Itinerant Air-Cooled

One side of my rebuilt engine cannot seem to keep the exhaust leak at the head under control. All the proper steps have been taken with my new dansk boxes.

Gaskets annealed, torqued, etc.

From the crush marks on the gaskets it apppears to be an alignment issue that's causing a small but annoying leak.

Is it ok to widen the holes on the header to allow slight movement in setting the seal?

Thanks,
Curt

Curtp07 wrote: ↑

Thu May 11, 2017 3:37 am

One side of my rebuilt engine cannot seem to keep the exhaust leak at the head under control. All the proper steps have been taken with my new dansk boxes.

Gaskets annealed, torqued, etc.

From the crush marks on the gaskets it apppears to be an alignment issue that's causing a small but annoying leak.

Is it ok to widen the holes on the header to allow slight movement in setting the seal?

Thanks,
Curt

Yes.

You can also bastard file the tops of the flanges to keep them parallel. I have had some tough lousy exchangers from Dansk where I had to bend an entire pipe to get them to slide up the studs. Dansk. Pffffffffft.

Amskeptic wrote: ↑

Thu May 11, 2017 8:58 am

Dansk. Pffffffffft.

Let me help further clarify--- Dansk = crap.

Yes had them filed at a machine shop...darn dansk.

Curtp07 wrote: ↑

Thu May 11, 2017 6:21 pm

Yes had them filed at a machine shop...darn dansk.

Time to figure out which way to carefully bend the flanges with a pipe wrench, then bastard file mill the tops again.
Yep. It is about fun, and you will suffer until you are having fun.
Colin

Another good tip for the heater boxes...

Drill the flanges 1-2 sizes bigger then they will slide on easier. Loctite 518 or Permatex equiv. on the copper rings will aid in sealing them. The critical part squaring off the pipes to one another with an 18 in bastard cut file and a metal straight edge to check for accuracy. 1-2 hours for each pipe.

Over the years, I've heard nothing good about the fit of any Dansk product. They're certainly not cheap, either. When I needed to replace the components on the exhaust of my '78 bus, I scoured the Samba classified, and collected all of the various parts used, but in the best condition I could find. No fit problems that way...and it was cheaper, too. The Dansk heater boxes are also lacking in the interior cooling fin department, too, I believe.

Jivermo wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 03, 2017 5:12 am

Over the years, I've heard nothing good about the fit of any Dansk product. They're certainly not cheap, either. When I needed to replace the components on the exhaust of my '78 bus, I scoured the Samba classified, and collected all of the various parts used, but in the best condition I could find. No fit problems that way...and it was cheaper, too. The Dansk heater boxes are also lacking in the interior cooling fin department, too, I believe.

Lacking in weld strength, flange alignment, pipe orientation, yes, what's to love with Dansk?

Amskeptic wrote: . . . what's to love with Dansk?

This unloveableness has been going on such a long time, one begins to believe it's congenital:

https://www.aircooledvwsa.co.za/viewtop ... 0c7e6c280a

kreemoweet wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 04, 2017 3:38 pm

Amskeptic wrote: . . . what's to love with Dansk?

This unloveableness has been going on such a long time, one begins to believe it's congenital:

https://www.aircooledvwsa.co.za/viewtop ... 0c7e6c280a

Kudos to Nigel Skeet!
Dansk/Jopex has been the bane of my existence, and I would love to heckle them with a recounting of how many people I have met who have been poisoned by exhaust leaks . . . including me.

The current Jopex exhaust pipes for Type 1 buses bend immediately after the exit from the muffler. Due to piss-poor technique, the pipes are ovalized through the gasket and leak no matter how carefully installed.

I will contact Nigel. I can double his anecdotal report volume.
Colin

who have been poisoned by exhaust leaks . . . including me.

file a complaint at NHTSA

What happens if a product has a defect or is noncompliant?
If a manufacturer determines that a product does not comply with the FMVSS or there is a safety-related defect, the manufacturer must notify NHTSA within 5 days of making such a determination. NHTSA will work with the manufacturer on an appropriate remedy, including notifying distributors, retailers and customers of the problem and remedy for said problem. Safety defects apply to any type of product, not just products covered by the FMVSS. NHTSA also has the authority to conduct its own independent investigations and order a product be removed from the marketplace.

sgkent wrote: file a complaint at NHTSA

My god, wouldn't that be great if doing so would have any chance of improving the miserable parts we have to deal with!
I actually filed such a complaint many years ago, re brake light switches that fail in weeks/months or actually blow the f. out
and spray brake fluid everywhere, with necessary pressure going away forthwith. Such things can obviously kill you and your loved ones without warning. Unfortunately, I had no specific
product to cite (I had long since converted to my 100% reliable mechanical brake lite switch) and could only point to some forum posts. No answer
at all from those guys. Another good candidate is bogus "rebuild kits" for Type I engine mechanical fuel pumps, which in the hands of naive
mechanics can easily burn the vehicle to the ground.
Another big problem is that we do not typically deal with "manufacturers", but rather retailers. There seem to be serious efforts made by many in
the supply chain to hide, obfuscate, and misrepresent just who the actual "manufacturer" is.

Ok guys..I did as Colin suggested and widened the holes to improve fitting. Still exhaust leak from front header as identified by smoke. Short of putting a jack under the header to snug it up, can I use two copper washers on this ill fitting front header? Professionally filed, annealed gaskets, followed the recipe EXACTLY..this is the only leak!

Thanks!

That is some read there, Nigel is a pit bull. Interesting the one guy's comment: "at least parts are available" or something to that effect. Exactly why the bums keep cranking the garbage out and selling it. I'll never buy any Dansk, especially after that informative read. Colin, did you attempt to contact Nigel? Sounds like a man after your own.

how about a photo and point to where the smoke is coming from.