help me reach 100! - update! GTI HEAD BOUGHT!

[Diamond Hell]

The object of skimming is to ensure you have a perfectly flat and square surface to mate to the block.  If you don't have this then your chances of a head gasket sealing right are substantially diminished.

Going crazy with some wet 'n' dry and a block might result in an even less flat face, one with high points.

You also need to ensure that the mating face is as clean as possible after any work you do - wash it and the block with white spirit after you've cleaned them up.

All the way down the line what Danny and I are suggesting is based on experience and (dare I say it), what we see as 'best practice'.

What we're suggesting is aimed at reducing the risk of your project failing. 

Maybe we're both time-poorer than you and prepared to spend where necessary, but how annoyed will you be if you dump the head on and then have to take it off, cos it doesn't work as you expected?

The risks so far are:

headgasket not properly sealed as head not flat and square
stem seals that don't seal

Both risks will mean your car is off the road for rather than you expect.  You're going to be a lot more inconvenienced if you do the work and then have to do it again (and have the car off the road for a week or two while you sort the work and parts).

Pays yer money and takes yer chances.  Paying a bit more reduces yer chances of failure in this situation.

[Khare]

i know what you mean mate.
I'l get the head skimmed, but the valve stem seals are £90 including the skim, and i just dont have that £90.
First im gonna port the head, then i'l get it skimmed and cleaned.
Quick questing, it comes with both inlet and exhasut manifolds, i'l port the exhaust outlet according to the exhasut (im gonna stick a gti exhasut in there anyway). but does the size around the head of a gti inlet manifold and 1.6 carbed manifold differ?
If you know what i mean? cos i cant port the inlet manifold after getting the head cleanied if not it will be full of crap, so basically, can i port it for a carb manifold using a gti manifold? same size fit?

[danny_p]

wet and dry should only be use to bring the surface up it cannot be compared to skimming. if you have a head known to be flat running over it evenly with wet and dry to bring up the surface won't cause problems but all of the head has to have the same attention. you cannot try and sand it flat if it isn't

for the glass method a pice of THICK FLAT glass is needed turn head upside down  apply thin oil and plonk glass ontop the oil bridges between the head and the glass if it dosent the head isn't flat.

i would seriusly reccomend that you do skim the head,  that way it's known to be true,  and untill you done a few you want as meany things known as possible. would also reccomend doing the valve guide seals as they are a common problem even heads that have apparently been reconditioned  have been found to have had knackerd stem seals.

 

[danny_p]

when port matching you go to the gasket.   stick gasket on  and open out to it and just bend it in from that on the head and manifold.

stem seals ain't hard to do yourself the only tricky bit is getting the collets back in the valve spring retainer after 2 or 3  you'll have the knackand it'll just be tediuos by number 8  but think yourself lucky 16  is a right bore   

[Khare]

yeah i'l get the head skimmed then. Im having talks with a mate whos a mechanic and he said he would do the stem seals for me but at a price
He also said in the headgasket set frm gsf it also includes the valve stem seals. is it true?

[danny_p]

right stem seals arnt that scary will need to borrow valve spring compressor tho  to put them back in but takeign to bits is easy



then loose the tappets



BUMP BUMP BUMP   that gets the collets out the way a bit quick



pull the valve out the bottom and lift the upper retainer springs and lower retainer out



then you'll see someting a bit like this,   in the middel thats the guide the seal sits on top, it;ll have gone hard and will need some getting off but not that hard really.  new ones go on easyer.  socket is most usefull tool oilthem before fitting to preven damage.

if feelign really keen useing one of the 10 spectial valve guid extractors they come out easy as well sadly refitting them is a machene shop job unless you have a press and the correct reamer

[danny_p]

yes stem seals in gasket set.   glad to hear you've decided to do it properly

[Khare]

yes stem seals in gasket set.   glad to hear you've decided to do it properly

yeah he conviced me to do the stem seals. Better, wiser choice to be honest.
 

[DarnPB]

Do you know anyone with a valve spring compressor? You say that your mate in the trade would do it for you but at a price. Just ask him if you can borrow his spiring compressor over a weekend.
As for skimming the head, that is the best idea. If you opt for just a clean up, don't use wet and dry! It comes in various grades and if you are too keen on cleaning the head, you will remove material as well as the crap. Use scotch brite to clean things up with a little fuel, (wear gloves) or a spirit of some kind. If skimming, ask them to take the minimum off, purely to plane the surface smooth. You then should not have an issue as to which head gasket to use. A standard one will suffice.
Porting...do not use stone grinders. The grit can get lodged in the cylinder head material without you seeing it and cause problems later. Use carbide hi-speed grinders, but be aware, you will take off alot of material very quickly. You do not need to spend megga amounts of money on tooling, compressors etc. A cheaper version of the dremmel can be bought for a fraction of the price, and as you probably will not be using it that much, it will suffice.
You talked about stages earlier in this thread. This does not refer to the tune of your engine, but the torque of the head bolts. I cannot remember the torque figures, but the first stage of torque will be X, the second stage of torque will be Y and the third stage of torque is, I think a further turn of 90 degrees in one movement.

BTW, if you do the valve stem seals yourself, when using the valve spring compressor, wear goggles in case the valve collets decide to take flying lessons into your eyes.

[Khare]

Do you know anyone with a valve spring compressor? You say that your mate in the trade would do it for you but at a price. Just ask him if you can borrow his spiring compressor over a weekend.
As for skimming the head, that is the best idea. If you opt for just a clean up, don't use wet and dry! It comes in various grades and if you are too keen on cleaning the head, you will remove material as well as the crap. Use scotch brite to clean things up with a little fuel, (wear gloves) or a spirit of some kind. If skimming, ask them to take the minimum off, purely to plane the surface smooth. You then should not have an issue as to which head gasket to use. A standard one will suffice.
Porting...do not use stone grinders. The grit can get lodged in the cylinder head material without you seeing it and cause problems later. Use carbide hi-speed grinders, but be aware, you will take off alot of material very quickly. You do not need to spend megga amounts of money on tooling, compressors etc. A cheaper version of the dremmel can be bought for a fraction of the price, and as you probably will not be using it that much, it will suffice.
You talked about stages earlier in this thread. This does not refer to the tune of your engine, but the torque of the head bolts. I cannot remember the torque figures, but the first stage of torque will be X, the second stage of torque will be Y and the third stage of torque is, I think a further turn of 90 degrees in one movement.

BTW, if you do the valve stem seals yourself, when using the valve spring compressor, wear goggles in case the valve collets decide to take flying lessons into your eyes.

thanks dude!
My friend who works in the trade doest ave a valve spring compressor himself, he has to borrow it off other work mates. But he has torque wrench, good socket set, lots of other tools, and most importantly experience.
As for the porting, i'l going to buy this tool set. What do you think? should do the job??