VTS Head gasket help

[TRICK]

Hi,
I have had my VTS 2 weeks, and the head gasket has gone lol.. I know its one of those things, and seeing as i love the car i want to get it done.

How hard is it to do the head gasket, One of my dads mates has said he can supply and fit the head gasket for £50 but he would use the old head bolts.. not sure how he is doing it so cheap, as the gasket seems to be about £40, and i was going to get him to do the cam belt at the same time, as i have no history for the car, and it done 114,000miles.

Basically all i want to know is, is there anything specific i should know about getting the head gasket or cam belt done on my VTS??

Any help appreciated..

Many thanks.

[Marv_106]

Headbolts need to be changed

Getting the cam belt done at the same time is a good idea

Also if the head is warped it will need skimming

[TRICK]

Yeah thats what my dad said about the head, as it did run to full temprature. Is there any way of knowing if the head is warped or will it just have to be skimmed??

I shall buy some new head bolts from work then, and give them to him.

Is the head gasket easy enough to do my self, obviously the head will have to be sent off to be skimmed.

[tweeqd]

if you have done a few it can be done in couple of hours

as for the belt its not just a good idea to do one when you have the head off its ESSENTIAL
if anyone every reuses a cambelt once its been removed then they dont deserve to ever be let near a car

[VTRelite]

when my headgasket was changed. i used the old headbolts and havent had any problems

[tweeqd]

there is a maximum stretch limit on TU headbolts but for what they cost its just good practice to renu them

[TRICK]

Yeah the cam belt will definately be done at the same time, and i will get some new head bolts as they work out at about £8 trade price.

Its just the skimming thats bothering me, I might just get it done, and see how it goes.

[williamsvts]

its only about £20 to get your head skimmed mate.
imo, take the head off 1 eve, drop it off in the morning next day to get skimmed, then pick it up and refit later that day.

[TRICK]

Oh i did not know that it was that cheap.. My dads mate just said it would all be done properly, so maybe that includes skimming, he told me he would do a head gasket on any car for £50 :? seems a bit cheap but im not complaining

I will call him tomorrow as see if that does include skimming.

[williamsvts]

he supplying head gasket aswell?

[TRICK]

Yeah thats what he said.. I want to see the gasket first though, as i dont want one cut from gasket paper!! But even if i have to buy a decent gasket i would still give him £50 to fit it.

[williamsvts]

i charge £50 for doing a HG, not supplying any parts though.

[TRICK]

Well i will have to find out propperly tomorrow, would i have to drive the car to you if i wanted it done?

[williamsvts]

yeah, but i live in newcastle in the north east lol

[TRICK]

LOL.. Well my dad does have a flat bed truck lol.. thats a shame though.. would have been good to give someone on here the business!

[VTS123]

Just in case you haven't seen this yet, there is an excellent guide on here:

http://www.saxperience.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65315&highlight=vts+headgasket+guide

£50 is cheap. In what way has it gone? Is it the usual oil leak at the front left of the engine or more serious?

[lewza]

I changed my headgasket saturday, i used the old headbolts and works fine. The headgasket wont sit and seal very well on the head if its been warped, lucky for myself i stopped driving at the right time.
When i changed headgasket i bought 5L of oil and a new oil filter aswell as a headgasket set.
Takes a while aswell, because i spent couple of hours cleaning out all pipes and stuff of the mayo shit.

[CoolC]

I would get the head skimmed whatever, if it looks ok or not.

[TRICK]

Its the oil mixing with the water on mine, and the temprature gets right up to the red light.
I am looking for somewhere local that will do my headgasket cheap and get it skimmed, but still got to speak to my dads mate and see what sort of work ho does.
These are the prices i got from my old work today:
Head gasket: £33.55
Head bolts: £5.00
Cam Belt Kit: £60.00

Shame the cam belt is soo expensive but that is for the whole kit, as i was told it is best to get the whole kit.

[stendog]

if you do get the head skimmed get a slighter thicker headgasket aswell mate

[TRICK]

I am just so unsure what to do.. I dont think i will be able to sell it for any decent money, but i really want a saxo.. I would even swap the car for a VTR, i have no job at the moment, and my dad is lending me the money to get it done and pay him back once my job is sorted.

I just wish i could put it in somewhere local and get them to do the whole lot (skimmed head, headgasket, bolts, cam belt etc) but really dont know how much it will cost. Think i am going to have to go get some quote.

Stuck in a really bad situation at the moment :(

[stendog]

at a garage it will cost you a fare whack mate, best bet is to see if anyone local on here can do it if you get the bits

[TRICK]

Yeah.. I will have to speak to ma dad and see what he thinks.. I just dont want the car off the road forever, as its my only car, and i have an insurance policy running on it.. I needed the car for job interviews as well.

[TRICK]

Well after speaking to my dad, we both decided that i will end up in too much debt with him if i get the car done, so i sold it for £500 today.

I am going to look out for another, either a VTS, VTR or a 106 GTI.

[rudkin69]

Well after speaking to my dad, we both decided that i will end up in too much debt with him if i get the car done, so i sold it for £500 today.

I am going to look out for another, either a VTS, VTR or a 106 GTI.

gutted mate...although £500 isnt to be sniffed at for a 114k motor with a blown head gasket, especially in the current credit crunchyness

[TRICK]

Na im just gutted it had to go :( Now my dad wont lend me the money to buy another, so im jobless, and car less on top of that i have got to find the money to pay my cancelation fee for my saxo insurance.

[Icey_Furio]

I'd have done it for ya if I'd have seen this earlier!

£50 was cheap, but it has to be labour only. Using the original bolts is pretty dumb when they're so cheap new, so he can't have been doing that.

If anything he'd have just bolted a new gasket in and used the old cambelt. But if the belt's done 15k miles or more, it needs replacing if it's removed.

It's actually a pretty easy job. Even easier on the 8v's. Still £500 ain't to be sniffed at for a Saxo with a blown head gasket. I just gave less than that for one that worked!

[TRICK]

LOL.. Wish i could find a VTR for less thatn £500.. even a VTR.. I cant seem to find much at the moment!