Reconditioned cylinder head and head bolt lengths?

D2000

Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2017
Location
Victoria, BC, Canada
TDI
1Z engine
I am rebuilding a 1Z engine. The cylinder head and engine block needed a little re-conditioning. I'm wondering if the new head bolts could bottom out when torquing them down. Is there an engine building expert that knows how much room there is in the head bolt holes when the bolts are torqued down? Advice on how to proceed with installing the cylinder head in my situation? Thanks so much!!
 

Mongler98

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Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
if your worried about that, whats going on with head gasket thickness?
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
If they bottom out, you have had WAY too much material removed from the head, and you'll need a new one.

So, define "a little reconditioning".
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
If your ONLY decking the head, you should not have an issue with valve clearance unless you have WAY too much taken off. If this is the case, the head was trash to start with.
You could add some lapped washers under the bolts to make up the difference that was taken off but you have another issue and that is the valve depth now going too far and will hit the piston. There are a few other issues that come with this like, is the cam bore strait? a head warped this much would have issues with the cam being true and much more.

Contact frank. He is the person to talk to about head work.
 

jasantos40

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 11, 2018
Location
EU
TDI
g4 tdi
You can use a caliper gauge to measure the depth but I really doubt you would be able to bottom out the bolts.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
just measure it with a drinking straw, make sure you chase the threads with a tap and blow them out with compressed air and break cleaner before putting the bolts in.
 

D2000

Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2017
Location
Victoria, BC, Canada
TDI
1Z engine
The bolts did not bottom out. That was a newbie question. I had never opened up an engine before. Now I have rebuilt one. I don't know if I would recommend rebuilding an engine yourself unless you have some background mechanical experience but I learned so much about how engines work and that was the main goal of the project. Thanks for the replies.
 

belome

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 8, 2010
Location
Mid MI
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
The bolts did not bottom out. That was a newbie question. I had never opened up an engine before. Now I have rebuilt one. I don't know if I would recommend rebuilding an engine yourself unless you have some background mechanical experience but I learned so much about how engines work and that was the main goal of the project. Thanks for the replies.
Yeah, cutting your mechanic teeth on a full engine rebuild is like diving off the Titanic to learn to swim.

I have a dirtbike for sale group... I see at least 5 bikes a day trying to be sold with a motor completely tore apart. It seems they are way easier to tear down than fix and be put back together. [I call them a bike in a box.]
 

turbocharged798

Veteran Member
Joined
May 21, 2009
Location
Ellenville, NY
TDI
99.5 black ALH Jetta;09 Gasser Jetta
I would rebuild 10 ALH engines before rebuilding another bike engine. They are a pain in the arse to work on.
 
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