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Mistpjenkins
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Hi, I’m in Aberdeen
. I did consider that, but it would be around £80-£100 with labour. Would it be worth it?
Technical Low compression on cylinders 1 & 2
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Technical Low compression on cylinders 1 & 2
. I did consider that, but it would be around £80-£100 with labour. Would it be worth it?
OMGHi, I’m in Aberdeen
I did consider that, but it would be around £80-£100 with labour. Would it be worth it?
Set of NGK brand spark plugs are around £25 including delivery.
Www.gsparkplug.com
Changing the plugs should take half hour at most .
I don't know if "clickmechanic" cover Scotland- have a look on line.
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Mistpjenkins
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OMG? Lol
Is it something that I can do myself if I follow a tutorial or something? Id be happy to try but I don’t know if it’s Possible lol.
Fair enough but Do mechanics charge for half hours of labour?
I’ll have a look at clickmechanic
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Mistpjenkins
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Clickmechanic is £112.35
Omg again , I expect that includes the spark plugs on which there will be a mark up.
Get a price from clickmechanic for half hour labour. Could save if you get spark plugs .
As I said in the post, Kenny would want to do his own checks on the car before giving you a "hard" quote. The figures I've given here were only after I said to him "assuming it turns out to be the gasket, how much might that cost?" I think the breakdown thing would only work if you had a top level cover and even then they might not do it because your "home" address is not Edinburgh. Depends on the conditions of your cover? It's just that he mentioned it so maybe he's had a previous customer who managed to get it done this way?
Aye Jack, spark plugs for the likes of us who will buy from a trade source - probably? - and remove the old ones and fit the new ones ourselves is always an excellent and highly cost effective starting point. However I can't forget that this engine has had a compression test done by a garage, so supposedly a "proper" mechanic carried out the test? Doing a compression test is a very basic procedure which any competent mechanic can do "as easy as falling off a log" I find it difficult to think this result should be discounted?
Edit: Just wondering if this quite simple head job would appeal to a mobile mechanic. This is quite a simple and accessible engine and it's the sort of job I'd happily do in my driveway on my own Panda - indeed have done so in the past - so a mobile mechanic might be worth a call?
Hi Jock,
I was hoping that the spark plugs could be changed for a sensible price locally.... maybe not.
Really lovely of you to contact Kenny.
Trustworthy hands on the vehicle would be very good indeed. Plus get a full report on compression readings.
Best wishes
Jack
ECP have a fit it for me service that may cover spark plugs?
It's simple to replace them only need a plug spanner and some basic tools
It's simple to replace them only need a plug spanner and some basic tools
Yes John, simple for the likes of us "clever clogs" who mess about with cars for fun but our OP says he has no skills in this area. The plugs are some of the easier to change in that they are not a "coil on" design but the leads can be very tight on the plugs and inexperienced people do pull the ends of the plug leads off. Also, although "simple" to many of us, the plugs do live down the back of the head so the air filter needs to come off and a simple DIY type plug socket will not be as easy to use as a proper ratchet and socket with appropriate extension. Then there's the fact the plugs are at two different angles so having replaced one plug it's neighbour is not going in at exactly the same angle which could, again for an inexperienced person, increase the possibility of cross threading. So, a simple job to you and me could be filled with pitfalls for the likes of our OP?
Meant to reply to this post about low fuel earlier and I just forgot. How low do you mean by "low" If the gauge is down near the bottom of it's scale but the low fuel warning light is not lit I can't see it making a difference. If the gauge is hard against empty and the warning light is lit then the pump might be pulling some air with the wee bit of fuel left and that just might give trouble with low fuel pressure. I'm wondering too if the car is parked on flat ground or on a steep slope which might cause fuel, if the level was very low, to uncover the end of the pickup in the tank? By the way, it's generally very bad practice to run the tank right down on modern cars. It tends to let the fuel slosh around vigorously in the tank and stir up any sediment which normally would be lying in the bottom which can then get drawn up and partially (or worse) block up the fuel filter - which is a bit awkward on ours as it's a submerged filter in the fuel tank itself and normally expected to be a "for life" fitment. Also allowing air into the fuel pickup is not good for the electric fuel pump as it uses the fuel to lubricate and cool the pump. By the way you can hear the fuel pump if you sit in the car quietly and turn the ignition on to the "run" position (ie. not as far as where the starter motor works) you should be able to hear the pump humming under the back seat which it will do for a short while until pressure has been built up when it will stop. (it's actually designed to stop after a short while if it detects the engine isn't running to reduce the risk of fire) Of course if you then actually start the engine the pump will start up again but you won't hear it because of the engine noise. It's good to know this because if you ever run completely out of petrol there will be air in the fuel lines after you put more petrol in which could mean taking quite a few attempts at starting to get rid of the air. If you put the new petrol in and turn the ignition on - don't work the starter - wait for the pump to stop and turn it off again. Repeat 2 or 3 times. This will flush new fuel through, chasing the air out and it should then start easily when you twist that key further and work the starter motor.
