CRACKED AMK HEAD!

[stoneys3]

News on my amk cylinder head.... i sent it too a company who said they can repair it after seeing the pics. it got there and the guy rang me back to tell me it was cracked. i now have had a fully reconditioned head with all my (stuff) built into it and sent back for £400. now for a recon turbo!! ouch this hurts!!

 

[S3 Paul]

I had the same...
About a year after having the car... the turbo was cracked, the head was cracked and the exhaust manifold.

 

[stoneys3]

Ye not good ...or cheap

 

[S3 Paul]

Including the labour i was down £1900 !

 

[stoneys3]

thats cheap am doing it myself but still going to be down a £1000

 

[stoneys3]

thought it be alot more from a garage??!

 

[S3 Paul]

It was £500 for the head,
£550 for the turbo
£40 for the manifold
The rest was labour and gaskets,

 

[Sandip]

Another cracked AMK head! Put some info down on here guys > http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-forum-8l-chassis/106672-1-8t-cylinder-head-issues.html

 

[superkarl]

if this happens to me, i will cry, go into depression, probably try an overdose, then possibly put the toaster in the bath. im scared now

 

[8YA335TDI1STED]

could this be the result of modding the amk unit ? were u guys running a standard or modded set up ?

 

[stoneys3]

i think the person who owned it before me was a massive bell-end, and couldn't look after a goldfish never mind a car! thats why i think thats where mine went wrong. prob not the case for s3 paul.

 

[superkarl]

i think the person who owned it before me was a massive bell-end, and couldn't look after a goldfish never mind a car! thats why i think thats where mine went wrong. prob not the case for s3 paul.

lmao

 

[8YA335TDI1STED]

be good if you guys could add some info to sandips thread trying to anylise the results of damaged heads

 

[<tuffty/>]

It was most likely damaged due to coolant levels running too low and the exhaust side of the head getting too hot as a result of lack of coolant around the exhaust ports etc...

If you find yourself topping up your coolant at times then you have a problem, you may not be leaking coolant into the engine via normal means but its a sealed system and by definition won't leak....

Low coolant will lead to the cracks seen in Sandips head.... these engines run very hot.....

<tuffty/>

 

[8YA335TDI1STED]

It was most likely damaged due to coolant levels running too low and the exhaust side of the head getting too hot as a result of lack of coolant around the exhaust ports etc...

If you find yourself topping up your coolant at times then you have a problem, you may not be leaking coolant into the engine via normal means but its a sealed system and by definition won't leak....

Low coolant will lead to the cracks seen in Sandips head.... these engines run very hot.....

<tuffty/>

speaking of which tuffty , a little off topic but when should the fan cut in temp wise , i had to change my stat cpl wks ago due to not sitting at 90deg , flushed the system new coolant n stat now notice the fan dosent seem to cut in until almost 100 deg is this normal if not what should i be looking to change next , obviously if it runs too hot then the head could warp causing coolant leak at head gasket and very expensive job to fix, touch hairy wood not losing any collant YET ???

 

[Sandip]

Duckor these heads don't tend to warp by the looks of it, they just crack

I bought mine at 74k, serviced every 5-8k and at 120k the head cracked, it seems to me that is doesn't matter how well you look after it, if it going to crack it'll crack. Running it cooler may help, neuspeed do a 180 degree F thermostat which i had put on mine by Awesome at around 100k, my head still went

 

[<tuffty/>]

Not sure what the exact temp is tbh... I know that if you monitor coolant temps in vagcom then they can rise to over 100degrees without showing more than 90 on the dash.... this is most likely due to it being normal for the coolant temp to head towards 100 degrees under everyday use but the dash is programmed not to show this so it doesn't panic the driver into thinking its a problem until it hits a limit at which point the temp gauge would react and then rise to show a higher water temp as a warning...

<tuffty/>

 

[8YA335TDI1STED]

uderstand that tuffty , mine was showing 100 deg on diagnostic and showing 90 on the temp gauge , thats not the prob , prob is mine is showing 100 on temp gauge before the fan cuts in and as sandip says they dont warp they just give in, so im thinking sensors need to be changed somewhere in the chain , id rather throw a few quid at the sensors than have a cracked head , I dont think the temp should rise so high on the temp gauge b4 the fan cuts in , i heard there are 3 temp sensors but dunno how they control the fan cut in im sure ive got a dodjie temp sensor somewhere as id expect the fan to cut in at most 95deg , as most folks reckon the needle shouldnt budge from 90 ??