge that's straight enough (is it too much to ask for a gay
guy to own a "straight" tool? :D), so an automotive machine shop can
check it for you (and I doubt they'd charge you).  If you have an
accurate straight edge, lay it across the head (in different ways) and
try inserting feeler gauges to determine if your head is out or not.
If some hacker PO/mechanic used a power tool to clean/prep the head at
one time he may have rounded/damaged the surface of the head, so be
sure to check the head right to the edges.  (tip: a scotchbrite pad is
the most aggressive thing you should ever clean the surface with -
it's VERY easy to remove material with an abrasive, especially the
narrow surfaces between the cylinders and near the edges).

Not sure what the 16v factory spec is, but at the shop I used to work
at IIRC as a rule of thumb anything more than .003" - .004" out and we
recommended resurfacing the head.  If you need to get it resurfaced
make sure the shop has a modern "cutter" style resurfacer (vs. a stone
tool).  Checking for "squareness" (which this list has in
over-abundance :D) is also a good idea - and a good thing to do after
you get it back from the shop.  If the head's been done before it may
have been poorly resurfaced, so you want to make sure the shop
compensated for any out-of-squareness from previous work...

HTH,

Mark.
75
82
82 Caddy
93 Chevy/Kia 1/2 ton