Been looking at a head gasket today as I've bought some ARL head bolts so might as well do gasket as well. Can anyone direct me to the correct one on ECP or carpartsforless as there's a few different ones and not sure which one to go for. Car is a vrs, cheers

You will need to check how many holes your existing gasket has.

http://www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk/products/1-9-8v-tdi-pd-mls-head-gasket.html

Have a look at the 3rd picture as it shows all options.

Hope this helps?

Been looking at a head gasket today as I've bought some ARL head bolts so might as well do gasket as well. Can anyone direct me to the correct one on ECP or carpartsforless as there's a few different ones and not sure which one to go for. Car is a vrs, cheers

 

You need to take yours off and count the notches so you can buy one the same thickness.

Do not think you will need to remove head to check gasket, usually there is a tab that sticks out past the head and block.

Do not think you will need to remove head to check gasket, usually there is a tab that sticks out past the head and block.

 

Good point, if he can see it.

Thanks for the replies! If I can see the tab of the gasket will it have notches/holes on it or will I need to measure the thickness of it?

no when looking at the engine there is the plastic ball and near there where the head meets the block there will bit a few wholes in the head gasket (a tab sticks out the block)

 

only count the circular wholes, do not count the elongated ones. it will be either a Number 1, 2  or 3 Head gasket

It will have holes. Having recently checked and changed mine, it was a two hole gasket.

If yours is like mine the tab will have five holes. 3 if them wide and two smaller holes. The smaller holes is the one you count.

Thanks a lot guys, very helpful

This should be sticking out the front slightly.

 

Also whilst I'm on the topic does anyone know or have a link to the torque values and sequence for fitting the head bolts? Might just have to do the bolts for now as I'm at croft on Friday and don't know if the head gasket will be here in time

If your just changing bolts the sequence does not matter, just make sure you only undo and replace one bolt at a time, the sequence is for when you are removing the head completely so the pressure needs to be taken off equally over the whole head.

Be aware if your engine is a BLT you will need to slacken off the inlet manifold retaining bolts, as one head bolt can't be removed with the inlet fitted

Ref changing the gasket, if it's not showing signs its failed leave it alone.

Turns into a expensive job by the time you've factored in cambelt change,aux belt,oil and filter, coolant change etc

Unless of course all of the above need doing anyway!

Oh yeah, get yourself a small syringe to suck the oil out of the head of the headbolts, they hold quite a bit of oil and you don't want it all going down in the hole when you undo the bolt

Thanks kev ! Got a small syringe Latin about that came with the new turbo so I'll give that a go when they arrive hopefully Wednesday

OK, there are 1-2-3 notch types of head gaskets.

 

I have a 3cyl 1.4TDI BNV engine which has had a head rebuild including a skim, because there was oil in the coolant system, I have set the torsion value at 00.00 and an ECU reset, it runs OK but it's down on power, I am suspecting they may have used the wrong head gasket, because the compression is not as high as 19.5.

 

Am I right in assuming that Notch 1 is used on an OEM built engine, if so what type should be used for a skimmed head engine.

 

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

DB

Not sure if your engine is the same, but the PD engine in the vrs according to what I've read on here should not have the head skimmed at all.

Again what I've read on here, no the number of holes does not correspond to a standard or skimmed head.

Not sure if your engine is the same, but the PD engine in the vrs according to what I've read on here should not have the head skimmed at all.

Again what I've read on here, no the number of holes does not correspond to a standard or skimmed head.

 

Indeed!  If ever my head gasket went and it turned out head was warped I would probably try and find a decent replacement from a scrapper.  Then it would need porting again though :(

 

And yes, the holes is all about valve clearance on the underside of the head.  When I fitted mine, I went for a 3 hole regardless as I wanted to eek the most of reduced compression for running big power.    I think officially I needed a 2 hole one.

OK, there are 1-2-3 notch types of head gaskets.

 

I have a 3cyl 1.4TDI BNV engine which has had a head rebuild including a skim, because there was oil in the coolant system, I have set the torsion value at 00.00 and an ECU reset, it runs OK but it's down on power, I am suspecting they may have used the wrong head gasket, because the compression is not as high as 19.5.

