Technical Headgasket gone – parts – where from???

[DAVE_RSi]

Headgasket gone – parts – where from???



Looks like my mates 1996 P reg 1.1 Punto’s headgasket has gone.


Shes had to top up the water a few times in the last couple of weeks and last night after an hours driving her coolant temperature warning light came on and she noticed some steam from the bonnet

The light had apparently came on 4 days ago aswell, cars ran slightly jumpy since, bit of hesitation when driving I think


Two separate people from the AA came out and said headgasket, one did a test aswell and put a dipstick thing he had into the coolant expansion tank and said if it goes green then I’m pretty sure it’s the headgasket…. It went green straight away.
Engine still runs and the AA mechanic said that the engine sounds ok so she may just need to change the head, oil is still clear, not mayo like.



Anyway, car looks to be worth £500 on autotrader and a garage fix will be £250-400 wont it… She said she’d rather scrap it unless I can fix it, shame as she not long ago had it serviced and its got a long mot



Shes now disappeared off on holiday so might tackle it myself with a mate who used to be a mechanic at Peugeot, I don’t mind getting my hands dirty but the most I’ve done before really is brakes and exhausts




Right, question is wheres the best place for the main parts?

Head gasket kit - guessing this will be about £20-25, wheres best to get one though? even sellers on ebay seem to sell them or does someone know a place online they’d recommend

head bolts - sometimes come with the kit? Otherwise where from?


The rest I should be able to sort easily enough once things are in motion





Found some guides on here, a Haynes manual download for the car, and also a guide on doing the headgasket aswell

ttp://www.fiatforum.com/punto/170070-head-gasket-fiat-punto-1-1-a.html

ttp://www.fiatforum.com/cinquecento-seicento-guides/136702-cylinder-head-gasket-remove-refit.html

ttp://punto-club.narod.ru/Haynes.html



Tools needed:
variety of spanners from 10-16mm
Ratchet and socket set, slimline 13mm socket for centre front head bolt
5mm allen key
sump plug
sharp knife
Torque wrench
jack and axle stand
mugs of tea, and a bit of patience!!

Parts needed:
Head gasket kit
head bolts
Jubilee clips to replace broken Fiat clips
cam belt [if needed]

 

[cmgunn3r]

Hi mate,

Mine went two weeks ago, me and my dad did it. I thought it was going be a nightmare and would'nt work lol but after getting stuck in I fount it easy? to do. Just make sure both the head and cylinder block are smooth as possiable & clean free of the old gasket before you put it back together.

I got my head gasket set with new bolts from smithsons motor factors for £25. I'd recommend that place anyday anything I've need they've got and cheaper then other place's. And if I need advice there spot on.

No idea where you live lol but I'm in stoke on trent. and the shop is in longton near normacot. If you want there number please pm me.

Good luck hope everything goes ok!!

Dave

 

[nikkiy9]

dead easy job to do, the head set includes gasgets and oil seals, i would change them too, then while its stripped down, thermostat, timing belt and timing belt tensioner (mine was on its way out, removed it and the bearings then fell out!) won't take you long to do either!!!!

 

[cmgunn3r]

as nikki said, It's a good idea to do them, if money allows you to.

 

[DAVE_RSi]

cheers guys

would I be fine just getting the gasket kit off of ebay for £20 for the 1.1 or is there a decent fiat place online worth looking at

how hard was the timing to sort out? thats what my mate was mainly worried about.... or would it be easy enough if we made the appropriate marks on the old belt/tensioner with tipex before removal

 

[Ffoxy]

Take a look here for some free advice to avoid repeat failure guys.

https://www.fiatforum.com/punto/206032-head-gasket.html

 

[dave]

Re: Headgasket gone – parts – where from???

dont get ebay un branded kit.

look in yellow pages under motor factors, find one local to you. then get from them a payen gasket set and a new set of head bolts.

get a gates timing belt kit from the same place.

dont use old belt an tensioner, new kit only about 15 quid

 

[DAVE_RSi]

thanks again, had a read of that thread again.

Printing as much as I can for when I start it, probably this weekend.

