Waterboxer head leaks

The number one fault with Vanagons from 1982 when they retrofitted the old air-cooled boxer with water-lined head jackets is corrosion in the heads, resulting in adverse chemical reactions and destructive oxidation along the head/block connection. In other words, water leaks.

Removing the head(s) to replace the head gasket(s) is not a terribly big deal, but anytime you are attempting to remove bolts from this aluminum engine, you run the risks of breaking a bolt. I once bought a beautiful Vanagon for a song that had only one problem: the owner broke off a head bolt deep in the block trying to remove the head.

With the heads removed, you probably want to go ahead and replace rings at least. The real challenge, in the absence of a whole tool chest full of VW special factory tools, is fashioning your own special tools to accomplish the removal and replacement. My biggest problem was in removing the piston pin to take out the piston. I found that the only access is through a hole for water circulation. I found that a large lag bolt (from the hardware store) with very coarse threads would just screw itself inside the piston pin and allow its extraction. I bought a couple of lag bolts and found the one that was just too large and would engage itself with a little force. It does bugger up the pin a bit, but it is the inside surface that doesn't contact anything.

Be sure to access my other post topic on bleeding the radiator when you re-assemble. I didn't do this properly the first time and blew a whole rebuild job.