Club 80-90 Forums

i understand there are 3 different head gaskets for a 1700 diesel ky,ive looked on wiki but dont understand how you work out which one is suitable for my engine....

Bring a piston to the top of its stroke and mesure how much it comes above the block surface[ piston protusion ]
select a gasket to suit[sp]

It is described in the Bentley manual.

thanks dave think my engine past savin tho

The gaskets have an area (outside of the sealing area) which has either notches or holes punched out of it.
As this is the identification that VW used, replacement gaskets follow the same code.
The head bolts on the 1700 take a severe amount of wanging down
Best of luck

Hi Guys
Apologies for jumping in on the thread but thought I'd post it here seeing as the discussion was already on the go.
I have just got home after 'blowing' my head gasket on my 1700 diesel. Light came on and temp went to the top, found somewhere to pull off and right when I was coming to a stop the motor died. Plenty of smoke and looked underneath to find a very split hose to the radiator
I'm pretty sure from the lack of water on the ground that I have lost the water then 'cooked' the engine
Let it cool for a few hours while sorting a tow home as I was less than a mile away. When I went to tow it I thought I'd see if it would turn over but there was no compression and my friend said he could hear it trying to pressurize through the split in the pipe. It was turning easily with no noises etc, good sign?
Gutted as its the first proper mechanical in all the years I've owned it and also while a minor issue now but I had not long replaced the coolant with the expensive VW type ( not sure whether to or ). Its my daily driver so I need to sort it but am not sure whether to strip it down and fit a set of gaskets and check and replace whats needed or stump up for a Vege replacement head. Its a bit above my budget but it might be easier, quicker and maybe in the long run more economical. It only has 140, 000 miles and while its my daily driver I live and work in the far north of Scotland near John O'Groats so it has a very rural, easy life.
I noticed in the Bentley manual it says that diesel heads cant be resurfaced and that tolerances are 0.1mm for warping, I suppose first stop is to pull it out and take it somewhere to check for warping.
I wanted to ask you guys what you thought a good plan of action might be and any things to look for etc. I generally do all my own work on the van but for sure this I'll need help with.
Just out of interest of course and the fact its late and I'm tired as well as gutted, why cant the head be skimmed/resurfaced?
Any advice or help appreciated.

Jamie

VW say the heads carnt be skimmed but engine reconditioners do this.I have had a head skim on VW T25 diesel cylinder heads and have no problems.Only thing is the head gasket supplied proberly will be a three hole or notch reconditoner will say this is for safety .The correct method is to measure the amount the piston protudes at TDC then a suitable gasket selected as there are 1 2 & 3 hole or notch gaskets available.When i had a head skim done on my 1Y engine i fitted a 3 hole gasket as supplied by the reconditioner.I noticed a lack of performance this was due to the compression squash effect due to the gasket.A light skim should still allow you to use the same gasket hole or notch but new when the head is taken off. VW say you carnt do a head skim in contrary to a engine reconditioner may be this is the relationship to how much can be taken off by a head skim and a correct gasket without piston interference.

A head skim will bring the valves closer to the piston...however like a lot of people i had my [ new ] head skimed after a over heat [oil in water].

I asked that question regarding a head skim will bring the valves closer to the piston.Some one said there is no combustion chamber only a flat surface and dosnt effect any think.Are we talking about where the valves are recessed into the head and a skim brings the valve seating closer to the flat surface.