garage /car/advice re headgasket blown engine.

Ok briefly .

mandys 1.2 corsa 07 reg. 70K on clock .

head gasket blew (after daughter was driving and it got too hot called RAC.. man came - in snow and ice .. filled up the water told her continue her journey .. another hour and half.. and head gasket went 10 mins from her destination )

New head and skimmed etc etc £680.

a day later making odd noise - took it back.. said tappetts
had all apart again as one tappet was sticking . put 2 new ones in too.

still no good.

3 days on.. they say engine has had it. ! kaput . as engine bottom dry and had no oil ..

so need new engine.. sourced one £600 local scrap yard form an 09 rear ended... with only 7K on clock.

£600 for new engine and garage want £500 to fit as will service it too. !

so £1100 plus the original £680 for head gasket etc .. nearly £1800 down..


ok get a 7K miles car but questions

mileage on my car stays same> and get receipt showing new engine yes?
6 month warranty on new second hand engine.. that normal.

we just have to suck up the first £680 for head gasket charge when it went back a day later??

£500 to fit engine?


already liaising with RAC etc re their poor service and compensation


but what are your thoughts? experiences? should have just said sod the head gasket and bought the second hand engine.. feel £700 short changed.

can sell on the orig cylinder head I expect and maybe other bits for parts .. ? to recoup some money ..


blloooody cars !

my GF blown up her head gasket in her car too about 1-2 months ago. But her resolution to the problem was to steal my car and use it instead (not that i have a licence to drive it). so her saxo 1.1 sitting on her drive broken and we are not sure what to do with it, new car or fix it. let me know how it goes.

[dizzyblonde]

£680 for a head gasket...... THATS CHEAP!

our Landy had blews its head gasket a couple of years back and it cost double that!

I love my car

[andrewsmith]

Quiff
Has the garage said how much labour is involved?

£1100 sounds about right

About 4-5 years ago, a friend paid 1200 euros - that include a professional head skim and rebuild (pro rata the most expensive part).

not told us how much labour yet.. just estimate on the cost,.

it just grates me that we paid £700 for head gasket a week ago and the car ran for a day ...

now that engine is fubar and we need a new one.. why didnt they know last week it was no good and not take us for £700

[dizzyblonde]

Originally Posted by martin15s

About 4-5 years ago, a friend paid 1200 euros - that include a professional head skim and rebuild (pro rata the most expensive part).

This is what we had.....probably why it lasted more than a day unlike poor Quiff.

#must say that quiet......my sods law she'll blow again for fun now#

[Red Herring]

We've just been through all this with my sons 12v Corsa. A week before his test the rad went whilst my wife was driving it. Bless, the first she noticed was when the engine management light came on and it lost power! Got it recovered home by which time it had cooled down a bit so I started it up, and luckily it seemed fine. New Radiator off Ebay was under £40 so two days later all back together. Unfortunately as soon as we started it with water in it threw it all out from behind the water pump. £70 for a new pump (seal at the back had gone) and all ran fine. Did his test in it and passed (thank god) so off he goes with all his mates for an evening out.
Next day it won't start.....and there is no coolant in the header bottle...
I whip the plugs out and all I can see with a torch is water!
Head of and all three pots full of water, guess the head gasket didn't survive then.
Head reskimmed (£50) and a gasket set (£40) plus head/cam bolts (£20) and he's back in action. Obviously gave it some new oil and filters as well. Total cost in the region of £240. First day he gets it all back together and on the road he gets a puncture....! Surely he's due some good luck soon?

[Wideboy]

hang on am i missing something here? were the fook did the oil go after the head gasket replacement? as they claim the sump is dry. I would think a level check would be in order after a tappet was replaced. Was the tappets actually stuck or did they just replace it on a whim?

really dont understand where this oil has gone?

[Red Herring]

When you say "new head and skimmed" what exactly did they do? If it's a "new" head then it wouldn't need skimming, and did it come with all the valves and tappets? If so why are they replacing them?

If the engine was run really hot and effectively cooked then it would almost certainly have been pretty obvious when they had the head off, the cams and followers are usually the first to go. If they put it all back together without putting fresh oil in then they need shooting, something here doesn't add up.