 

Am I right in assuming that Notch 1 is used on an OEM built engine, if so what type should be used for a skimmed head engine.

 

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

DB

 

The thickness of the head gasket is chosen by measuring the protrusion of the piston crown above the block deck, the gaskets are available in 0.05 mm increments.

 

Whether the head has been skimmed or not makes no difference, you should use the same thickness new gasket as the old one unless the block has been decked or the bottom end rebuilt.

 

I don't know why people say that these heads should not be skimmed since VW dealers will always have a head licked to ensure it is perfectly flat and smooth, it's some kind of pub myth with no basis in engineering reality.

 

I don't know why people say that these heads should not be skimmed since VW dealers will always have a head licked to ensure it is perfectly flat and smooth, it's some kind of pub myth with no basis in engineering reality.

 

Just multiple experiences of people skimming PD heads and then finding power is down about 20bhp.   I wondered if it was to do with the way the valves sit (effectively slightly deeper up in the head) after a skim?

Just multiple experiences of people skimming PD heads and then finding power is down about 20bhp.   I wondered if it was to do with the way the valves sit (effectively slightly deeper up in the head) after a skim?

 

There is effectively a tiny chamber volume there due to the valve seats being recessed slightly, the reason the seats are recessed rather than flush is to allow for skimming, some old heads have flush seats which makes them unsuitable for skimming.

 

However, as an engine ages the valves tend to recede into the seat slightly due to wear, this is why tappet clearances close up over time, a truth skim will tend to offset this erosion.

 

I have no idea why some people have problems with power loss, all the evidence seems anecdotal, since no-one has proposed a satisfactory mechanism for this power loss it seems to have become a kind of 'urban legend' that skimming loses power.

 

As I've said before I worked for a machine shop that skimmed literally hundreds of PD heads, mostly for the trade and we never had a single problem reported to us. It's important to note that when I say 'skim', I'm talking about the minimal amount necessary for the head to 'clean up', if the head wouldn't clean up we'd rebuild it into a fresh casting.

 

It's possible that some machine shops have taken too much off and the valve heads have grazed the piston crown and distorted slightly resulting in reduced compression and therefore significant power loss.

All very interesting, although I am more than a bit disappointed with the end product after having new valve guides, camshaft and valves lapped in. Resulting in a loss of power and a 10% drop in MPG.

 

DB.

All very interesting, although I am more than a bit disappointed with the end product after having new valve guides, camshaft and valves lapped in. Resulting in a loss of power and a 10% drop in MPG.

 

DB.

 

I can only suggest that something isn't set up properly, usually the cam timing is the first suspect, cam timing on these engines is really critical.

 

If you've had the camshaft replaced there is a possibility that the drive sprocket hasn't been correctly aligned, many engines these days use a simple unkeyed taper necessitating 'clocking' the cam using a DTI while refitting the sprocket to guarantee accuracy. This work is often outside the scope of an ordinary garage since they have neither the equipment or the know-how to do it correctly.

You can check the cam timing using VCDS which reads the cam and crank position sensors to calculate the exact timing angle.

 

Edit: Having looked at a cam kit the taper does seem to have a keyway so the sprocket must be located correctly if the key has been refitted.

Edited 4 November, 201411 yr by sepulchrave

I have played around for hours setting the Torsion Values at different values and then re-setting the ECU, it is currently set at 00.00 which seems the best available, but it's nothing like the power it used to have even when it had the worn valve guides and a suspected head gasket.

 

On just checking the head gasket I can see it's a 3 Notch version, am I to assume then that this would give a lower compression pressure and produce the symptoms I am experiencing of loss of power and a 10% drop in MPG.

 

DB.

I have played around for hours setting the Torsion Values at different values and then re-setting the ECU, it is currently set at 00.00 which seems the best available, but it's nothing like the power it used to have even when it had the worn valve guides and a suspected head gasket.

 

On just checking the head gasket I can see it's a 3 Notch version, am I to assume then that this would give a lower compression pressure and produce the symptoms I am experiencing of loss of power and a 10% drop in MPG.

 

DB.

 

If the original was a different thickness then yes.

Thanks Sepulchrave.

 

DB.