1.6 TD vanagon

I recently purchased a 1.6td vanagon that was imported from europe. It needs a head gasket. Can I just tear it apart, and set up whatever marks need be...before reassembly?
I have NO diesel experience, this is my first.
Is there an inexpensive way to gain power on these? Also special tools...is there a list somewhere...special tools needed to do headgasket correctly

Thanks!

Besides a torque wrench, quality torx, 10 point bit set and sockets, wrenches, etc a set of timing indexing tools may be needed for your engine.

There are several key concepts and carepoints for a diesel regarding head removal.
- the valves sit flat on the head. The pistons protrude form the block. There are usually three headgasket thicknesses each for a given range of piston protrusion of a particular engine.
- if the head is milled, the valve protrusion at max lift needs to be adressed by the machinist.
- tdc in diesels is very narrow in crank degrees (compared to a gasser) therefore the setting of cam timing against crank is critical. Therefore the use of timing indexing tools instead of marks on the pulleys/cranks is the preferred method.

Usually the headgasket hole id flap protrudes from the block and is visible for id without removing the headgasket. Some people here prefer to remove the heag gasket and measure piston protusion.

There are several threads in this site describing headgasket work.

Get your hands on a Robert Bentley manual...either bought or borrowed. No wait, buy one which covers the solid and hyd. lifter engines. There is a massive amount of important info in them for rebuilding/repairing.

Do not rely on info given in forums….as all it will generally do is confuse you and have you walking in 6 different directions at once.

You will NEED this manual if you plan to own this and actually use it.

1.6 td

I do have a Bentley manual for my vanagon, is that the manual you are mentioning?

My experience with the 1.6 VW diesel engine is, if the head gasket blew, likely the head is warped (fortunately, ever so slightly). With a quality straight-edge, a machinist needs to check how bad it is warped, if any. 0.004 is the max. If it is warped 0.004 or more, that's the amount that should be milled off. It is extremely important that the mill leaves the surface slick (no grooves). Also, the shields/inserts need to be milled in place. My machine shop operator pinned them to make sure they did not move during the milling process.

Sure, there will be those who say you cannot mill that head. Well, I'm here to tell you it can be done and with success. If my memory is correct, I think the Bentley will say not to mill the head.

You need new stretch head bolts. You need to identify which engine you have and torque the bolts accordingly. Some required loosing the bolts at 1000k miles (specs set out how much) and then re-torque. Also, seems there was a flyer from VW that modified head bolt torqueing specs.

As someone already stated, piston protrusion and distance to the valves needs to be evaluated. However, I seriously doubt the head has been previously milled enough for that to be an issue. Valve seats can be cut a bit to allow the valves to go down a little. Depending on whether it has solid lifters or hydraulic lifters, the end of the valve stems may need to be cut to match seat cutting if required.

TDC timing is critical, but not that difficult to set.

Yeah, you do need a Bentley Manual..