nicky estambul
New member
hi, ive been registered on this forum after buying my mk1 punto in november, and have had some good advice on the few problems i have had so far. well it has finally reached a climax.. the head gasket has gone.
the car only cost 350 quid, cosmetically quite good for year (1998) so i was thinking i had got myself a bargain. now not so sure.
the first problem i had was overheating / cold air from heaters, turned out to be an airlock in the coolant. i bled it and got it fixed, the heater which wasnt working started to blow out hot air again so i assumed i was all sorted. wrong. water level kept dropping very very slowly but none the less it needed topping up now and again.
out driving on sunday and the car started to misfire, maybe i should have looked at it sooner but with no garage and the weather we have been having i couldnt be arsed, kept putting it off. so anyway i have decided to take it off the road and after discovering loads of creamy gunk in the hose from rocker cover to air box face the fact the head gasket needs changing.
i found a guide on here to change head gasket, im no mechanic and am learning as i go but quite mechanically minded and willing to try so am gonna give it a go myself and see if i can fix it.
yesterday i made a start, took injector, rocker cover off and slackened the inlet and exhaust manifold nuts off ready for when i get there. tonight i did a bit more, put it up on axle stands, took off drivers side wheel and took off coil pack. turns out plug leads 3 and 4 were fried which prob (or def) caused the misfiring. then i stupidly broke one of the clips that fasten the wires to the coil pack, of the 2 looms running to\from it its the one closest to the front of the car that broke. without sounding stupid, i am hoping there is a decent way to refasten this securely without renewing anything>?? any suggestions greatly appreciated??
cant do anymore till friday afternoon now due to work commitments, which walking there and back is already pissing me off so am hoping to have it done for next week. maybe as a novice thats wishful thinking, but i work in an engineering factory and boss is off on sat morn so am hoping to get head off friday and milled on sat. then i can start putting it back together...... any tips / suggestions greatly appreciated to help me in my quest. cheers!
the car only cost 350 quid, cosmetically quite good for year (1998) so i was thinking i had got myself a bargain. now not so sure.
the first problem i had was overheating / cold air from heaters, turned out to be an airlock in the coolant. i bled it and got it fixed, the heater which wasnt working started to blow out hot air again so i assumed i was all sorted. wrong. water level kept dropping very very slowly but none the less it needed topping up now and again.
out driving on sunday and the car started to misfire, maybe i should have looked at it sooner but with no garage and the weather we have been having i couldnt be arsed, kept putting it off. so anyway i have decided to take it off the road and after discovering loads of creamy gunk in the hose from rocker cover to air box face the fact the head gasket needs changing.
i found a guide on here to change head gasket, im no mechanic and am learning as i go but quite mechanically minded and willing to try so am gonna give it a go myself and see if i can fix it.
yesterday i made a start, took injector, rocker cover off and slackened the inlet and exhaust manifold nuts off ready for when i get there. tonight i did a bit more, put it up on axle stands, took off drivers side wheel and took off coil pack. turns out plug leads 3 and 4 were fried which prob (or def) caused the misfiring. then i stupidly broke one of the clips that fasten the wires to the coil pack, of the 2 looms running to\from it its the one closest to the front of the car that broke. without sounding stupid, i am hoping there is a decent way to refasten this securely without renewing anything>?? any suggestions greatly appreciated??
cant do anymore till friday afternoon now due to work commitments, which walking there and back is already pissing me off so am hoping to have it done for next week. maybe as a novice thats wishful thinking, but i work in an engineering factory and boss is off on sat morn so am hoping to get head off friday and milled on sat. then i can start putting it back together...... any tips / suggestions greatly appreciated to help me in my quest. cheers!