Convert or Rebuild?

[Anonymous]

I drive an 88 automatic wolfsburg vanagon and i'm pretty sure it's starting to blow up.  It's got about 130k and just in the last couple weeks the cooling system has been building a ton of pressure when i get her going.  I've also been noticing a coolant puddle below my van.  This leads me to believe that my head gaskets are leaking.  The previous owner claimed that he had the heads rebuilt in 2000 by boston engine, so the heads should be ok, so it may be something else. But in an attempt to look at all of my options, I'm trying to decide what the best way to proceed would be if the engine were done for: whether I should rebuild or convert.  Also, it should be noted that I'm a broke college student and estimated prices for the jobs would be helpful.  <br>Thanks,<br>Dusty

[Anonymous]

your best and cheapest way is doing the heed gasket it self.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know any estimates on how much a head gasket job would cost including labor?  Also, if the heads were corroded, how much more would it be if I needed new heads.  Just trying to figure out if I can afford to take it in to my local vw mechanic.<br>Thanks

[Red Baron]

Dusty, if the heads are going south on you, no matter what you do, your looking at some major dollars.  <br><br>Explain the symptoms in a little bit more detail please. <br><br>Are you overheating?<br><br>Your loosing coolant externally.  Did you have it checked to be sure its not something like a loose or split hose, cracked pipe or something easier to fix?  There are A LOT of cooling hoses and stuff in there.  If the head were done in 2000 and it has 130K on the engine I would think that it might be another problem.  Example.  I bought an 84 vanagon with a leaky head. Turned out the head gasket split.  New gasket set and I was back on the road. <br><br> While the head gasket problem will come back, it usually takes a long time to resurface.    Boston engine rebuilds heads and engines, but they do not install or do any service work.  So you should find out who did the actual repair and find out what they did for sure. <br><br>You should figure on at least 1000 to replace both heads.  That is  having the work done by a pro.  If you do it yourself, then your looking at about half that.  I've seen heads for 180-200 dollars each and head gasket sets for like 75-100 dollars each.  When I get into a groove I can do both sides in about 4 hours.  That's working at the dealership on a lift and not having to lay on may back to work.  Working at home on my back, I figure about 6 hours. Something about working on my back slows me down.  <br><br>The one thing I like about replacing heads on a vanagon, you don't have to worry about snaping off the bolts on the exhaust manifolds.  You're putting on new heads, snap away!   Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I guess the major symptom that has me worrying is the amount of pressure that is building up in the cooling system just from running the engine for a few minutes.  It seems to me that it has caused a chain reaction.  The pressure builds up, it forces some coolant out at a joint, and the coolant on the engine causes it to steam a lot and overheat.  After running it for a few minutes, unscrewing the overflow lid releases a ton of pressure.  I've read that this is a good sign that the head gaskets are leaking on the top, but I don't pretend to be a mechanic myself.

[Anonymous]

ok here is way to find out if it is the heads pull a spark plug at a time and crank the motor ,anti freeze coming out of the plug holes no ,go to the next one and soforth.if not ask when the thermostat was replaced .