Technical Headgasket guide!

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Technical Headgasket guide!

Jack1998

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Evening.
Getting rather desperate for some help regarding my headgasket. I've traveled the internet and YouTube for far to many hours over the past month or so! It's a job that I want to attempt to tackle on my own however I can find no resources about the job at all. My local abarth specialist told me it's a horrible job and he doesn't like doing them and he's quoted me accordingly. Can someone please point me to the magical link/post/guide that I've missed that outlines the procedure, should such thing exist? Or is this such a horrible job that nobody does it DIY?
Any help is appreciated, unsure if I should post this in the Grande Punto section also as I believe the normal 1.4 16v would require the same procedure?

Thanks,

Jack.
 
Come on, do more Search (a proper one). There is plenty of material in the Internet (blogs, videos - YouTube!).

Whole spectrum of examples, professional full repair (block and head), experienced DIY, amateur/beginner DIY, and complete hack jobs. Or experiments.

Rules are roughly the same for all combustion engines. You don't have to look for your specific one. If there is no info, search for similar one (same family, which is called "FIRE" in case of Fiat - most of the petrol engines are based on that, more or less).
So you can search for any Fiat head gasket replacement job video, forum thread, Guide (even for 8V units), etc.

Job (DIY version) is tricky and time consuming. But totally doable. "It's not a rocket-science".
It is advisable, to do "the first time" on the plain 8V engine as an exercise (then 16V and/or Turbo/Diesel - more skills needed, even more attention to details - diagnostics, if the gasket itself is the only problem - rare case).

Job is "horrible", because there is a lot of cleaning (dirt/dust, oil, grease, coolant, old gaskets, carbon residues, etc.). And it hurts the back (inconvenient position/posture). A lot of disassembling/assembling, with surprises (broken studs, etc.), job includes the timing belt job and oil and so on...
 
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Just get another quote from another garage. Shop around. If you paid quite little for the car, expect to invest on it just a bit to keep it running. After that job is done, the engine's good for another ten years. Just think how long are you going to keep the car anyway. If not very long, then just sell it to someone willing to pay for the job. Nevertheless the car's not going to be worth much money anyway. Either way you're going to lose money. It's just a matter of how long you're going to keep it and the overal cost is going to be similar even with a new used car.


Unless you have a mechanic as a friend who can guide you thru all the steps, you should never try to do it by yourself. The trouble's really worth all that money.
 
Evening.
Getting rather desperate for some help regarding my headgasket. I've traveled the internet and YouTube for far to many hours over the past month or so! It's a job that I want to attempt to tackle on my own however I can find no resources about the job at all. My local abarth specialist told me it's a horrible job and he doesn't like doing them and he's quoted me accordingly. Can someone please point me to the magical link/post/guide that I've missed that outlines the procedure, should such thing exist? Or is this such a horrible job that nobody does it DIY?
Any help is appreciated, unsure if I should post this in the Grande Punto section also as I believe the normal 1.4 16v would require the same procedure?

Thanks,

Jack.

Hi Jack :)

Why are you looking to replace the Head Gasket

If its losing coolant.. check for leaks.. : damp carpets

Dont want to do it again 6 weeks later

( like my FIRE motor :eek: )

Charlie
 
Thank you for the replies.
I had searched properly, or at least I thought I had and came up with plenty of material for the FiRE 8v engine, which is great but from what I've been lead to believe is the 16v t jet engine in the abarths have an internal chain linking the two cams and a few other bits that are different. Unsure weather these cams and chain need locking tools or some special procedure for removal.
The engine itself has low compression on cylinders 2 and 3 and is drinking coolant, no mayo but a misfire at idle. Could also have a stuck valve too but they will get re lapped when the head is off.
 
Spark plugs were replaced two months ago, however when replaced they were all fouled as if running rich and upon pulling a few days ago were again fouled to the same extent.
 
Yes indeed, it's been losing it for a month or two now. I thought sensors also but with having low compression on cylinders I would imagine head.
 
If compression on 2 and 3 are bad, try also wet test compression - add oil into cylinders 2 and 3. If compr increases, faulty are most probably piston rings. But if coolant is loosing and you see smoke from exhaust, then head gasket. Because we are talking aabout cyl 2 and 3, there will be also faulty gasket betwwen both cyls, and one fault between cylinder and any closest water hole
 
Car has never overheated, it uses coolant it also likes a drink of oil, I get a little puff of blue smoke sometimes on startup but no white smoke, got no smoke under boost (had someone follow me), it has a lumpy idle, sounds almost like it's cammed at idle, but normal driving is unaffected.
Wet compression test showed the same results.
 
And there's no procedure for this engine on YouTube? I always found some videos foe any car I owned....a lot of videos for Fiat engines are made by Poland guys, or Portugal guys. Try to use translator to Portugal and check YouTube again ;-)
 
Car has never overheated, it uses coolant it also likes a drink of oil, I get a little puff of blue smoke sometimes on startup but no white smoke, got no smoke under boost (had someone follow me), it has a lumpy idle, sounds almost like it's cammed at idle, but normal driving is unaffected.
Wet compression test showed the same results.

It does sound like HG..

I wasnt expecting the dash of oil to change anything..

Are you capable of doing it yourself?

Its a days work.. but need all the right handtools... ;)
 
I've done a top end rebuild on my Clio 172 engine so I would say I'm capabale. Got all the tools I should need at my disposal apart from any engine specific timing tools. I was just hoping there would be some sort of guide written up somewhere for these Abarth T jet engines, the same as there is for the Clio 172 engines, rather than just start taking it apart and hoping for the best!
 
Why not (taking apart, etc.)?
If there is no guide...make one! :cool: Someone has to.
Just document your work and share the pictures (and/or videos) with descriptions = done, we have a Guide.
 
I've done a few headgaskets , Mini ,ford escort , peugeot pickup, and I got the head skimmed before I stuck them back together...there was an engineering works in Lancaster that did 'emwith a very quick turn around .. However here in Crete I did cheap fix on a fiat panda in the street outside the house and just whacked on a new gasket ...and it worked fine... for a few more years ...and then the gearbox went ...and I had too many projects and I scraped it ...I wish I'd kept it now ...
 
Having owned 40 FIATs..
Ive done my share

Only one I had issues with... fixed for a relative.. I suspect they cooked it.. :(
Pumped oil into cylinder 5 mins into road test :( car was an ebay purchase with all signs of a HG replacement being done the week before..)
So I just sold it as a project.. not worth days of my investigation..


My own gave me fair warning.. so no repeats

Last panda I had to do HG twice..six weeks apart (heater matrix had failed)
Swapped mayrix and new gasket with bolts

Did another 6 years without issue :)

I had none machined..all appeared flat

Panda on 2nd failure got checked on a milling machine with a DTI..


I too cannot believe there is no HG info.. your motor has been around for 15 years.

Figure out the Portuguese for Head Gasket

The t.jet was probably sold in Brazil 1st
 
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