View Full Version : Head Gasket
bluenose
30-11-2006, 21:31
I've just been in touch with the guy who's going to be doing my head gasket and he said its quite a common problem in valvers and williams engines for the block to be cracked if the head gasket has gone. Starting to shat myself a bit now as that would surely mean new engine time? Is there any way to tell if the block is cracked before it goes in for the head gasket as if it is i'll be spending 200 squid to be told i need a new engine! :?
Laine_16v
30-11-2006, 21:32
Doubt it, cant say ive ever read a case on this forum where part of the engine block has been cracked due to a HGF.
MatBrown
30-11-2006, 21:51
TBH i haven't actually heard of many Williams having HGF, they have a stronger gasket than the 16v.
Mat.
lol, who is doing your engine for you? i would demand to see the crack in the block if thats the case, as i've never heard of that before!! head yeah, but block?! :o I doubt it very much.
bluenose
30-11-2006, 21:58
It did sound a bit far fetched to me tbh. I've never heard of a cracked block on a clio but i've been assured that the head gasket is starting to go and to be prepared for a cracked block as its a real possibility. The car's got 55k on it and a fsh which makes it seem more unlikely but just wondered if anybody had any pearls of wisdom on the subject?
bass_direct
30-11-2006, 22:13
if your HG is starting to go, there's is absolutely no reason what so ever anything will be cracked..
best advice......dont go back to that garage........take it somewhere thjat actualyy knows wot they on about/doin
best advice......dont go back to that garage........take it somewhere thjat actualyy knows wot they on about/doin
aye...
What are the symptoms of the HG going?
Who has determined that the HG is going, you or him?
bluenose
01-12-2006, 21:08
tbh i havent checked the engine thoroughly. I bought the car and the guy told me that the headgasket was starting to go and he was having to top up the water every 3/4 weeks dependant on mileage. I havent been driving the car for the 2 weeks i've owned it (didnt want to aggrevate the problem) so i cant say how much water it gets through. I checked for mayo on the oil cap a few days ago and there was nothing there to suggest the head gasket was on its way. The guy who's doing the gasket for me is a mechanic at my mates work who said he'd do it as a foreigner for £200 cash and change my the cambelt and whatever else i wanted changing while the head was off if i supplied the parts. But he said he bought a valver with what he thought was just a head gasket failure and then when he got it off he found that the block was cracked in 5 places which, he told my mate, is quite a common problem in valver and williams engines and could be caused by the head gasket failure. I'm not overly familiar with engines as you can probably tell and although i know a head gasket change is a reasonably big job, i've never heard of it affecting any other part of the engine if the water and oil is kept in check untill its changed?! :?
200? I guess this is mates rates then?
The HG went on my 306 and it cost 500quid to get sorted by a garage.
If the head comes off, you will have to use new cambelt anyway, and have the head skimmed.
Symptoms can vary depending on how the HG has failed... You've been told its losing water though...
It can only go 2 ways, into the bores and out of the exhaust as steam, or into the oil and appear as mayo in the cap. If the former, then you may find it hard to start after it's been sitting a while, as water will be in the bores. A little "mayo" can also appear on the oil filler if the car has been sitting for a long time.
How do you know its not just got a water leak somewhere?
You should be able to take it to a garage and get them to do a proper test for HG failure, probably for free as well.
bluenose
01-12-2006, 22:10
yeah it is mates rates! lol. Was told if i went through a garage it would cost between 500 and 800 as it's a large job on a williams.
The lad i bought the car off said he had taken it to a garage and they had told him it was starting to go. I got the car because it was real cheap and i knew i could get the HG done fairly cheap and end up with a bargain Williams! It drove fine all the way home (80-90 miles) with no smoke from the exhaust. The only sign i can find that the head gasket is going is the water in the header tank is slightly milky. The only other problem is that the idle is slightly erratic when the car is cold but fine when it is warm and dont think this is related in any way?!
Cheers for all the help aswell! much appreciated! :)
Sounds like you got a bargain there then.
Milky water sounds like exhaust gases mixing into the water, I THINK. If this is the case a garage can do a test and let you know for sure!
Idle problem will be down to your ISCV, try taking it off and giving it a good clean... very helpful thread around with all the idle problems/fixes, do a search to find it.
rt_blackpool
02-12-2006, 08:20
bluenose, do urself a favour, get your car back, and on the way home stop by ur local halfrauds (or car spares shop) and get ones of these......
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_19 9553_langId_-1_CarSelectorCatalogId__CarSelectorGroupId__varien t__categoryId_31477_crumb__parentcategoryrn_31477
its a good piece of kit, and for the sake of £18.99 it will help diagnose if anything major is up before you even take the head to pieces.
bluenose
02-12-2006, 16:58
I've still got the car, i'm just going by what the lad that sold it to me said. And i was slightly alarmed when the guy that's gonna be fixing it started going on about cracked blocks! lol. I'll pick one up anyway cuz its the type of thing that will come in handy! Cheers for the advice guys! :D
and if hes got a valver.....cheap to buy a 2.0 with cracked block ;)
seriously thio mate.these engines are bulletproof. take a lot of hammer and misuse. a cracked block would be very unlikely.
spare blocks are always handy to have tho....as u say.
Patrick_g46
02-12-2006, 22:37
bluenose, do urself a favour, get your car back, and on the way home stop by ur local halfrauds (or car spares shop) and get ones of these......
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_19 9553_langId_-1_CarSelectorCatalogId__CarSelectorGroupId__varien t__categoryId_31477_crumb__parentcategoryrn_31477
its a good piece of kit, and for the sake of £18.99 it will help diagnose if anything major is up before you even take the head to pieces.
how does that work mate?
compression tester, whip out spark plugs, bung that down each plug well in turn and turn engine over on starter to check compression is strong and equal across all cylinders. if not then u got a problem!
bluenose
02-12-2006, 22:47
I'll pick one up anyways and have a look and report back with my findings! lol. :D
take it away from the garage, do a compression test first, hopefully they should all be even readings look at the plugs under a magnifiying glass and see if theres any brown spots on the plug, 3rd thing to do, go to a garage who know what there doing, and have a tool that can pressurise the water, (have one at work but im not sure the actual name!) this will tell if you have a leak as it will lose pressure, may cause a thermostat gasket or water pump to show itself as leaking, we did it on a rover k-series the other day, amazing piece of kit
Dave
aye, when you do the comp test, compression should rise to about 160psi within 3 or 4 strokes of the piston.
If compression goes down between strokes, thats a HG failure iirc. Haynes gives you a good "how to" with a comp tester to test for various different things such as worn rings, HG failure, knackered valves, etc.
bluenose
03-12-2006, 02:23
Nice one lads, cheers for the help. I'll pick one up tomorrow, have look in the Haynes manual and see what happens.
cool, let us know what happens :) Maybe you don't have HG failure.
bluenose
03-12-2006, 20:08
Rain prevented play today so a couple of dashboard bulbs got changed instead as i dont have a garage! lol. Picked up the tester though and a mate is coming over in the next few days to give me a hand so all will be revealed soon. hopefully! :)
Cool, when you test, make sure you have your foot flat down on the accelerator.
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