(G) Head gasket ?

Hi,
I got an UNO 45 Fire 999cc Carb
Last few days it was overheating kinda so I refilled the coolant tank
run fine for 2 days until it started overheating again and noticed that the coolant tank was almost empty again.
Most certainly it seems I have a water leak somewhere. The problem is when the car is standing it's not leaking from anywhere.
Oil color in the dipstick is fine so there is no water contamination in the oil department.
I asked a few friends and told me it might be a cylinder head gasket blown...
What do you guys suggest ? Can it be fixed with proper tools and a new gasket or does it need to be taken to a garage ?
Thanks

you can do the headgasket yourself on a uno very easy job.

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Check for white smoke coming from exhaust pipe (steam). Also take water filler cap off and start car up, check for exhaust gasses coming from water. Check for drips when car is running and engine is warm. If you have a leaky pipe it might be a sign of head gasket failure, so don't just assume it's a pipe problem.

Replacing gasket is easy as Dave says. You'll need a new gasket (£10ish), a torque wrench (£14.99 in Argos), and a decent selection of sockets and spanners. A Haynes Manual is also very useful and almost essential if you haven't attempted such a job before. You can view it online via this site. Also, if your engine has been overheated the head might need to be skimmed (£25 approx). The cost can add up but it's a good deal cheaped than taking it to a garage and you can learn an awful lot in the process.

Drop us a line if you have any trouble.

Cheers,

Shane

Helo again,
thanks for your replies, I went to a garage to test me for CO2 in the water tank and it was negative.
so since there is no water in the oil, neither steaming out at the exhaust I think I have to forget the possibility of a head gasket problem.
What I noticed is that when you drive the car normally ie just cruising around town the water stays in the tank like nothing's wrong.
Now, if I take a long journey like 30 miles or more on the motorway where the engine works under pressure, the water in the tank is considerably lowered, lost. Haynes gives these reasons for coolant loss.

m Loose hose clips
m Hoses perished or leaking
m Radiator leaking
m Filler/pressure cap defective
m Blown cylinder head gasket
m Cracked cylinder block or head

I will check what sterryroad said and run the engine in nutral and checking for leaks. Its definately not leaking when standing but when reved up it might be.

There's another one with the "FIRE"

It is possible for the metal pipe which runs to the back of the water pump to get porous, if it's been run with no (or old) antifreeze for any length of time.

If it has something like "Bars leaks" added it will not leak until it all gets rather hot and bothered, then it will loose some for a while - then the leak stopper does it's job again when the pressure is down later.

When it leaks it dribbles around the oil filter.


Been there, found that one out the hard way.

thanks I will check it.

I have a suspicion its my water tank cap.

after a journey when the car is sitting in the garage and engine is cooling down, I hear air pops from the cap. I will replace the cap with some other from a scrap yard and will see. could be when water gets hot it evaporates through the defective cap (if so).

I have 130,000 miles on the car :) Long live Unos !