Advice needed - should I replace my head gasket?

[DottyBlue]

I was hoping somebody might have some experience they can share with me. The head gasket on my 2003 1.4L Skoda Fabia went yesterday between cylinders 1 & 2. It appears not to have contaminated the oil/coolant and the engine did not over-heat. The car has a full service history and has been well looked after so I would be sad to have to risk buying another unknown second hand car as a replacement.

 

Could anyone tell me if they think it is worth replacing the head gasket and having the cylinder heads skimmed or not?

 

Thanks for your help!

Rachael

Edited 9 February, 2016 by DottyBlue

[wiredsoftware]

Really depends on how much you like the car, the job is going to be close to what the car is worth, but if it's all working and has full history and no major corrosion, you might want to keep it. You're not going to get another great car for the sort of £ a head gasket replacement costs, and chances are slim it'll have a full history.

 

On the flip side, if you've got your eye on something newer and can put in extra cash, now's the time. The scrap value is probably £20-£50 depending on how generous the scrappie is feeling, and whether the tyres are good. There's probably no point in replacing the gasket etc and then selling it, as even with FSH you're going to struggle to get £600 usually unless it's mint.

[cheshire_cat]

there's a chance it may not need a skim

[poiuytre111]

This is crying out for a diy repair - most of the cost mentioned will be labour charges. You either need to roll your sleeves up and buy a Haynes manual Rachael, phone a friend or perhaps sell it so that someone else can do the above.  I did my first head-off car maintenance aged about 18 with zero experience and managed to get it all back together in one piece - even if cars were simpler way back then. Once you have the head off it should be reasonably inexpensive to get someone to check the head over and/or skim.

Edited 9 February, 2016 by poiuytre111

[Tech1e]

If it's an MPi 8v they are pretty simple to do.

[wiredsoftware]

As mentioned above, if after checking the head it doesn't need to be skimmed, and if you can get the labour for free, then it really turns this into a very cheap job. If you need to pay someone to do it, then my comments above apply. You may also be able to sell the car instead on eBay as "spares or repair", which may get you a bit more than the scrap value, perhaps £100 or even £200 if you're lucky

Edited 9 February, 2016 by wiredsoftware

[wiilydog]

You could try adding something called k-seal head gasket repair to the coolant to see if it works. My mate had a head gasket leak last year in his fabia and tried some k seal and it is still working. I think it cost about £30 a bottle.

[VWD]

Problem with this "head seal "  stuff is that when ( and it is when, not if) ,the head has to be taken off and worked on, then ALL the waterways will need cleaning out. Far better to do the job properly from the start. As said #4, is possibly the best option. Car has not (as you say overheated), so chances are head has not warped. There's no oil/water contamination. So there's no need to strip the engine beyond taking the head off, after emptying the engine of coolant. ( removing the bolts in the correct sequence),removing the inlet and exhaust manifolds and cleaning up the block & head surfaces. Only problem is piston and valve clearances, and chain timings.

[alessio92]

Anyone know how much it costs to get a garage to replace the head? I have no service history with my car so no idea if/when it has been done... If I don't replace my car (as mentioned in another thread) I may look at getting it done. I don't really want to DIY it because I can't afford to have it off the road too long; last time I started taking it apart, it was off the road 6 weeks because so many things went wrong on what should have been simple jobs, basically because of the car's age. Plus, last time I had a housemate who actually knew how everything goes back together