Forums Forums Enthusiast Forums A - Z Autowirral Head Gasket Gone ?

what is the worst case for a blown head gasket?

my serena was still running when it went into the garage and the so call expert says it may be total f***ed and he hasnt got the head off yet
i may have a total rebuilt engine only been benched tested 150+bhp SR20de
i am in two minds should i get it and just do an engine swap the expert say its more trouble that its worth ive swap vaxuhall engines b4 but nothing like this.
can anyone help me with advice.
i want to keep the serena ive spent lots on her and she never let me down till now.
thanks

Okay, you need to work out the costs involved for

1: a standard rebuild

2: Replace with upgraded engine

If a standard re-build costs £1,000 and the upgraded engine costs £1,500 then you need to ask yourself is it worth the extra £500 for the power increase ?

If you are to upgrade the engine at any time then now is the time to do it as you are already half way there with costs.

If you got the standard engine re-built and then wanted to swap for the more powerfull engine then this would cost you £1,500 but at the moment its only costing an extra £500...

(Prices used as example prices only)

Sounds like a good idea to upgrade if your happy keeping the car for a while to benefit from the upgrade....

Who's doing the work ?

If its Only the head gasket then
that's all that needs repairing.

That's all i can guess from the info you have provided.

All the head gasket does is keep the chambers seperate, oil / water / pistons.

Its only there so you can replace parts on the head easier than a whole engine block.

Hope that helps.

Post as much info as posible.
What milage we looking at for the current engine?

bloody hell webby,u know what a head gasket does,only jokin mate. As webby says,if the head gasket goes then that needs replacing,all ur waterways and oilways MAY need flushing if there has been cross contamination of oil and water.Not massive on engine failures like but i think it shouldnt be too expensive,main problem is the work involved to do it,the head needs to come off for a start and that will involve cambelt work,timing set-up etc,then ive heard a lot about,if the head and block get seperated its very wise to re-tap the block and cheange the head bolts...So,actually,it could be expensive.

If water got into ur combustion chamber theres the POSSIBILITY of the chamber suffering from "hydraulic lock" this is when the pistons try and compress water in the chamber,which wont compress so something has to give,sometimes its the conrods.So i hear

the car is at kelvin autos wallasey
the mileage is 1900000km serviced twice a year for the 3 years ive had it and had service history for 4years b4 that.
its also gas converted.
i know the water is like a fountain from the rad but theses no water in the oil. thermostat has gone which caused the problems in the frist place
ive the engine needs swaping i will be doing it cant afford new engine and fitting.

hope uve accidently added a 0 there mate, 1.9 million killometres.Ouch

190 thousand km sorry

That kind of mileage is probably about right for a gasket to say "I give up" as its been running so hot, with the failure of the Thurmostate.

So at best, the head has expanded ever so slightly, and that's been enough for the pressures to be to escape and create a leak via the head gasket.

If its still running,
then there shouldnt be any real machanical failures.

Obviously there are going to be maintance jobs to do along the way as mentioned above,
Skim the head, cam belts, new gaskets.

O and dont forget a new Thermostat

yer she was running fine just the water spiting out so i should ask for a second opinion if he say its f***ed.
hes not keen on doing the job he keeps moaning.

I could take a look for you, just as a second opinion .....

the heads off yippeee
he says it not the bad repairable pistons in vgc so is the head
haveing it tested to be sure rebuilding it monday
thanks for the advice and thanks for the offer scooby

If they have taken the head off are they recplacing the bolts, I had a Rover for 2 years and the head gasget went 3 times If they aint changin the bolts and skimmin a new gasket it will only go again, believe me.

To do the job properly on the rover would of cost me £300 each time. Iv only skimmed over whats already been said so i mite be repeating someone already.

Hope this helps.

as far as i know the bolts are in the kit all gaskets and yes i think is being skimmed

Okay, lets get rid of the "Myths" of this topic.

Only Ally heads require skimming once removed. As Dav pointed out, dont skimp on this, if its an ally head GET IT SKIMMED without doubt otherwise it will go again. If the head is Cast (Older Engines) then it wont need skimming.

Not all cars require the head bolts replacing, this is vehicle specific. Check with the garage if they need replacing, if your vehicle needs new head bolts then Replace them without doubt, once again.

Do it correctly the first time around

Its worth pointing this out also, Head gaskets DO NOT just fail, the engine overheats and then the head gasket fails. So with this in mind you MUST find the cause of the engine overheating or it will overheat all over again.

Typical causes are :

1. Cooling Fan not working (Normally the thermo-switch faulty)

2. Engine coolant leak

3. Low coolant level

4. Faulty Thermostat

Sometimes you can see the cause very obviously but other times its not so obvious, once the job has been carried out it is imperative to run the engine at approx 2,500 rpm until the engine fully warms up and check its not overheating still, double check the engine coolant fan comes in once the engine temperature raises towards the red. Do Not allow the engine to overheat. If the engine starts to overheat then either turn the engine off or better still allow the engine to idle with the interior heaters on full and hot, this will cool the engine coolant and therefore the engine itself before switching off the engine to investigate the cause further.

Just like most things in life, there is a right way and a wrong way to doing things. Do yourself a favour and do it the right way first time.

You would not believe the amount of times customers have come to me after another garage has done the head gasket "Cheap" only to have the head gasket go again within days or weeks.....

a word from the wise
thanks scooby i know the head is cast so if he say it been skimmed i will want them to prove it
as for cheap the head kit cost £84+vat and then labour i want it done right.
ive seen inside the engine and the garage has said it look pretty good inside only have the head tested just to be sure
thay said it should run like it did b4 it went pop
and it was caused by the Faulty Thermostat
i am carefull about coolant and making sure things work b4 long runs so i know the coolant was correct in the car when i set off.
we will seen when i get her back.
thanks again for your words