Any car mechanics here?

Got a question for any car mechanics on here..

My g/f's Corsa had the oil changed last week at a garage and on saturday the head gasket blew making a big hole in the rad aswell. I checked the oil level and it's well over what it should be so they have definately overfilled it. Question is, can this lead to head gasket failure?

The car was recovered to the garage and they admitted the oil was too high but say it's totally unrelated to the head gasket going. He originaly said the rad needed changing which he did then called to say it was the head gasket. So now the rad has been done we have to pay 209 quid to get the car back as it is, not working. Or, we have to pay a total of 650 quid to get it back fully fixed! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Are we being done?

[rowdy]

You say the radiator needed replacing in the first place , was the car over heated before you had this replaced as this could cause the head to warp and the head gasket to go.

I'm no mechanic but I do know that too much oil can cause gaskets to blow due to pressure build up. Don't know how you would go about proving it though

Hi There,

Are you sure that the oil level is not high because coolant has leaked into the oil and raised the level after the gasket blew?

Just a thought?

[rowdy]

Did your gf have the work done at a vauxhall dealer? if not give your local Vauxhall dealer a ring and ask them if it is possible that over filling the oil could cause the head gasket to blow. If they say that it's possible get back onto the garage where the work was carried out , as the last poeple to work on the car they will be liable for any faults that they may have caused.

Originally Posted by rowdy

You say the radiator needed replacing in the first place , was the car over heated before you had this replaced as this could cause the head to warp and the head gasket to go.

The rad has a hole in it now but was fine until sat. The hole in the rad is a result of the head gasket blowing apparently..

Originally Posted by rowdy

Did your gf have the work done at a vauxhall dealer? if not give your local Vauxhall dealer a ring and ask them if it is possible that over filling the oil could cause the head gasket to blow. If they say that it's possible get back onto the garage where the work was carried out , as the last poeple to work on the car they will be liable for any faults that they may have caused.

It's a small independant garage but ringing the vauxhall dealer sounds like a good idea. But as mentioned, even if it could possibly cause it, I'd still not be able to prove that it did.

Guess we are screwed basically!

Originally Posted by Colboy

Hi There,

Are you sure that the oil level is not high because coolant has leaked into the oil and raised the level after the gasket blew?

Just a thought?

Possibly, I don't know if coolant can get into the engine?

Ok a head gasket blowing is never going to blow a hole in your radiator, i would imagine the hole in the radiator has been caused by something else usualy a rock or something, and this has then caused the car to overheat warping the cylinder head which in turn will cause the gasket to blow.

Too much oil is not going to cause the head gasket to blow, it could cause oil to leak from the crankshaft seals or damage the piston rings but this would only be if it was way over the mark, manufacturers build a margin for error into things like this.

around the £500 mark is average for a heagasket job..

p.s the oil may not have been overfilled it may just had some water in it from the head gasket failure, making it look fuller than it is, dont forget oil will sit on top or oil so any water will be lurking in the bottom of the sump.. dont run the car till the head gaskets been fixed..