Please help me :( 108 cdi

[shimy]

Hello all newbie here

My 2000 108 cdi head gasket recently went, my mechanic started striping her down but has recently gone missing and wont answer his phone so im stuck with my van in pieces on my drive.

I started working on it myself, i've stripped the cams out and all other varius parts that i can see that would hold the head on, but the head still wont come off

The head will come up about half an inch but then it feels like something on the left side (Timing Chain side) is stopping it....

Two things i havent removed are the timing chain tensioner, and the guide. Are any of these two things stopping the head from coming off?!?!?

All help would be grately appretiated and is there any workshop manual that i can down load as haynes dont seem to do one and my local merc dealer says i could wait as long as 3 weeks for one.....

PLEASE PLEASE HELP

Shimy.

[montymole]

Before you go any further I would recommend you get at least the Russek book and if possible WIS all off eBay. It's a bit complicated and requires patience to do but is possible !!!

Have a look here for the Russek book : eBay UK Shop - peter russek: volkswagen, workshop manuals, car

Have you removed the vacuum pump and high pressure pump on the chain end and the two bolts on the far left of the chain in the head ? Both pumps have sprokets onto the timing chain.

Check that you have also removed the oil feed to the turbo (assuming you have a turbo, not sure about yours but mine did and it is at the back left (looking from front) under the exhaust manifold.)

I did actually get the head off without removing the chain tensioner, the head of the tensioner wouldn't come out and I could afford the time to work it out. Putting the sproket back on the cam is not fun however, required three screwdrivers to lift it up in the bolt holes with the chain on then put each of the bolts back in one at a time.

If you have any chance of putting this back together invest in a tap and die set to clean out threads and bolts. For me it was invaluable removing coke and general crap off and makes assembly much smoother.

Also go for a full gasket kit plus a tube of gasket sealant. For all the torques and refitting you'll need one of the books above ..

Be careful with the injectors and make sure you (if able) match back up the high pressure pipes as they have olives on and could leak if put onto different ones. Alternatively replace the pipe.

Good luck, it took over 35 hours of labour on my part to do but I took my time and tried to clean up a mess made by a previous rebuild which cost me over 3 grand.

Final word : cleanliness ...

[shimy]

Hiya mate, thanks for your help!

Got it sorted now and ive brought a workshop manual off ebay

Shimy.