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Mistpjenkins
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Oh yes the fuel light was on. It was around 1/16 of a tank according to the digital dial. I don’t normally let it get that low but I just hadn’t had a chance to stop for fuel due to poor time management this weekend
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Mistpjenkins
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Oh, there you go, just had McLennans garage: https://www.mclennansgarage.com/ (the other Fiat/Alfa specialist I mentioned) on the 'phone and he's talking again about wanting to properly examine the car before committing fully to a price but estimates the whole job at under £1,000 all in. He recons to include a head skim which would include a pressure test for cracking (Both these operations have to be done at a dedicated machine shop and are a good idea in my view), a change of engine oil and filter because water and other contaminants are likely to get in during the work also a cam belt kit including water pump. I don't know this garage quite so well as Kenny Harrison's but I believe he's an ex Alfa Romeo main dealer mechanic but I got "good vibes" speaking to him and he certainly sounded to me as if he knew exactly what he was talking about. He was astonished when I mentioned £500 to strip the head from the engine and give a firm quote.
So I think we can reliably say that either of these garages would do an A1 job for under £1000. Still a lot of money though isn't it but an awful lot less than your chaps up in Aberdeen are talking about.
So I think we can reliably say that either of these garages would do an A1 job for under £1000. Still a lot of money though isn't it but an awful lot less than your chaps up in Aberdeen are talking about.
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Mistpjenkins
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You’re a gem for helping me out like this! I think I’m defs getting ripped off because it’s Arnold Clark and the Fiat mechanic doing it. By any chance would either of them know anyone in Aberdeen they could recommend? I don’t know how well you know them, as to whether you’d be able to ask.
A big dealership is pretty much always going to be a fair bit more expensive than an indy and I know from having worked in large dealers - many years ago now - that often they are not very interested in older cars because it's much simpler to work on newer cars (much less likely to run into trouble with rusty nuts and bolts etc for a start) To be fair to them it's difficult to quote accurately on older cars for that sort of reason so I think they tend to "load" the quote in the hope you'll either go away or, if you do decide to go with them, the profit margin makes it worth the "agro" of working on the older vehicle. I don't know anyone up your way and I wouldn't have the bare face to walk into their reception and ask if they know someone who would do it cheaper! I have had some success in the past lurking around the workshop doors at finishing time and having a quiet word with a likely looking mechanic as he leaves for home but it is a risky ploy!
A quick google search turned up these guys who are a lot nearer you: https://www.dinnetgarage.co.uk/our-services/ and they have actual Fiat accreditation. No idea what they are like but I notice they have a Hunter aligning bench which is a serious bit of kit and will need a competent man to work it - it's nothing to do with doing a head gasket but might be an indication that they have staff who know what they are doing. These people popped up too: https://www.albyngarage.co.uk/ I know absolutely nothing about them but to do MOT testing you have to have a certain minimum standard of facility available so they are not going to be a cowboy outfit, probably.
The thing is with a car of this age you probably need to stay away from the really big big outfits with the expensive shiny premises - It's all got to be paid for somehow and guess who's giving them the money!
Regarding knowing garages in your area I did kind of hint at it with Kenny but he didn't "bite" and I don't know the other chap well enough to ask. Sorry.
No, this would actually be a bad idea.
Replacing the plugs might indeed make the car run better, but it won't fix the underlying problem and could encourage the OP to continue using the car, which will make the underlying problem worse.
Unless you're going to discount the compression test results (and from what's been posted so far, there's no reason to), the only way this engine can be repaired is to pull the head and change the gasket. This will only be possible if the head and block are sufficiently flat, or have enough remaining metal to be machined back to flat. Once the erosion proceeds beyond this point, the chance of a sub-£1000 repair will be gone.
It would, of course, be reasonable and prudent to fit new ones when the engine is reassembled after HG replacement; this should add no more than the (quite modest) cost of the plugs to the final bill. Given the age of the car and its seemingly chequered service history, fitting a new cambelt and water pump would also be good practice, as has already been mentioned.
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Yup jrk. I said way back in this thread that the car needs to be laid up now.
Well you all been busy since I last replied 
as I said many posts ago…. Our op needs to go get a second opinion regarding the compression test…. From what was posted regarding this particular mechanic… it’s the first thing I’d do personally!
Then & only then you will know for SURE!
as I said many posts ago…. Our op needs to go get a second opinion regarding the compression test…. From what was posted regarding this particular mechanic… it’s the first thing I’d do personally! Then & only then you will know for SURE!
Look up to see if there's any "mobile mechanics" in your area, if so contact them and ask how much a compression test would be, or another garage, then decide from there?
