head gasket - Saxperience

saxo09 · 15th August 2009, 00:39

are they easy to do your self and wheres the best place to order a cheap 1 from?? any advice would be appreciated cheers

SunderZ · 15th August 2009, 00:43

i got a full gasket kit from my local motorfactors for no more than £30 if that helps and if you folow the instruction the the saxo haynes manual should'nt be too bad but read through the guide in the haynes and understand what your doing,

regards

chris

Icey_Furio · 15th August 2009, 00:56

Easy enough on 8v petrol. Just follow Haynes manual, especially with tightening sequences on the head bolts (make sure you use new bolts) and make sure you lock the crank and cam correctly.

Only thing to thin about is why did it blow? Did it overheat? Cos the head may be warped and it might blow again straight away.

If it just went slowly over time and mixed and bit of oil and water, then 9 times out of 10 it'll be ok.

saxo09 · 15th August 2009, 01:05

yeh i think it just went over time because i noticed the slime gunge water in my coolant asked on here what might be up and everyone recons its the head gasket so guna get it dun as soon as prob next week as long as i can do it myself! does anybody no how long it will take asin the maximum amount of time???

Sparco_Tom · 15th August 2009, 03:20

euro car parts are good for gaskets, just follow the haynes manual. or bring it to me i will do it for £120

Tretty · 15th August 2009, 16:52

im in the same boat, oil in the water, im doing mine myself, does anyone know if the head will need skimming if it went over time? cheers

Tontsy · 15th August 2009, 16:58

only thing id reccomend, and what im doing when i replace mine at the end of the month, is have the head polished... jsut to remove any imperfections and to make it flush / smooth again.

Tretty · 15th August 2009, 17:17

yeah i was told it was recommended to clean the head even before getting it skimmed if needed, how do you know if your head does need skimming?

Sparco_Tom · 15th August 2009, 17:33

did it overheat warping the head? i would get it skimmed anyways

Tretty · 15th August 2009, 17:57

okay nice one (Y)

Drago · 15th August 2009, 18:12

No need to get the head skimmed unless it needs doing. Get a local engineering company with a good precision surface table or straight edge to check for any distortion.

Remember if you do get it skimmed to opt for a repair gasket rather than a normal replacement as otherwise this can affect the comp ratio dependant on how many thou they remove.

Tretty · 17th August 2009, 09:18

yes, i will get them to check to see if it needs skimming first. could i not just get a replacement head gasket kit, or do i need a repair gasket?

ALEXvtr · 17th August 2009, 09:32

you could get a headgasket seperate but is probably better to change them all. . .

Tretty · 17th August 2009, 15:54

yeah i think it would be best to change them all, the only thing im wondering is if the head gasket needs changing. my oil looks clean and im not losing any, but there are signs of oil mixture in the coolant. i spoke to the guy i had it off and he said that someone must have put coolant in a container which had a spot of oil in it, and filled it up in the coolant tank. i dont know what to do, any advice would be appreciated.