Not happy. Cost of head refurb...

[Wobba]

I had agreed for my head to be tested and skimmed and new seals, provided by mem and valve stem seals, also provided by me to be carried out on the cylinder head which had suffered a head gasket failure.

After I took the head off I saw the valves were choked up with carbon and buildup, so I wanted them lapped. I had been quoted £160 + VAT, but at the time didn't realise the price did not include the lapping.

Just been told the head is done and ready and passed it's compression test, and was now nice and shiny on the valves. £300 inc VAT...

They sorted the manifold bolts out for me and the thermostat housing bolt, which was stuck, and collected the head for me and will deiliver it tonight, but I am stillthinking it's a lot more than I wanted to pay :(

I have paid about £280 in tools and parts to fix it, so in total I am now approaching the lowest figure (£700) to get the car fixed by a garage!

£300 for a head refurb?

[white16valver]

Although I can't comment on how good a price that is, £160 + VAT would have made £188, so £300 inc vat is 'only' £112 more, a couple of hours labour at a garage.

And as for the tools, it is a lot of wedge to get them initially but think about how you're now fully equipped to deal with anything that may go wrong in the future - rather than spending that £280 on getting someone fixed once now, you've spent it on something that you can use again and again and again :)

I know it's a lot of money to fix an 'old' car but if you think of things in the way described above, it's not so bad... lol

Chin up fella :) Think how happy you'll be when it's fixed and running spot on, and how proud you'll feel that you did it yourself! 8)

And how unafraid you are to get stuck in and get things fixed yourself - no more running to a garage because it's a bit scary to do yourself! :D

[Wobba]

Yea, at least it's fixed, and now I have some piece of mind. He did give me some good advice and said he would give me help anytime during day or night. It did need a skim he said although he reckons it was only warped a little bit.

It was just a bit of a shock, and now I remember why I always do my own work rather than go to a garage where the costs mount up and up....

It better be spotless when I get it delivered!

He mentioned a thing about drilling a 4mm hole near the thermostat? Anyone heard of this before?

[Scougar]

Yeah, you have to be very specific with what you want, and they should have told you in the quote the cost of the lapping?

Obviously you are angry, but I don't think your being mislead as such. The work does take time to do and unfortunately labour time is expensive.

This is why most people will just go for a second hand engine and not bother with having any work done on it. Even a basic rebuild is damn expensive, but if you are keeping the car it IS worth it.

On the brightside as long as you are getting the bottom end rebuilt as well, then you will have an engine that will last another one hundered thousand miles.

I would recommend swapping out the engine for a cheapo £100 one if you ever sell the car!!!

I would actually ask now how much a 'quick and dirty' port is since you've already paid that much :)

Matthew

[Wobba]

It was only the head I had redone, not the block.

I realise costs mount up pretty fast when you specify other things, and I am not angry, just a bit dismayed I have to spend another month on a shoestring budget :(

[drsmith1979]

i agree it can be a little daunting at first, however, think of it this way:

- you tackled a tough and daunting job yourself, you bought some specialist tools which you now have forever.
- you gained invaluable knowledge while doing the whole processes, something you will again have forever.
- you wont be scared to tackle future jobs by completing this one, thus in the long run you will save yourself countless pounds by doing that based upon this experience
- you know your car intimately and thus have a new found respect for it and will know what to do should things go wrong
- you made lots of friends on here 8)

all in all i dont think its such a bad doo.... what you can do should you ever want to sell, is simply get a cheapo head and swap them over now you know what you doing and sell yours as sfully refurbed with the receipt if you wanted to recoup some money... its all good homie :D

[Wobba]

i agree it can be a little daunting at first, however, think of it this way:

- you tackled a tough and daunting job yourself, you bought some specialist tools which you now have forever.
- you gained invaluable knowledge while doing the whole processes, something you will again have forever.
- you wont be scared to tackle future jobs by completing this one, thus in the long run you will save yourself countless pounds by doing that based upon this experience
- you know your car intimately and thus have a new found respect for it and will know what to do should things go wrong
- you made lots of friends on here 8)

all in all i dont think its such a bad doo.... what you can do should you ever want to sell, is simply get a cheapo head and swap them over now you know what you doing and sell yours as sfully refurbed with the receipt if you wanted to recoup some money... its all good homie :D

Hehe! Yea, and now I can get on with rebuilding it! Yay!!

Just got the head dropped off to me, handed over the cheque and had a chat with the guy. I need to check the injector seals as they had to take the injectors off to pressure test it.

They asked me to call in if I had any problems and to let them know how I get on when it's finished and ready for the track!

He gave me a shit load of technical data for refitting the cambelt etc and lots of tips, and said most of his garage owner friends wouldn't have taken this job on so maximum respect for doing it as a novice IN THE STREET LOL!

Look! It's shiney! Myt camera sucks though :(

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/My%2016V/DSC00326_edited.jpg

Before it looked poo:

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/My%2016V/DSC00308.jpg

[Wobba]

Bugger.

I new the injectors looked badly seated, and indeed they came out as they were loose, for me to find this:

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/DSC00329.jpg

Do I need a new injector :( ?

[white16valver]

I'm jealous of the shinyness! 8)

[drsmith1979]

i dont think injector refurb/seal kits are expensive, it may be an idea to see if you can get a hold of a set of 'matched' injectors that have been sonically cleaned and refurbed.... im sure theres someone on here who knows all about that shite...

Cliorod maybe?

[Swervin_Mervin]

I got a new set of injectors from Nick Hill (well used) and they were in good condition for a very reasonable sum.

[Wobba]

I think for now I will just get the one injector off Mr Brown along with anotehr item. If they give me jip, I'll have a look at a refurbed set or something. Cheers guys.

[Scougar]

Don't forget about the 5th cold start injector :)


I gotta say, considering you had all that work done, as mentioned either get a quick and dirty port done on the head, get the bottom end sorted, or get a cheap 2l bottom end to strap it to! Kinda be a shame to put a refreshed head on an old worn engine.

Matthew

[Wobba]

A 2.0L wouldnt be out of the question, but at the moment I would be happy with a valver which is in good mechanical order and hopefully it will be pretty good after I out it together...I will have replaced some major parts! Probably do the clutch in a month or two, though it's not too bad as it is.