VW 1.9 diesel cylinder head, aftermarket?

HiFiCanada

HiFiCanada

Caregiver
:scratch2:I can't find any parts for the 1.9 diesel, I have been a mechanic for over 42 years and never seen a engine that is as hard to find then the VW 1.9 diesel. The cylinder heads are even harder to find, not cracked and VW wants $1000 for a new one. I have seen some after market cylinder heads brand new, anyone know how good those are? Those after market heads are $500 cheaper then the original VW ones, but my gut feeling is to stay away from those, as my luck lately has not been that good, and the other reason I have is just $500 more and then no worries.
Anyone have experence with the aftermarket cylinder heads?
 
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There used to be an outfit in Connecticut that did amazing repairs of cracked aluminum heads. I can't recall their name. If they are still in business I'd recommend giving them a try. They repaired a cracked Peugeot head for me about 20 years ago that held up just fine. Wish I could help with tracking them down.
 
My experience and research with aluminum heads led me to buy only heads manurfactured from Italy. They had more brass and other alloys that made them better. At the time I was replacing a cracked head from a car. Went through two repaired heads before buying the Italian made brand.
 
I know this isn't what you asked, but I'd probably go for a newer complete low mile used engine if the bolt pattern is the same, etc. I have several USA-market Toyota Diesels from the 80s, and the parts are nearly impossible to get here. So I've bought a few of the "low mile" Japanese import engines, and been very happy (lucky). Of course I replaced the timing idlers, water pump, timing belt, etc with factory originals, and thoroughly cleaned up the fuel system, and re-sealed the injector pump to not leak on the new USA no-sulfur fuel.

The newer VW engines seem to be plentiful here due to collision salvage, and that they have sold a lot of them in the USA in the past 5 years after a hiatus since the 80s.

Charles
 
repair

kx250rider said:
I know this isn't what you asked, but I'd probably go for a newer complete low mile used engine if the bolt pattern is the same, etc. I have several USA-market Toyota Diesels from the 80s, and the parts are nearly impossible to get here. So I've bought a few of the "low mile" Japanese import engines, and been very happy (lucky). Of course I replaced the timing idlers, water pump, timing belt, etc with factory originals, and thoroughly cleaned up the fuel system, and re-sealed the injector pump to not leak on the new USA no-sulfur fuel.

The newer VW engines seem to be plentiful here due to collision salvage, and that they have sold a lot of them in the USA in the past 5 years after a hiatus since the 80s.

Charles
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I have heard of collison salvage , but to get that across the boarder is a pain. Any used head on those VW diesels that have a turbo is cracked, but there are a few that do not have the turbo on them, only those heads are worth looking at and would not be cracket.
SatCom, that is what I wanted to hear about the repaired heads, I am leaning more towards a new one. Welded heads are only as good as the guy welding it, and in the industry , it is time spent, not quality. The engine on this car was a VW remanufactured engine, and as I was just driving home, the central warning buzzer and lights went on, what happened is the rad hose blew off.
Thats a bad sign that there is to much presure in the cooling system, now I believe that the head had to have been re-welded and repaired. I can get new after market heads for $500 less, that may be $500 to much, I may as well spend the extra $500 from VW and be done with it.
 
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You sure it's not just a blown head gasket? Cracked heads IME don't usually pressurize the cooling system that fast. It could also have simply been a loose hose clamp. Did you put the hose back on, fill 'er with water, and start it again? You might get lucky....
 
If you spend a grand plus labor fixing it, you'll still have a car you can't get parts for.

Why not cut your losses and put the money towards something you can at least fix?
 
Cracked head

JonL said:
You sure it's not just a blown head gasket? Cracked heads IME don't usually pressurize the cooling system that fast. It could also have simply been a loose hose clamp. Did you put the hose back on, fill 'er with water, and start it again? You might get lucky....
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Yes, I have been driving it last year and it slowly presurize the cooling system back up again and now the the heater core is leaking, another bad sign.
On those cars with the turbo, they are all cracked, according to VW, you will not find any that is not.
 
Labour

bentpencil said:
If you spend a grand plus labor fixing it, you'll still have a car you can't get parts for.

Why not cut your losses and put the money towards something you can at least fix?
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I should have clarified, can't find any good used parts for it, a used cylinder head that is not cracked, the 1.9 that did not have a turbo, would have a good head that is not cracked.
I am a mechanic , so the labour just doing the job myself.:thmbsp:
 
1986 fits

Sandy G said:
Izzat the head that went to the "Rabbit" diesel of c. 1977-79 or so ?
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I agree, the cylinder head from a 1986 Jetta 1.6 diesel will fit, I have one bolted on the other 1.9 golf, the only difference is the valve cover need to be changed to the 1986 style, then cut and removed the old PVC tube and weld the one from the 1.9 back in. The valves are a bit smaller, it does not affect the power much at all.
One thing if anyone that wants to try to switch over is that not all 1986 ,1.6 deseil engines have hydralic valve lifters, some have the manual lifters, and with the extra heat that the turbo charged engine will produce, the manual lifters will not work as the clearance would need to be 0.18 or more to allow for expansion of the exhaust valve stems.
 
HiFiCanada said:
Yes, I have been driving it last year and it slowly presurize the cooling system back up again and now the the heater core is leaking, another bad sign.
On those cars with the turbo, they are all cracked, according to VW, you will not find any that is not.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you have a handle on what you need to do.

As a temporary measure that might last a surprisingly long time, have you tried Bars Leak?

I worked on a Toyota with a blown head gasket recently. When I went to pick up the car it was running on 2 cylinders, shooting a geyser out of the radiator cap, and leaving an opaque smoke screen in it's wake. I put in a bottle of Bars Leak and started driving the car. Within 1/2 mile the smoke cleared, the engine started running on 3 and then all 4 cylinders. I was pretty amazed. When I got the head off, the gasket was totally blown to the point where the metal fire rings around two of the cylinders were completely eroded away for like 1/4 or 1/2 inch. Despite that, the Bars Leak held. I've since heard of people getting a year or more out of their cracked heads or blown gaskets with that stuff.
 
It seems to me the ones that are made in Spain or South america have lesser quality metal and castings. In a gasser VW it is not a problem but when your dealing with 400 to 500 pounds of compression and high torque values it can be a problem.
There are a few guys here in southern california that go to Europe and remove engines and parts from cars there. The laws over there are really tight and it is not uncommon for cars to be junked with 80K on them.
I can give you there websites or info if you want to go the used route. It would seem to me there would be local to you people doing the same thing up by you.
Good luck.
 
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