Punto sorted... well, sort of!
Finally got round to sorting me head gasket 'other day! Got it skimmed for 20 squid, the guy at the skimming place said that it looks like it's been skimmed several times before and probably won't survive another skim
nowt in the service history about head skims!
It now runs fine, no overheating, also fitted a new lambda sensor while the downpipe was off which seems to have cured the ECU light and 4500rpm limit problem on the motorway. Hopefully it'll stop drinking petrol as well was a right royal buger to get the old one off: I had to angle grind the body of the sensor off so that I could get a normal 22mm socket onto it, then clamped it in a workbench and gave it hell with an 18" breaker bar. To say it was well siezed was an understatement, turning it took so much force I was seriously worried about breaking the 1/2" square drive thingy on my bar! It would have just destroyed one of the slotted lambda sensor wrenches that garages use.
Its still not perfect though... when I took it out for its first run after doing the head, there was a trickle of oil from the head/block joint just about the water pump I turned all the head bolts another 45 degrees which helped, although there's still a very small amount of seepage (i.e. after a 30-mile trip including motorways there was a tiny bit of wetness visible). Worth worrying about or not?
Also, theres a strange sort of groaning noise which comes in when the engine goes over about 1500rpm. Any idea what it could be? The belt and tensioner are brand new, belt tension is as per Haynes recommendation (ie can just be twisted through 90 degrees on the run from cam sprocket to water pump); I know that the alternator bearings are f***ed and it makes a high-pitched whining noise, so unlikely to be that; the alternator drivebelt is good and tight; and I replaced a worn out water pump last year which sounded nothing like the weird groaning I'm getting now.
Finally got round to sorting me head gasket 'other day! Got it skimmed for 20 squid, the guy at the skimming place said that it looks like it's been skimmed several times before and probably won't survive another skim
nowt in the service history about head skims! It now runs fine, no overheating, also fitted a new lambda sensor while the downpipe was off which seems to have cured the ECU light and 4500rpm limit problem on the motorway. Hopefully it'll stop drinking petrol as well
was a right royal buger to get the old one off: I had to angle grind the body of the sensor off so that I could get a normal 22mm socket onto it, then clamped it in a workbench and gave it hell with an 18" breaker bar. To say it was well siezed was an understatement, turning it took so much force I was seriously worried about breaking the 1/2" square drive thingy on my bar! It would have just destroyed one of the slotted lambda sensor wrenches that garages use.Its still not perfect though... when I took it out for its first run after doing the head, there was a trickle of oil from the head/block joint just about the water pump
I turned all the head bolts another 45 degrees which helped, although there's still a very small amount of seepage (i.e. after a 30-mile trip including motorways there was a tiny bit of wetness visible). Worth worrying about or not?Also, theres a strange sort of groaning noise which comes in when the engine goes over about 1500rpm. Any idea what it could be? The belt and tensioner are brand new, belt tension is as per Haynes recommendation (ie can just be twisted through 90 degrees on the run from cam sprocket to water pump); I know that the alternator bearings are f***ed and it makes a high-pitched whining noise, so unlikely to be that; the alternator drivebelt is good and tight; and I replaced a worn out water pump last year which sounded nothing like the weird groaning I'm getting now.
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