98 Beetle head gasket maybe head worth it?

[island808]

oops I meant to put this in 2.0 gas.. I must have mis clicked. Anyone able to move it?

I saw an ad for 500 dollar 98 beetle 2.0 with a lot of new stuff and tires, manual transmission. Looks good and "cranks, won't start, has bad head or gasket"

I haven't looked at it yet, but I see the head (should it need one) is not the same as the 99.5+ makes me think it might be rare or expensive... is it?

Second. i read its impractical to work on New beetles, "need to remove 87 bolts to get at the engine for timing belt" etc. I'm looking to have a little something to repair for "fun" its what I do, but wanted to check and see if it was not a "fun" project.

I've rebuilt vehicles before (frame off restored a jeep and a rover), but usually I look for one with a fairly solid engine and fix the rest. i routinely adjust valves and the like, replaced a few clutches, rebuilt a manual transmission once, but it was a dinosaur.

Is this too much for a garage guy with no hydraulic press and lack of specific german car experience, (ok I had a 300e once)? I have a feeling this thing is a bit more of a bear than my 74 super.

[FarrisK]

I can't see a headgasket keeping the engine from starting... my guess is that the timing belt has gone. If the body is good and you do as much of the repair work as possible (other than taking the head to a shop to repair), 500 would be a good price.

[wawalker]

Sounds like a pretty good project--if it's really "gone" you can easily get your money back out of it parting it out.

[island808]

Thanks for the replies.
is the early 2.0 an interference engine? (smashed valves?)

yea.. I figured it would probably start or try with a bad head gasket.. but he may have effed somthing up while fixing. Has new radiator and other overheating related parts. yea.. I can always mess with it till I can't fix it any more. Just don't want to pull a lost cause down to my house. its got about 100 bucks in back taxes on it as well as a tow.. so i'm looking at 750 or so if I can't talk him down.
I'll bring a compression tester with me...

So is it as hard to get into as they say? "87 bolts for the fender"?

I was planning on picking it up.

Head is different than the 99.5 and up.. is it the old like.. what was it 92-02 head?
If it has a crack between valves or something, i'd hate to be up against a 2000 dollar head.
vs a 300 dollar checked or rebuilt head I find on fleabay.

[Smileybug]

As for being interference...well, it is. Its not as interference as some engines so it is sometimes said its non-interference. But it can certainly be damaged from a belt going.

[jhicken]

Check ATK for a new head. I replaced a cracked head on my '99. Dealer wanted 2k, I got a new, OEM head from ATK for $650, complete with valves and all.

-jeffrey