head gasket problem

jeff lebowski

Hi,

I've just been told by a garage that the head gasket on my 1ltr Polo has a problem and needs replaced. They say it'll cost about €600.

Does that sound right? It's only got minor damage at the moment but I can still temporarily drive the car. It's causing coolant to leak and the guy in the garage said, when they were checking it out, some of it was appearing out the exhaust.

Cheers

mike65

That sounds reasonable. If the head gasket goes its usually wise the skim the head and reset the valves. Which all takes time. I would'nt drive it myself.

Mike.

ibanez

Get the head skimmed at your local engine remanufacturing centre €80.Head gasket €25,Timing belt €30 Haynes manual €35 and Stretch bolts €80.Do the job yourself and save €350.

kluivert

Where did you get that quote thats bull, unless the timing belt needs to be changed, then its about right.

I got the head gasket on my 99 astra changed 290e. No timing belt changed that has to be done. In most cases the timing belt needs to be changed as it has to come off when changing the head gasket.

Do not DIY as this is not as easy as it says in the manual and if it goes wrong then you have some come back for the work undertaken.

The timing belt should have the pulleys and tensioners changed as well and theres more parts involved for changing the head gasket than it being skimmed and head gasket.

Best bet is to shop around until you feel happy with the VFM

ibanez

kluivert wrote:

Where did you get that quote thats bull, unless the timing belt needs to be changed, then its about right.

I got the head gasket on my 99 astra changed 290e. No timing belt changed that has to be done. In most cases the timing belt needs to be changed as it has to come off when changing the head gasket.

Do not DIY as this is not as easy as it says in the manual and if it goes wrong then you have some come back for the work undertaken.

The timing belt should have the pulleys and tensioners changed as well and theres more parts involved for changing the head gasket than it being skimmed and head gasket.

Best bet is to shop around until you feel happy with the VFM

That quote is spot on actually.Do you want names and contact numbers?As a rule if i remove the timing belt for any reason i renew it i would not bother to renew the tensioner or idler pully unless the belt was scheduled to be changed.As usual on here you dare not suggest that someone does the work on their own car saving money and learning something in the process.

a_ominous

I'd reckon the 600 yoyos is a reasonable price. I'd problem on the car earlier this year, water pump went and I had driven it about 60 miles after thermometer needle had first gone sky high. This caused the head gasket to go. Car was fixed up for about 700 which included new water pump for about 100 euro. Nissan garage quoted over 1400 for doing the head gasket which wouldn't have been economically viable on a car of its age. Doing the head gasket for 700 euro was much cheaper than having to replace the car as I wanted to get a new bike.

-ao-

Dilbert75

Not sure about the price, its a lotta dough, but the water pump in these cars is a known weak point. The plastic impeller is press-fitted onto the metal shaft with no key or spline - I saw one two weeks ago where the impeller came adrift and miraculously didn't cause head gasket failure, despite overheating severely twice. I'd bet that's what caused the problem - make sure you get it checked too. If its a VW-serviced car, I'd be making a strong case for a contribution towards the cost.

jeff lebowski

Due to a run in with a dog last year, I had to get my radiator replaced. I had to drive the car about 5 miles or so with the radiator leakling before I could pull in for the AA to come. Would this damage the head gasket? I didn't really have any bother since then until now. I thought the guys who did the radiator might have left a leak somewhere but the garage did pressure testing and said they coudln't find a leak anywhere.

I wouldn't know enough about cars to try this myself. I might be able to get it done in Donegal from a local mechanic (my uncles friend) for about €400 - €500. The €600 I got quoted was in Dublin.

a_ominous

AFAIK, the water pump is there to pump water/coolant to keep engine temperature down. One reason for wanting to keep the temp down is to prevent the engine getting bent out of shape. The head gasket is a seal between the main engine block and the top (technical term) where valves are and fuel is delivered.
So, if the radiator goes or water pump fails, either of these can cause engine temp to go too high. Going a short distance might not cause too much or any noticeable damage. In my case I did drive too far and did the damage.

Questions to ask yourself about whether to spend the money:

• how much is your car worth to you?
• Could you replace your current car (scrap value) for 600 yoyos?
• Are there other problems with the car which would mean getting rid of this car is the best thing right now?

In my case, the car is secondary mode of transport. Motorbike for daily commute. I also wanted to upgrade the old bike. Other cars I did consider were going to cost about 3500 to 5000 which seriously reduced the budget for the bike (yeah it's a big, expensive bike :eek: could have been done for less, but it's the daily vehicle). My car is 12 years old.
So think about those things as well, not just should I spend 600 on this repair job.

jeff lebowski

The car cost me €8500, its a 2000 reg Polo with only 28kmiles so yes, I would def spend the money to fix it.

Dilbert75

If its been pressure tested and no leak showed up, get a compression test done and see if that shows any problem. Basically, if the head gasket has failed, it will cause the compression to be much less than normal in one or more cylinders.

If these tests don't show a problem, get the water pump looked at pronto. Trust me on this - I'm told its a common timebomb that VW are trying to keep quiet. Remember, if it does over heat when driven, you are risking further damage every time you start the engine. If you do get the water pump replaced, I believe it is convenient to change the timing belt at the same time and that would be worth doing.

stratos

I'm with Mike65 on this one. If your at all mechanicaly minded. remember dismanteling is undoing bolts, putting back together is tightening bolts!

Macy

€600 is about right for dealer price. Went our old punto a couple of years ago(design fault in that case). Dealer price was €650 i think, but we got it done for around €300 from the local mechanic...

jeff lebowski

my uncle had a problem with the water pump in his Golf so I'll get that checked first. My local mechanic will be able to have a look at it so it might be a bit cheaper if it turned out it did need a new head gasket.

jeff lebowski

would it be ok to drive it for the next few weeks as long as I keep the coolant topped up?

BrianD3

It may be a bit dodgy driving the car in this weather. If you do drive it keep the coolant topped up. Top it up often enough so that you don't have to add in a large volume of coolant at any time (because you don't want to be adding a litre or two of cold coolant to a hot engine)

keep a very close eye on the engine temperature gauge/light. Once the car is warmed up open all the windows and put the heater on full heat and full fan (this will significantly reduce engine temperature) If coolant levels are low or the water pump is knackered you might get cold or lukewarm air from the heater even though the engine is ready to boil over. Obviously this would be a major cause for worry.

jeff lebowski

Thanks.

The engine temperature hasn't gone over 70 except for when I had to get the radiator replaced (hit a dog and a bit of the bumper bust the radiator) and once since then where it went up a small bit then cooled down again.

a_ominous

Jeff, I'd advise against using the car until you've had it fixed, whether it's the water pump or head gasket. I only used my car a few times (about 3-4) around January-February when the roads were too bad for the motorbike, my preferred means of getting around Dublin.
Especially when the car is only 5 years old and 28k on the clock. My car is used at weekends mostly, is 13 years old and has just over 100k on the clock.

Lord Nikon

My rover suffered from real bad HGF. i was charged 1200euro, and got...
Head skimmed
New gasket
New bolds and dowels
Water pump
Thermostat
New radiator with piping and stuff too
New timing belt
Full service done too.

Okay, it's a lot of cash, but I need my car, and it cost more having it off the road, than paying the 1200. 2 years later and the car is grand.