General Blown gasket and heating matrix - Average cost to fix

[L1nds]

Hi everyone

I hope you can help; recently my Fiat (R reg, 1.2) has been heating up. I took it to a garage today and was initially quoted £350+ with the reason that it was a blown head gasket. However, when I went down to talk through the breakdown of the costs, I happened to mention the smell that was coming out of the heater, which resulted in them saying that the Heating Matrix was broken and that this and gasket would need to be replaced totalling £500+

When the garage owner was out of sight, both the mechanics took me aside and suggested that their were cheaper quick fixes for the heating matrix - something about rewiring two wires together, which means you dont have any heating but bypasses the matrix.

My car knowledge is pretty limited, but both the mechanics said that he was trying to rip me off. Can anyone suggest how much I would expect to pay for this and also explain the alternative fix for the heating matrix

 

[thelad]

Re: aftermarket car alarm going off after 15mins when locked.

I think what they are trying to say is that the heater is leaking and you can bypass the pipes to it by just looping the feed and return pipe togeather. Sounds alot to me for the head gasket doing. You can do it your self for below £150 easy, im told the heater rad is a bugger to do, hence why they said to bypass it, get another quote from another garage or ask them for a brakedown of parts and labour and put it on here and we can give you a better idea of what it may cost

 

[falconsflame]

Hi, i don't know much on the head gasket side but to replace the heater matrix is a pain in the **** to replace, taking out the dash etc.

They are correct, you can join the two hoses that enter/leave the matrix together so they bypass this. As they say you won't have any heat in the car but it will solve the smell problem. My punto had this and yes it was the heater matrix leaking very slowly. Used to be worse after a coolant change. You can put some sealant in the system but this will only usually slow down the leak i don't think it will fix it completely.

 

[sixpotman]

No heating though means frosted windows
if your disconnecting the heater you need
to use some sort of electric heater to keep
the windows from icing or misting - and fined
for dangerous driving due to restricted vision

John

 

[Ziggy122]

the parts isn't the expensive bit

its the Labour involved is massive
Alot of stripping down before the head can even though of been released....

And the HG Cleaning process can take time too

Then all back to gether again

Takes a good day i would have thought tho

Ziggy

 

[s and b]

i would suggest that if these problems need fixing by a man in a boiler suit then the car is scrap as theres nearly 2 days work in total needed plus parts and skim

might be better to look for a different car L1nds

of course if you did the work yourself
a heater matrix £40
head set £25
skim if needed £25
timing belt water pump and idler £45


sorry..........................................................................

 

[bredsticz]

Not worth it on an R reg. If you dnt mind bypassing the matrix then do that and repair head gasket. Max cost at a garage would be £300 for that.

Or DIY if confident.

As said though, if you bypass the matrix you'll need to buy a mini heater for in the car, especially for clearing the screen in winter

 

[Ziggy122]

Tha Funny smell tho could be easily the The Hot water Burning off instead

have you got any wet patchs inside the car - like the signs of a bad leak? Constant steaming up windows even with fans on?

Ziggy

 

[DaveMcT]

Rad Weld or Barrs Leaks might stop the heater leak, but its a big gamble to fix the head gasket and then find the heater still leaks. Bypassing it (no heater) is rarely good in summer never mind with deep winter rapidly approaching.

On an R reg its better to call time and scrap the car. If you planning to buy cheap, be VERY careful. All small 10 years old cars (any brand) will have a very high risk of neglected servicing and/or driver abuse. Fiats are no worse than any others but are generally cheap to fix (heater elements aside).

 

[L1nds]

Hi everyone

Thanks very much for your comments, very much appreciated. DIY is definitely out of the question - given the labour involved. I got a second opinion today and the conclusion was the same, to fix both I'm looking at upwards of £800. They've kept it overnight as I was unable to pick it up today and I'm intending on asking them for a breakdown of costs for the parts and labour, tomorrow. From what they said, there's bad leak (you can see it behind the pedals) and this makes sense as the windows have been steaming up regularly.

Unfortunately, I bought the car for work - the Head Office was relocated 50 miles away - so I'm lost without it but I'm not in a position to buy a new car, nor do I think that the car is worth paying that much to fix.

At the moment, I'm thinking as it's pretty much screwed anyway - that aside from scrapping it- the most cost effective option is to go with the sealant and ask them to by pass the heating matrix for me and buy an electric heater with the option of - possibly - coughing up for the head gasket.

Not ideal but generally as I see it my options are limited!

 

[DaveMcT]

A thick coat and one of these may be the best option (it suckers onto the windscreen)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-WINDS...ltDomain_3&hash=item27bfbf2694#ht_2040wt_1123

BUT make sure the car is otherwise fully checked out before spending on it.
All the common wear parts - Clutch, battery, brakes, steering joints, tyres, exhaust.

As winter is coming a Wipex kit for the wiper linkage would be a good idea.