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Technical Help Bravo died today! Head Gasket?

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Technical Help Bravo died today! Head Gasket?

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kaosNW

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Hey im hoping someone can help me!

Today i was driving my fiat bravo 1.2 sx 80 16v down the motor way when i started to hear a strange noise that sounded like it was coming from the rear.
I looked at the dash and the injector light was flicking on and off which it never has before! (n)
then I noticed the temp was at max so I looked for the nearest hard sholder but within 3 mins of me hearing the sound the whole car just lost all power basically ground to a hault with steam pouring out the engine

So called the AA and they poured coolent into the expansion tank and told me to turn it on while the cap was open. This made the coolent just bubble up and out

He said its the head gasket, does this sound right? But he said its likely something caused it to overheat and that killed the gasket, so has anyone got any ideas as to how to fix it? and is it worth fixing it or is it scrappage time?

Now the car doesnt turn over at all, it sounds like its trying but doesnt actually turn over

PLEASEEEEEE HELP!
 
Thats the thing, i do check my dash all the time, thats what i said the light came on after the noise, followed by overheating and loss of power in the space of 3 mins

coolant was checked about 3 weeks ago, and after the engine cooled there was still coolent in the tank
 
The recovery man is probably not wrong.

It is usual that another issue causes the headgasket to go, so you need to fix the headgasket and find the reason. Its a few hundred quid if getting it done, possibly less than £200 in parts (depending on what else you need to replace).

Only you can decide whether that is worth it or not.

Cheers

SPD
 
cheers mate, well I think the cars worth about 5-600max, so dont really wanna pay loads to fix it, If it was just the head gasket it wouldnt have over heated would it?

Is there any checks i can do to see what else is wrong with it? Also the fact that it now doesnt turn over seems bad to me, could it have cracked the head or something?

Thanks for your reply mate
 
kaosNW said:
cheers mate, well I think the cars worth about 5-600max, so dont really wanna pay loads to fix it, If it was just the head gasket it wouldnt have over heated would it?

Is there any checks i can do to see what else is wrong with it? Also the fact that it now doesnt turn over seems bad to me, could it have cracked the head or something?

Thanks for your reply mate
Click to expand...

A failed headgasket pressurises the water, forces it all out, and then the engine overheats.

OR

The engine overheats due to a loss of coolant (possibly also pump failure, thermostat, etc, etc) The overheating causes the head to warp slightly letting the gasket be attacked by the explosions going on inside.

Cheers

SPD
 
it probably wont turn over now cos theres water in the cylinders that will not compress if you park the car on a hill put it in gear and leave it sitting on the engine it will slowly push the water past the rings into the sump allowing you to turn over the engine again remember to sit in and press the break when it lets go and starts to rotate

if you get the engine started without coolant in briefly and it sounds ok you should be fine as far as serious overheating goes and it should just be a simple head gasket replacement with a skim and a new thermostat as heat damages themostats

you wont need to check the fan as you were moving at the time and a radiator could not get blocked that quick

as for reasons for gasket failure there's a potability it has been gone for some time and only at that moment it ran out of water ie the level got below the water pump and stopped flowing hence it boiled it all out

a chunk of the gasket could have just got blown out meaning the engine presurised the cooling system with gas very quickly

or the thermostat failed but i doubt that would happen so quickly either

i'm going for the gasket was gone and it just ran out of coolant or got too low stopping flow

i would say providing it starts and doesent miss or ratlle it's pistons out it should be worth repairing providing in your opinion the car is in an otherwise good state of health and repair
 
The Sultan said:
it probably wont turn over now cos theres water in the cylinders that will not compress if you park the car on a hill put it in gear and leave it sitting on the engine it will slowly push the water past the rings into the sump allowing you to turn over the engine again remember to sit in and press the break when it lets go and starts to rotate

if you get the engine started without coolant in briefly and it sounds ok you should be fine as far as serious overheating goes and it should just be a simple head gasket replacement with a skim and a new thermostat as heat damages themostats

you wont need to check the fan as you were moving at the time and a radiator could not get blocked that quick

as for reasons for gasket failure there's a potability it has been gone for some time and only at that moment it ran out of water ie the level got below the water pump and stopped flowing hence it boiled it all out

a chunk of the gasket could have just got blown out meaning the engine presurised the cooling system with gas very quickly

or the thermostat failed but i doubt that would happen so quickly either

i'm going for the gasket was gone and it just ran out of coolant or got too low stopping flow

i would say providing it starts and doesent miss or ratlle it's pistons out it should be worth repairing providing in your opinion the car is in an otherwise good state of health and repair
Click to expand...

