if you mean stem thickness when you say 'too big' then this is the same issue I had.

me and Optima21 appear to be the only people you don't think all 1.3 polo heads are the same.

there is early and late spec. One valve stem (late) are a mm smaller, meaning they are not interchangeable

Tip i was given when I was lapping valves - once the head is rebuilt use petrol and poor it in the top. if any comes out then that valve isn't lapped properly. Also make sure that the

edit - corrected

Edited 17 June, 200719 yr by ---Ripley---

The later stems are the narrow ones, Ripley.

No, in fact the stems were the correct diameter - it was the valve head that was 5mm bigger than the seat that was the problem ! Incidentally, the car isn't a 1.3, it's a 1043cc, and VW changed spec on the valves only a few months before ours was built - but that was in stem length, not diameter. I don't know what car these two odd ones are from, but they don't fit in my polo head.

GOt any further with this? Pictures and advice would be cool please - maybe a how to? I need to swap my head over pretty soon!

GOt any further with this? Pictures and advice would be cool please - maybe a how to? I need to swap my head over pretty soon!

Skatty - if you've never done this before, I would seriously suggest you don't attempt it, unless you have someone with you who knows what they're doing. There are too many things that are cock-up-able (and potentially expensive) if you really have no idea of what you're doing. I was planning on doing a photo-blog thing, but it's a pain in the arse trying to operate a digital camera with filthy hands and I can't be arsed washing my hands every time I want to take a photo - so sorry, my priority now is getting the car running asap. Sorry mate.

Well, I'm almost finished... I'm sat here with a badly sunburned neck from spending the whole day outside on the car... owwwwww !!! But, the head is complete and back on the car & the new water pump is in. In fact, all that's left to do is change the oil & filter, change the alternator belt, remove the fuel pump relay and spin it over with the plugs out to get the oil up to the head. It turns over ok by hand, so hopefully (please god !) everything should be ok. If that's all ok, then next is to fill the cooling system, fit the new plugs & the air filter canister, refit the fuel pump relay and.... pray. If it hasn't exploded into a million bits by this point I'll be jumping for joy.

I can't help panicking that there's something else wrong that's going to bend all my new valves again... I soaked the tappets in oil overnight, some were squishy, others solid (but I gather that's normal). I've been obsessive about trying to keep the new timing belt uncontaminated whilst all this is going on, and clinical with my treatment of the head and the oilways etc. The timing is correct, there were no signs that anything had seized to cause the original belt to snap. What's the score with the tappets 'jacking open' the valves if they're faulty ? - is it possible that they could cause the valves to extend out far enough to hit the pistons ? I'll be inconsolable if this doesn't work. :paranoid:

Well, if anyone's reading this - it seems to have worked !!! I started it up this afternoon (with everything crossed !). Haven't driven it yet, but everything seems fine so far. The only nagging doubt is a few drops of water coming out of the exhaust - but that (hopefully) could be condensation, rain (it's been standing for a fortnight). Fingers crossed it's not a leak in the head gasket !

Well, if anyone's reading this - it seems to have worked !!! I started it up this afternoon (with everything crossed !). Haven't driven it yet, but everything seems fine so far. The only nagging doubt is a few drops of water coming out of the exhaust - but that (hopefully) could be condensation, rain (it's been standing for a fortnight). Fingers crossed it's not a leak in the head gasket !

Good on you, mate! Mines still in bits - no chance of a sunburnt neck round these parts! Hope your water-in-the-exhaust is nothing. Well done!!

I'm not sure if this is wise - tempting fate and all that.... but -

It's a year later and so far the car is running fine - the noisy tappet I mentioned in another thread is just the same - I keep meaning to replace it - I may do so in a couple of weeks time. The coolant hasn't needed any topping up at all, nor has the oil, though I can see it's weeping from the head just above the alternator - but I gather that's common on these. The car sailed through it's MOT last week no problems.

So - so far, so good. I'm planning on checking the gearbox oil level tomorrow - I read on honestjohn.co.uk that Mk2's are prone to leaking from the selector shaft and end up dry. Does anyone know if the Mk2 box filler / drain plugs are the same 17mm jobs by the nearside driveshaft flange that I've seen mentioned in other threads about newer models ? - or are Mk2's different ?

Whilst I'm here - I had the front end up on axle stands the other week, checking it over before the MOT, and noticed that the front struts move a couple of mm side to side and up and down where they come through the upper wing. Is this just because there was no load on them and is therefore normal ?

yep 17mm hex key for drain/fill on the box...i used some fully syn GL4 in mine and its made the box a bit nicer

yeah the struts will have some play when its in the air

Cheers mate. I don't suppose you know if you can mix oils ? I would be amazed if there is anything other than the original factory oil in the box, and I'm just planning on topping it up - I bought some plain old Halfords EP80W/90 GL4. They wouldn't have filled it with fully synthetic in the factory would they ?

deffo wouldnt have syn in it from new...and yes they mix anyway

if your keeping the car a while it would be worth changing it though