Cylinder Head Replacement

[Ozark Lee]

Everything looks golden but the oil leak from the tensioner still bothers me. I have a used one that doesn't leak that I just threw into the tool box after I replaced it. I would be happy to drop it into a box and ship it for free but I have no real idea how many miles it has on it.

A 30 mile trip to get the car home should be fine if the timing belt feels taught but don't get radical with it.

I would recommend a new OEM tensioner but if you want my used one please feel free to PM me.

...Lee

[cattledog]

It'll probably be fine. Meerly a suggestion so you don't have problems in the distant future. All your work looks really good. Something to be proud of for sure, thank goodness for me not everyone can do what you're doing!

[djm850]

Well, on the advice of Lee I called DW's dealership this morning and spoke with Don. I've got a brand new tensioner on the way for $70 bucks! and I've got a new parts source. Thanks alot!

I finished up everything else today. Did an OC and the oil reaked of gas. I hope my Cat isn't or is gonna get fried now. Any advice on this?

[djm850]

Oh, forgot to say a "thank you" to Lee for the offer to send your tensioner. Thank God for auto forums and you guys are especially great. So are my buds on Fred's TDIClub which are paving the way on 'knowhow' for much more intricate repairs related to our '09 VW "Clean Diesel" Jetta with DSG Tranmission.

[djm850]

WOW, FIRED RIGHT UP! And really fast too.

Actually, took me by surprise. Went out for a short drive, burped the coolant, refilled and off I went. Ran like a top all the way home with several stops along the way, about 30 miles. What a difference. Feels like a new car. A slightly faster idle (just a titch above 1K), much stronger response off the line, better roll-on torque at highway speed. Should be good for another 150k. All I need is a tweed jacket and a pipe now

I can't begin to thank my VW TDI forum member Dan (DanG144) enough for the use of his shop/tools/advice/help. Truly a generous person to the core. His wife for putting up with everything (we married guys really know how to respect that), his son Zeb who helped me out of a couple of jams and his timing was impeccable, and Jesse, my stall-mate who's currently replacing his head from his timing belt slipping under power and FUBAR'ing his head. Again, a special thanks to Fordman for the use of is lock-down tool, OzarkLee for the tip on DW's parts on the tensioner, and to everyone here who has given me the guidance & pics to get me going again.

[Ozark Lee]

Thank you for the terrific pictures. This is a doable job by a mere mortal and your documentation proves it. This thread will assist many people in the future.

As far as your idle speed goes, give the car about a week - it needs to forget all of the bad stuff that it was trying to compensate for and re-learn the engine mapping which is now vastly different.

Well Done!

...Lee

[firstvolvoS70]

Great stuff. Thanks to O Lee for steering me to this page. I am doing the same repair to my 98 S70 and this information is invaluable. I'll admit I am a little unclear on the special tools that were mentioned. Any additional explanation?

[SidneyAB]

Some day I'll have that courage and do something like this in my car. Wonderful write up.

Congratulations.

[djm850]

UPDATE: Every thing's still running smooth and I've actually picked up more preformance/driveability with the new head breaking in. Much better throttle response both from a start as well as pull at highway speeds. Since the repair I've replaced the throttle cable which I gimped up from the repair and had to replace the heater core since all the new stuff must have increased pressure. The throttle cable made a HUGE difference in pedal feel. mine has always been VERY tight and even after the throttle body cleaning & reapir, still was so. But the the cable has got it like butter.

[whoa]

Sweet! Thanks for the thread. It will help me as I try an in-car valve stem seal replacement very soon.