a head gasket!

well, at least everything's been ok so far...
i called out the AA man after some serious overheating, he diagnosed head gasket.

so i booked it into a local garage to get repaired, but they checked the car over first and didn't think it was head gasket. they found a leak in the radiator and the fan switch for the cooling fan was dodgy.

so they replaced those last week and it's been running at normal temperature so far...

so just a tale of hope for those who fear head gasket problems!
it was still the best part of £200 to fix, but that's less than half what the head gasket would have been!

Good news

secretmachine said:

it was still the best part of £200 to fix, but that's less than half what the head gasket would have been!

Click to expand...

Head gasket including skimming is £250+vat

bloody hell £250, I'll do it for £80 inc all the other head gasket kit fittings, and a before after pressure test.

AM running the first ever Sunderland Uni garage society.

Good news SM.

The cooling system seems to be a particular weakness with these motors. From what I've read on this forum they need to be looked after more than yer average motor because they appear to have a marginal cooling capacity.

To avoid problems, make sure that the coolant is clean with the correct amount of antifreeze / corrosion inhibitor, this is particularly important to prevent the waterways in the aluminium cylinder head from blocking up.

Look out for any signs of overheating, it's better to stop and check it out than to limp to the nearest garage with a ruined engine.

I've just put some antifreeze in my daughter's pug 205, drained out a tremendous amount of crap first. It's been really neglected but just soldiers on! It seems some cars are more forgiving than others. (well so far)

Puntos need more TLC than average, They are lovely looking cars and relatively cheap but they are tend to be bought by younger folk that are new to motoring and need to learn.

You love your cars i know that, but this is the place to find out how to look after them.

All the best

pc









Did they fit a new rad mate?

thanks for the info pubcrawler... yes they fitted a shiny new radiator and a new fan switch, and anti-freeze, etc.

faster4_tec - that's great you'll do it cheaper... do you provide a warranty and will you come down to london to do it

T14086 - are you including labour costs in your price too? that's what usually doubles/rockets the total price.
but if that £250+vat includes labour... tell me where it can be done! every quote i got from local places here was £350-450 +vat