repeater

This car hasn't been through a headgasket yet, and I figured if I was going to do the RS2 goodies, is it a wiser decision to go ahead and pull the head, rework it (new valve seals and such), port it, and plop the RS2 turbo on while the head's off? As you see from the post below, I'm already wondering whether or not I'm beginning to get a HG problem to begin with...
I've read somewhere there's a steel gasket most people go to over the paper/steel insert one. Any truth to this?

UrS4boy

1. Water Pump
2. After run pump (drivers side of the engine) - electric
3. Plastic gooseneck at the back of the head (plastic cracks sometimes)
4. Heater core/hoses
5. Head gasket

Don't do the head gasket until you eliminate the other four as the source of the leak(s).

I had a small leak that I couldn't find. Ended up changing the headgasket (the replacement is the all "steel" head gasket of the later S6's). Head gasket is cheap but the labour and hardware isn't. (Note: since the hardware (headbolts, turbo nuts, studs, etc.) you probably want to do the headgasket at the same time as the RS2 upgrade - There was a year in between for me and this meant double hardware costs for the turbo install).

While the head is off at a minimum redo the seals and have a light valve grind done. If money is no object then porting and polishing while add a few (not many horsepower) as will a three, four or five angle valve grind. In addition, while the head is off, you might as well do the timing belt and water pump (even if they weren't done too long ago). If you plan to go real nuts and make lots of boost, then studding the head (ARP studs) isn't dumb. But this probably only applies if you are planning over 370 Hp at the crank - in which case, you probably want to think about new rods (Cody), etc. Whole new can of worms/slippery slope.

You have to know when to quit. Otherwise you can get in so far, you can't see the top of the hole you've dug and the "ladder" is really, really expensive.

Dave F. (who replaced his head gasket before going RS2).

repeater

I'll probably pull the head when I do the RS2 conversion; new valve seals, port a bit, ARP studs (just because), and plop the turbo on while the head is off. At least that way if I break a stud, I've got the damn thing out already.