Cylinder Head Distortion Tolerance

[kerrinmay 0]

Does anyone know what the distortion tolerance is on a 2.0 16v cylinder head?

 

I looked in the Bentley manual (which doesn't cover the 16v engines) and it is stated as 0.004inch. Would this be same for the 16v?

 

The reason I ask is that VW replaced my head gasket and put it all back together and stated that the head had a distortion of 0.005inch, and the gasket has already gone! Only collected the car yesterday. :cry:

[stevemac 0]

Your gasket has gone after only 1 day ??.. :shock:

[kerrinmay 0]

Unfortunately yes. As you can imagine I am very very very unhappy about it.

 

VW refused to have the head skimmed but said they thought it would be ok but would not put any guarantee on the work as they weren't fitting a new head!

 

When I collected the car yesterday morning, the service chap drove it round for me to drive off and when I got in the car I noticed the coolant light was flashing (they obviously are not very observant at this main dealer), so I told the chap and said I hope that doesn't mean the head gasket has gone again already, and he said that it would just be the coolant levelling itself out etc. So he took car round the back to top it back up. The car seemed fine, but when I tried it this morning, the coolant light was flashing again and I checked the coolant and it was oily.

 

The car will definately not be going back there, although I will be to make a complaint tomorrow morning. Basically they put it back together and let me drive it away and in my opinion, the gasket had already gone as the coolant level was down.

[stevemac 0]

And people wonder why we call them "Stealers". They WILL have known that the head was very likely to be damaged. Unless they have specifically stated on your invoice that there was to be no warranty - they ARE legally bound to carry out work to a "reasonable" standard. This definitely does not constitute a "reasonable" standard & as such, you should consult legal advice.

 

Legally speaking - you must first give them chance to rectify the situation to a satisfactory conclusion.

[kerrinmay 0]

Unfortunately they did state on my invoice 'Cylinder head was distorted by 0.005" and doesn't have a skim tolerance so we are unable to guarantee the work.'.

 

However I still don't think that gives them the right to a) put it back together if they didn't think it would work, and b) let me drive it away when it was highly likely the head gasket had gone again (which it had).

 

That's why I'd quite like to find out what the distortion tolerance is, so that I know if the amount mine is distorted by is outside of that tolerance - because they should have known what the tolerance is.

 

Also, although they did mention about how it might need a new head, they did not press me into purchasing one as they led me to believe that mine would be ok.

 

I know unfortunately that they have got me with the clause about not guaranteeing the work.

[stevemac 0]

Still seek legal advice - first 1/2 hour is usually free & will give you some options.. :wink:

[h100vw 0]

I'd be interested to know how they measured that 5 thou. It's now't, you could pretty much clean that off with some wet and dry. My mate overheated my Corolla twin cam. The head was bent 40 thou when I took it off but it was still sealed and ran perfectly when I topped up the rad, which had a hole in it.

 

It is possible that there were airlocks in the system that have worked their way out and caused the level to drop. Also, a headgasket replacement is a pretty serious job on any car, like heart surgery. The chances are that oil got into the water ways during the removal of the head. Any oil is going to work its way into the header tank and stay there.

 

I don't think they should take the work on, if they are not prepared to warrant it.

 

Have 'em.

 

Gavin

[kerrinmay 0]

So do you think there is a chance the head gasket hasn't gone again then? I checked the dipstick and oil filler cap and they both look fine. Should I try topping the coolant back up and trying it again? Can I do any damage doing that? It was driving perfectly fine yesterday.

[h100vw 0]

So do you think there is a chance the head gasket hasn't gone again then? I checked the dipstick and oil filler cap and they both look fine. Should I try topping the coolant back up and trying it again? Can I do any damage doing that? It was driving perfectly fine yesterday.

 

Makesure you don't actually run it dry. Keep an eye on the levels. Any doubts call teh dealers and warn them what is happening. They are more likely to respond favourably towards you, if you keep them in the picture, rather than seeing them in court without any contact.

