[T2] Valve seats

[david raistrick]

> 1600 CC Dual Port,
> Stock valve sizes,
> Original head manufacturer = unknown (probably Brazil),
> Current mileage estimate on heads = 30K.

So others have mentioned this - why do you need new seats on 30k
heads?   did you have a failure?

if you're doing the seats - dont stop there.  go ahead and replace the
valves, guides, and weld up the cracks. (and there are always
cracks...).

these days for dual port heads, it probably makes just as sense to buy
new heads.   A set of 040 or 041's from mofoco (their own castings)
are $500-600.



> 1. Can I do this myself with good results,

This is one of those classic answers:  If you have to ask, NO.  You
can't replace valve seats on your own.  (if you could, you'd already
have the tools an experience required to not need to ask).


> or should I ship the heads off to a reputable machine shop that does such work ?

find somewhere local, ship them off, or just buy new/rebuilt, yes.

there are good shops across the country who still do good work, as
well as the well known shops.

even if you don't have a strong VW community locally, lots of
automotive machine shops are equipped and experienced with ACVW (at
least for stock type1 heads...t4, I'd definitely want a specific
builder), so it could be worth calling around and asking.   mentioning
your location (I dont recall it..) might help get specific suggestions
as well.

if you want recommendations for a shop you can mail the heads to, I'm
sure we can find some.  (rimco comes to mind - and they're under new
management and their quality seems to have returned to the old good
levels based on discussions I had the other day).



> 2. Where can I still buy quality product heads, if necessary ?

You'll want to know the CC of the combustion chambers you currently
have to get heads with a similar sized chamber to avoid having to
re-figure compression ratio and valve train geometry....  the
step/no-step is a good indicator as well.

mofoco's heads still have a good reputation, at $230 each.

www.mofoco.com/item/Mofoco_040_Dual_Port_New_Cast_Stock_Cylinder_Head_SCORE_APPROVED_/237/c152


john at aircooled.net offers a number of options from $180 to $250 each.

http://vwparts.aircooled.net/Chinese-Dual-Port-Cylinder-Head-043-101-355-p/043-101-355.htm
http://vwparts.aircooled.net/OEM-VW-35-x-32mm-Dual-Port-Cylinder-Head-EACH-p/oem-cylinder-head.htm
http://vwparts.aircooled.net/OE-VW-Dual-Port-Cylinder-Head-043-101-355OE-p/043-101-355oe.htm