I got the head off the Spit (mk3) last night. Oh, let's start at the
beginning. First I did a compression check:
#1 - 124
#2 - 150
#3 - 54
#4 - 95
Hoo boy.
Pulled the head, and the head gasket was corroded, especially around the
triangular hole on the passenger side of the car between #2 and #3. There were
other corroded spots, too. I assume this hole is a water passage? I could see
some signs of leakage from #3 and a bit from #4, but I've never had to
diagnose a problem like this before. Basically, the rings around the cylinders
were shiny silver except for some spots on #3 and #4, so I assume there was
probably a leak there. Oh, by the way, I also put some oil into #3 and the
compression was only a bit higher.
So my current plan of attack is to take the head to a shop and get it
resurfaces, and maybe have the valves and seats checked out. I'll put the head
on with a new gasket, and check compression. If it's OK, then I'll reassemble
the engine. If it's not OK, I guess it's time to rebuild the whole thing.
Any comments? Am I doing the right thing?
Thanks!
Larry
lesnyd@monsanto.com
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