Got a local motor factors place not far away at all so i'll give them a call and see how much it'll be from them, they're usually pretty cheap and useful for general bits


back to the timing quickly, we'll obviously be removing the cambelt and I think my mechanic mate is mostly concerned about getting the new belt on and the timing being correct!

Is it going to be simple enough or is there a sure fire way of getting it right?



Edit, also, looks like its a non interferance engine on the 1.1? so if we dont get the timing spot on first time its not going to completely ruin the engine and damages valves etc

 

[dave]

https://www.fiatforum.com/punto/19733-photos-timing-marks-8v-f-i-r-e-engines.html

https://www.fiatforum.com/punto/23603-8v-head-torque-settings-tighterning-order.html

you must skim head even if it looks flat

 

[DAVE_RSi]

thanks again for all the help, great site you've got here


rang my motor factors - £18 + vat for head kit, £6 + vat for head bolts

they're on order first, going to strip it down first and see how that goes before anything else is ordered

Will probably begin on saturday, will have the camera ready for lots of pictures and some tipex for if we need to make markings aswell

printed off the relevant pages of the haynes manual + a guide on here so hopefully it'll all make sense

cheers
Dave

 

[rallycinq]

I am sure if you have any questiions you'll be back on here.

However, doing the headgasket may only be half the job.

It is highly unusual for a head gasket just to 'go'.

There is usually a reason why it goes, again, usually overheating.

So,

Make sure that the radiator is ok, that the fan is working, that the water pump is OK, and the thermostat is working.

I would change the pump while your at it, they are not 'spensive, and its driven by the belt that you are changing anyway.

Once you have done the job, refill with the correct coolant and make sure its all bled.

Cheers

SPD

 

[DAVE_RSi]

I’ll probably run the car before I do any work on it and just check the fan cuts in at some point, shame theres no actual temperature gauge in the car


Going to change the thermostat as its what, about £14

When the overheating light came on she’d been driving on the motorway for about 3 hours straight, 400 odd mile trip

It’s only a 1.1 and she’d probably sat at quite a high speed for most of the trip aswell

 

[dave]

you could pop to scrappy and get a set of clocks and the temp sensor of an sx, they plug straight in and you will then have a tempature gauge

 

[xxxlaniexxx]

hey as you can see it was my post someone has told u too look at for free advice as my head gasket just went too i had a mechanic look at it first but then felt like it was loads of money he was after so with the haynes manual etc my dad and my boyfriend tackled it today and its working perfect like a dream we checked absolutely everything just because we had to take most parts off everything else other than the head gasket is working perfectly fine i think what happened was my temperature sensor wasnt working right so it overheated but thank god it never done anything to anything else and only the head gasket so the only thing other thing i am having to replace is the temperature sensor but i will admitt it took them 4 hours to do it lol stripping it down step by step with that manual lol and then once its off giving it a good clean etc then having to rebuild it but in the end it was well worth it and im 450 still better in my pocket all in all it cost me 23 lol

the good thing about this was that i kinda learned all about my engine and i really got into it

 

[rallycinq]

I hope you sent the head away for a skim before refitting.

Cheers

SPD

 

[xxxlaniexxx]

head gasket was all skimmed lol

 

[dave]

Re: Headgasket gone – parts – where from???

head gasket was all skimmed lol

you are supposed to get the head its self skimed

 

[xxxlaniexxx]

it has all been done! we got a garage to do it for us since we know them and the car is running absolutely perfect everything is going good

 

[DAVE_RSi]

Well finally got off my arse yesterday and got through a fair bit!

all seemed to go ok and without too many issues, just waiting on a mate with a better socket set though as I came to remove a head bolt and the socket I had kept wanting to rise and slip off

Using a breaker bar to undo them, it's the 2nd from the left on the bottom row, number 3 in the torque sequence

bloody thing, tried two different sockets and they sat on the bolt perfectly but when trying to turn it the socket just kept wanting to rise slightly and then slip, bolts in good condition and not rounded off


Need a mate with me I guess so I can get some weight on the top while they turn


Then head to a shop to see if it needs skimming

 

[nikkiy9]

dave, as it has been said a few times, the head will need skimmed, even if it looks alright, just a fraction of a mm's of warping will just cause it to go within a few weeks or months