16v head gasket Q

[roccit_53 at scirocco.cs.uoguelph.ca (C Boyko)]

How bad is the leak? Mine weeps a bit at that same corner, always did. And
I'm not ready to tear it down over it. Mine may not be at that same
junction though, I think it's from higher up. And excellent reading, Mark!
You can do machining on my car any time you like. Wait! You already did!
And one more thing Mark? I got a super compliment from a non-lister, "That
MkI Mark, what a nice guy!". I said, yep he sure is! (That was from the guy
who bought your roll cage). Thought I'd pass it on. Oh, and GL Daun, hope
you get that white beast screaming again soon!
Cathy

On 1:31 am 08/29/06 "Mark F." <mk1mark@gmail.com> wrote:
> 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
>
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