Club 80-90 Forums

Hi guys
I'm a little stuck on where to take my van to have the water jacket seal replaced I live in saltash Cornwall so anyone knows someone near info would be much appreciated.
And also would the head gasket need replacing also?

Thanks in advance

Steve

Sorry I have a 1900 petrol waterboxer.

No head gasket on a wbx, but a compression seal and two o rings on each barell as well as the jacket seals
head(s) need to come off to do the water jacket seals
if the heads have not been off for a long time or coolant has been neglected head studs can break and then there is alot of cost and pain
how old is the engine/van?

consider leaving it if the leak is not too bad.

jacket seal can be seen here with the head off, to do the job properly barells and pistons need to come off too to replace the lower liner seal/ oring



neglected coolant, broken stud

Sorry to hear of your woes Steve. "We" on this forum are always on the look out for places that can do this tricky pitfall ridden job reliably. Currently we don't know of hardly anyone in the country (and "we" have looked hard).

There are only a couple of options. One is DIY it as some folk do, but you need the following, in order :-
Luck
Workshop
Knowledge / Experience
Tools
Patience
Time
Luck (again)

Plus, if after all that you find summat has gone wrong, you need Vallium then.

Many folk get a repaired engine off Elite VW (Google it) (Actually Elite will, I think, do the seal job at a price).

Then there is a guy on here who is well respected and is opening a VW workshop, but it is miles away from you, plus though I know he can do this job, I don't know whether he is taking on this type of work just yet. Check this thread out = https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... oming+soon" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

To do the job is never going to be cheap. I would say you are looking at about £300 to £350 per side (and you likely should do both whilst the engine is out). So, if your engine was an absolute belter before this happened it might be worth doing. If it was less than perfect another motor is the way to go.

If it just dripping slightly, a tin (or 2) of K-Seal has been known to hold it off. I once used it for this and it worked for over 2 years. Don't use Rad-Weld.

Finally, are you getting any unusual overheating or other coolant issues, other than just a leaking head to case seal ? (there is a good reason for asking).

Hi ghost123uk

No there was no overheating I came back from the shop went to go ou again and noticed a puddle under the van so checked it out and it is just leaking from the seal.

The engine runs a dream and starts on the button so don't really want to replace that.

Hi itchy feet

Engine was allegedly recond approx 7 years ago. But I don't believe
That and dolly was born in 1985.

As said try the k seal dont be in a hurry to go for open heart surgery

do make sure you are using a good fresh 50% coolant mix

Wynnes radiator stop leak kept my leaky water jacket under control until i had saved enough pennies for an Elite recon engine...which i had delivered to Phil Miller in Launceston (right on the A30 junction)...he did a very good job at a reasonable rate and looked like he enjoyed doing it too!

Well tried the wynnes stop leak today ended in tears so got hold of a garage
Called Volks city in Plymouth and waiting on a price for water jacket seal replacement.

OK, but it will leak again if they do not fill the pit holes that caused it to leak in the first place.
fill the pits with chemical metal or similar and use the the proper VW sealant

what year is the van?

randiandipandi wrote:Wynnes radiator stop leak kept my leaky water jacket under control until i had saved enough pennies for an Elite recon engine...which i had delivered to Phil Miller in Launceston (right on the A30 junction)...he did a very good job at a reasonable rate and looked like he enjoyed doing it too!

i've heard good things about him too

Hi kev the van is 1985

Hi all has anyone got contact details for Phil miller in launceston

Thanks in advance

Steve

A quick google says hes on farcebook

never know if 2nd hand is a duffer but this us a good price
http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/19-dg ... 85371.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for the info however no one seems brave enough to take the task on they all keep quoting me over £2000 for a replacement engine and fitting. Haha
So DIY job I reckon gonna start on Monday and hopefully be finished for next weekend as I'm meant to be taking her to silverstone for the Grand Prix but hey if it doesn't work we get a recon engine delivered for about £1000 and hopefully make it. Fingers crossed