Thanks for your really helpful reply mate, I really need a car to get to university so i really need to weigh up my options asap! either get the car fixed asap or get a car on finance from cargiant etc and be lumbered with a debt for the next few years! - but i can drive away possibly today

Further to the bravos problems, about a month ago it started blowing cold air only out of the heaters, i presumed it was the heater matrix but i had no coolant in the footwell. Just wondering if that could be linked to the head gasket going?
 
This is EXACTLY what happened to mine. How confident are you at playing with the car? It can be fixed, I have fixed my head gasket, it is quite an easy job if you know what your doing, but there are some important things that would need to be done. Your cylinder head will be banana shaped and will need a skim at the least. AA man is spot on, sounds like the head gasket went, that put fine mist's of water into the combustion chamber causing a poor spark, hence injector light and then it failed big time hence the white smoke. We can help if you choose to do it yourself.
 
cheers mate, im interested in fixing it if it can be done for a reasonable amount! im quite confident and have a mate who is a good mechanic (just quite a moany/lazy one!)
Any help would be great mate how much do you reckon it will cost to put right?

so thats a new head gasket, and a skim?
 
kaosNW said:
Further to the bravos problems, about a month ago it started blowing cold air only out of the heaters, i presumed it was the heater matrix but i had no coolant in the footwell. Just wondering if that could be linked to the head gasket going?
Click to expand...

That was the start of your problems. Chances are you were losing water. Did you actually remove the reservoir cap each week, or just look through the plastic side of it to see the level.

Cheers

SPD
 
I opend the cap and looked through on the expansion tank, there are markings to show the level but the tank is thick white plastic so the water level it impossible to see through it as its in a dark spot in the engine.

So i just ensured the water level was about 3/4 up the tank where it always has been. It didnt seem to loose any water as the weeks passed. The heater went cold after that cold snap so I thought maybe a pipe burst etc in the heater matrix (had that problem before)
 
Hi there. The problem a month ago was probably the start of the failure and slowly it progressed to the point of no return - today! I got all my parts from GSF, and the prices where £35 for head set which includes ALL needed gaskets. £35 for the timing belt kit, which you will need if it has not been done for 6months or more, and finally £10 for the headbolts, dont use the originals as they are stretch bolts and may snap if used again, or bottom out in screw thread before they are torqued up properly. All prices where +VAT. I have a mate who can skim heads so I got that done for free, but it's about £30 to £50 if you need to have it done. I guess your mechanic mate can help with that. The important thing is to make good quality markings for the timing belt because this engine has a weird way of timing up, but its not the end of the world if you have problems. You will also need standard service stuff like oil, filter and antifreeze, plugs probably wont hurt, check to see if you can get your ht leads off, as mine had welded themselves to the top of the plugs with the heat, but you stopped quickly i think when you noticed the heat. On my car, the cost for the head work was just the £100 for parts and £20 for oil etc. Happy to help if you need it.
 
Thanks for all the valuable advice everyone! Ill ask my mate tomorrow what he thinks and if he will help, The head gasket is a day+ job on its own right? and not something that should be attempted by a novice with a haynes?

Also dont I need to get a special fiat tool for the T.belt?
 
If you mark the belt appropriately then the tools are not essential. I have done the whole job without special tools. And started it before my haynes arrived! The only tool you will need is an M9 Ribe for the head bolts.
 
cheers mate, gonna see if my mechanic is able to help. Out of interest if i cant get it done do you reckon i should put it up for sale or scrap it? (bodyworks not the best slight dents in both wings, cracked front window!, bumpers look to have been resprayed and are peeling in one place, really doesnt make it sound appealing! lol)
 
i strongly advise you get hold of timing tools and do it properly or instruct a garage and make sure it's not done with tipex the timing on 16v fiats is critical and you can come unstook easily it's a big risk that is little understood
 
Umm, car sounds lovely! It's obviously up to you, but if you have the money to repair and not to replace then repair is the answer. If your mechanic mate is prepared to help, then probably best to get him to deal with the timing belt side of things. I made some of my own timing tools using two dowels and the correct size allen key for the cam locking tool. If the rest of the car is sound (i.e. mechanically) then it's probably worth it. Incidentally there are a few engines on ebay, that arn't too high in price. Remember that the tools all add to the cost of the job and have little additional value, they are about £90 for the set and that is going to be about 40 to 50% of the total cost.
 
easy to do head gasket on theres cars. but dont mark the belt as the belt needs to come off mark the top belt wheel and the head extenstion and u will need 2 strips of metal going between the head extenstion or the intel and exhaust valves will get mixed up.
 
Thanks for all the input, but I think its not gonna be a viable option for me to repair due to lack of time/money/experience!

So going to get a new car, i was looking at grande puntos but I dont know how reliable they are as this bravo was my first fiat and seemed to ALWAYS have some kind of problem!

I found a few that are Cat C but passed VIC test - whats peoples opionions on those? and one with the ABS light on but the guy said its a common fault ( i think it may be a wire loose or something)
 
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