Head gasket??? help lol

[bennivtr]

Right i havent got a clue and iv been told a few different opinions on my 'oil leak(s)'...



I know my rocker gasket is split, its quite apparent as you can see the splits and the oil running down the right hand side of the engine down onto the gearbox and i have a new rocker gasket here waiting to go on.



But however I have a mass of oil on the bottom left hand side of my engine, and its not comming from the rocker gasket? As the leak seems to be starting quite low down on the engine? Is this the head gasket starting to perish?



The car has no overheating, doesnt seem to be mixing oil, seems to be driving well, but the car is fairly smoky from the exhaust (straight through exhaust as well) and as far as i can tell its white smoke.



So should i change the head gasket to be safe?



I phoned around today and got told if it was the head gasket then id be safe to get the head skimmed, new gasket set/bolts, new timing belt etc all in for £150, is this totally neccessary or do should i just need the rocker and head gasket set, without needing the head skimmed?



I know its not really posible to tell untill the heads off, but its not overheating or anything??



all info apprechiated



ben

[b0t13]

yup head gasket mate...

i have the exact same leak and it was the head gasket, best getting it done sooner rather than later and £150 for it is very cheap, unless labour isnt included.
i got quoted £400 from a garage including labour!

eventually got it done for £250 of a mechanic friend.

unlucky m8

[bennivtr]

Originally Posted by b0t13

yup head gasket mate...

i have the exact same leak and it was the head gasket, best getting it done sooner rather than later and £150 for it is very cheap, unless labour isnt included.
i got quoted £400 from a garage including labour!

eventually got it done for £250 of a mechanic friend.

unlucky m8

O dear.

And yes i thought £150 was a bit cheap, he said the head skim was £30, gasket £25, timing belt etc and labour all together £150

[bennivtr]

Oh and my idle is perfect, no fluctuation in revs, and not wanting to stall.

[DarylVTR]

looks like the head gasket im afraid mate as i had same leek on my vts and i have no problems with performance either just rlly bad oil leek same as in ur pictures.

i sold it because cheapest i got quoted for a skim, fan belt and head gasket was £600 and car was only worth £1200.

[b0t13]

yup, £150 sounds way too cheap unless u know them personally and there doing it as a favor, but if they mess it up then they could worp the head meaning ull need a new head and that will cost alot more..

[Ratty]

amazing you can tell that just by looking at a picture, they both look like rocker gasket to me since oil doesnt leak up, id clean it off with a high pressure hose and replace the rocker gasket then take it for a drive and see if the oil comes back and more importantly where, there is no way you can tell what the problem is by looking at those pictures.

[Scottp]

totally agree looks more like rocker gasket

[Lemmy92]

It's the Head Gasket mate. I bought my Desire from a garage in sheffield, and a day later it had all those symtoms..White smoke, Puddle of oil on the lower left of the engine. Idle was fine, I took it back and they repaired it me for 60 quid..new head gasket and they put a new rocker cover gasket on there too...

[Lemmy92]

Originally Posted by Lemmy92

It's the Head Gasket mate. I bought my Desire from a garage in sheffield, and a day later it had all those symtoms..White smoke, Puddle of oil on the lower left of the engine. Idle was fine, I took it back and they repaired it me for 60 quid..new head gasket and they put a new rocker cover gasket on there too...

sorry i replied to this, it came up on google..and i never checked the date of posting..

Sorry

[AshC]

I thought an epic bump had happened lol

[stueebaby]

hello mate i am in process doing all this myself .... well me and an expert mate of mine haha... my timeing belt snapped jus over a week ago... we changed tht and got car running to find most of the valves had bent so we removed head etc and obviously we're doing the head gasket once weve finished rebuilding the head... its not totally necassary having to skim the head unless it has corroded very slightly and it doesnt sit perfectly flat.... thts just an extra precaution... that quote youv had seems way to cheap my timeing belt cost me 80 quid trade price alone and skimming is usually around the 100 mark as for head gasket it was around 40- 50 quid i think... wat milage is the engine at now? if its around the 65-80k mark i would do the head gasket and whilst your at it you should def change the timeing belt it gives you a very good opportunity to check all the importsnt things like that because i wouldnt wish upon anybody wat happened to me you do not i repeat dop not want your cambelt to snap so i would def do it to be on the safe side. sorry about the essay hope this is useful to you mate

[AshC]

Originally Posted by stueebaby

hello mate i am in process doing all this myself .... well me and an expert mate of mine haha... my timeing belt snapped jus over a week ago... we changed tht and got car running to find most of the valves had bent so we removed head etc and obviously we're doing the head gasket once weve finished rebuilding the head... its not totally necassary having to skim the head unless it has corroded very slightly and it doesnt sit perfectly flat.... thts just an extra precaution... that quote youv had seems way to cheap my timeing belt cost me 80 quid trade price alone and skimming is usually around the 100 mark as for head gasket it was around 40- 50 quid i think... wat milage is the engine at now? if its around the 65-80k mark i would do the head gasket and whilst your at it you should def change the timeing belt it gives you a very good opportunity to check all the importsnt things like that because i wouldnt wish upon anybody wat happened to me you do not i repeat dop not want your cambelt to snap so i would def do it to be on the safe side. sorry about the essay hope this is useful to you mate

The thread is 4 years old mate

[stueebaby]

oh haha wat a mug! i didnt think to check! nevermind thought id be helpful

[valenta]

Originally Posted by stueebaby

oh haha wat a mug! i didnt think to check! nevermind thought id be helpful

Its given me an insight, thanks

Just to add a another 2 years on