engine problem

[freckles]

I wondered if anyone could give me some advise.
my fiat brava 80 1.2sx has just had its head repaired, new gasket and the rest. the mechanic who repaired the car ran the engine for 10 minutes it then ran rough. he found water in the engine oil , could it be another problem besides the actual head and gasket. being a woman I do not know about these things.
any sensible advise would be really appreciated.
I live in france so good advise is not too easy to come by

 

[Rab]

Could be that the head is warped and needs to be skimmed flat again.
If it is warped and he just re-fit it with a new gasket then it's still going to leak water where it shouldn't be.
Tom will hopefully be on later and will probably give you a better answer than i can.

 

[Tom]

What Rab said

The obvious question is why was the head taken off in the first place?

 

[freckles]

the inital problem was that it was loosing water but we did not know where, it was taken to our local garage and he noticed it was smoking (white) from the exhaust, about 3 days after that we noticed water in the oil. the head was taken off and was told by the machine shop it was warped on one side, it has been reskimmed and a new head gasket and bolts were fitted by a local mechanic. after running it he said it was running perfectly but then he checked the oil it had water in it. he had previously put new oil filter and oil, he now says he thinks the block has gone, could this be the case.

 

[Rab]

It's possible.
Had you had the car long before this happened?
It could have been damaged by the previous owner.
If the engine has been run with very low water it can overhead and warp the head as it has with yours, and if that is not corrected quickly and the engine continues to overheat then yes it is possible for some of the water chaannels in the block to crack and when re-filled with water for it to escape back into the engine oil.
Result = new engine
Had you had the car long before this happened?
If not maybe you have a warrenty from the garage you bought it from?
Or if it was a private sale then you have no warrenty.

 

[freckles]

unfortunately no we have only just bought the car, and again unfortunately from an auction, no comebacke there. the car was actually stood for some months so it could have something to do with the fact it was not run in such a while. we will never know.

 

[Rab]

Well if you expect the worst it can only get better.
Hope you have better luck with the next engine that goes in it.
It's a cracking car and when it's working well your going to love driving it.

 

[Tom]

The block could be warped too. Also could be a cracked block/head. Either way not a cheap fix.

Best bet would be to get the head crack tested.