 

Like Steve said they do have a responsibility to provide a decent service to all customers, not just the loaded ones.

 

A headgasket can 'go' in several ways. Oil in the water, water in the oil, pressurised cooiling system, pressurised oil system, oil leak out to air etc.

 

So don't be completely despondant just yet. On the other hand don't set off for John O Groats til it has proved itself.

 

Gavin

[Henny 0]

if you want to know the tollerances/specs for your engine, buy a 88-92 Haynes manual which covers your engine... 8)

[kerrinmay 0]

I didn't think Haynes did a manual to cover the 2.0 16v engine. Obviously they don't do a Corrado manual and the only other one I could think of was the Passat as that also shared the same engine, but according to the Haynes website, the manual excludes details on that specific engine. Can someone please advise which Haynes manual I should be looking for to cover the '9A' engine?

[Joe M 0]

The passat manual that covers the 9A was discontinued and replaced with one that also includes newer passats.

What were the reasons for getting the headgasket changed in the first place? Was it just oil in the water?

[kerrinmay 0]

The original symptoms were coolant loss and then the garage did a test where they stick something on top of the coolant bottle and draw vapours through it and this thing (or liquid in it) apparently changes colour - which they say it did. When they took it all apart they also found some of the cylinder head bolts to be loose.

[kerrinmay 0]

As there only seems to be a small amount of oil sitting on the top of the coolant in the reservoir, tomorrow morning I'm going to try and remove this, either soak it up or get a pipette or syringe, then top coolant back up and run car and see if anymore oil appears or if coolant level drops any further. During this time, I will obviously be keeping a close eye on the coolant and oil temps.

[Joe M 0]

It does sound feasible that it could be a mix of airlocks and some residual oil still in the sytem. I know when the head had been off my 16v the level needed topped up a few times.

[kerrinmay 0]

They did fit a new radiator as well, so maybe that could contribute to airlocks etc. I can but hope!

[kerrinmay 0]

Took car along to VW again this morning and they spent about 1 hour looking at it and they believe the problem is now a faulty coolant expansion tank which they fitted about 6 weeks ago. They have to get one from their other site at Hedge End and then check that solves the problem.

 

For the first time, they actually offered me a courtesy vehicle - I say vehicle as they didn't have any available cars so I have a Transporter to drive around instead! As you can imagine, it's somewhat different to drive compared to the C!

 

They will call me tomorrow morning and let me know how it's all going.

[Henny 0]

sounds promising anyway kerrinmay... Hope this sorts it... 8)

[corradophil 3]

I would have thought the tolerence would be the same as a 1.8 16v KR in a Mk2 Golf 16v. The manual covers them I believe. However I have a copy of the Passat manual which covers the 9A! I will do some research and let you know what I find.

I would have thought you could get away with it being distorted by 5 thou though.

Hopefully they will sort it for you without any hassle.

[Supercharged 2]

Hmmm... still not sure how a faulty expansion tank could let oil in?? - Has the heat exchanger been changed also? - I would insist they fully drain/flush and refill the system again when they fit the new tank :wink:

[kerrinmay 0]

Think I missed out some of the details...

 

When I checked the car again this morning, I found the oil in the coolant to be just very small traces on the surface of the coolant which was easily removed with some kitchen towel. I then checked it was up to the level it should be but when starting the car and leaving it running, the coolant warning light came on and remained flashing.

 

I spoke to the garage and they asked me to bring it in, so I drove very carefully keeping a watchful eye on both the coolant and oil temperatures and it ran fine.

[Roger Blassberg 0]

Maybe the float sensor in the header tank has become contaminated with the traces of oil you have had, and is malfunctioning as a result. I do hope that it all turns out well.

 

Best wishes

 

RB

[kerrinmay 0]

Just got car back from garage and apparently this time the problem was a faulty level sensor in the coolant bottle.

[stevemac 0]

What a relief............ :D