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plunky
16-01-2008, 19:08
right, bit of a long story but here goes....a couple of months ago the headgasket on my 1.4 maxim went so i got this fixed by a local mechanic, this cost me nearly £300. but recently the car has not felt right and has been really lumpy on start up. i also noticed it was going through coolant quite a lot so i looked at the oil cap and there was the mayo type substance showing that water is gettin into the oil. so i thought the headgasket was goin again.

i took the car to the same mechanic again and he reckons it is the headgasket again.

my question is do i bother getting it fixed again because chances are i will probably need a new head as that is what might be causing the problem or do i get a new engine, either another 1.4 or maybe a 1.8, or do i get the engine rebuilt? if i got it rebuilt i would probably want to get some work done to it at the same time.

i would probably like to get a new engine but then again i am walking into maybe having the same problems with the new engine.

what are peoples views on this? any help would be greatly appreciated.

also could somebody who knows what their talking about, help me in what i could have done to the engine if it were to get rebuilt and what sort of costs are involved?

cheers

Liam

white16valver
16-01-2008, 19:31
Did he do the work correctly in the first place would be my question!

Did he skim the head when it was off? (I believe you should?)

Rob72
21-01-2008, 01:02
cylinder head could be warped, id get the head fully re-built...
or buy a head from a scrappy.

davem
21-01-2008, 01:13
did he not offer a warranty on the job? if it is a garage i would be trying to get it done on warranty or getting on to trading standards for advice.
Also did the head get skimmed? And has he done the job right?
Because the gasket shouldnt have gone again that quickly if i do a head gasket i always pressure test and skim and give a 12 month 12000 mile warranty because i know that if done correctly and the engine isnt abused or overheated then it should last 10 times the warranty period at least!
For the sake of a head gasket i wouldnt bother getting the engine rebuilt.
Although when having the head done again i would have it skimmed and properly pressure tested to check for cracks.
Although if your gonna go down the engine change route i would definately go bigger. 2.0 8 valve laguna engine or rather the volvo 440 version as the exhaust fit a little easier, is a good option, or 1.8 rsi lump, or 16v lump of some description, all depends on budget and who does it for you.

Wobba
21-01-2008, 01:43
lot of trouble for a 1.4

My HG has gone and I am seriously thinking of scrapping as the £750 + quotes making me think I may as well buy anotehr car.

However, I will try the work myself first...still not cheap!