anyone for some tips on how to fix head gasket ?

[kundi13]

hi,

ive got a mk1 1996 n reg clio. its been leaking engine oil. ive taken it to the garages and they are charging me £250 or so to get it fixed. they say the head gasket has gone. from my knowledge im assuming the head gasket is a damaged seal. please correct me if im wrong. anyways as a student i like to fix this car myself as i cant afford £250. im ready to get my hands dirty.

the way im going to do this is... remove around 16 bolts from the head engine, remove spark plugs but will label them. and hopefully i shud remove the head and replace the seal and put the engine head back on.... i cant skim the head for any warts or bumps of crap on the head to smooth it so will that do the job?

any tips and advice would be appreciated


thanks.

[MAXIBOY]

what engine is it.

[Coops]

ai if its a 1.8 or 2.0 16v then £250 for a headgasket change is a bargain imo!

[kundi13]

sorry its a 1.2 rn prima. not a williams just a standard mark1 clio.

[MAXIBOY]

not that easy as that as you have to time the cam up etc.

plus do they leak oil from the headgasket on these engines.

can you take photos of the leak.

[kundi13]

i done a jet wash and the oil seems to be leaking on the oil sump on the bottom. now the engines covered in oil and i get lil smoke coming out of the bonnet. lolz.

[BRUN]

how bad is it ?

we do STP Stop Leak at work which you put in with your oil, ive had numerous customers tell me that it does actually work so it might be worth a try

it swells up old seals so they stop leaks like they used to

how old is the car etc, what mileage, doesnt sound like head gasket to me if the oil is mainly around the sump

[kundi13]

its done 76k millage . 1996 n reg 1.2litre mk1 clio rn prima. ive put something else instead of STP which does the similar job and yet its still leaking.

[kundi13]

its very bad!! slow leak but say every week i have to top up 1 litre of oil.

[Rich]

pay for it to be fixed properly imo. that stp stop leak shit is only gonna do you in the long run. £250 still isnt bad for a head skim and gasket replacement