Does it make sense to replace a non-leaking head gasket?
Instead of taking the head off, I took the engine out of a Mk3 1987 petrol to replace the cam shaft after recommendations on this forum and since I had to take out the gearbox anyway.
The engine has gone 160,000 km (100,000 miles). Nothing appears to have been done to it since it was new. The head cover gasket was leaking (hard and brittle), and the exhaust manifold gasket was leaking (broken studs).
With the engine out, it seems easy enough to take off the head anyway to replace the head gasket and to check valves before they start to leak?
What are the chances that a 30-year-old head gasket might bust in the near future?
What would you have done?