Hi, I got a Skoda Fabia 1.48v (2000), petrol, and had a new water pump put in this week, and the garage have told me head gasket has gone. We are trying to get quotes for getting it repaired, andhaving tried  7  garages, not one has got back to us. Is this because they think its not worth doing, because of the age of the car? Can anyone help with what amount we would be looking at please? (the garage that did the water pump don't do head gaskets)

 

Thanks

Wow, who knew the IoW had such a dearth of competent tradesmen. The problem is obviously where you are rather than what you want done.

 

Changing the HG on your engine is one of the simplest to do, apart from the head skim it's a ridiculously easy DIY job and should not be expensive, it's so easy you could get a mobile mechanic to come and rip the head off, send it away for the skim, order the gasket set then get the mobile guy to come back and refit it all for you.

Thanks sepulchrave, we are surprised we are struggling to find someone to do it, have also tried a couple of mechanics, but nothing back, will keep trying,

 

Has the head gasket actually gone?

What were the issues you had before putting your car into a garage that can change a water pump but not a head gasket?

7 minutes ago, Offski said:

Has the head gasket actually gone?

What were the issues you had before putting your car into a garage that can change a water pump but not a head gasket?

 

+1 

 

With cause and effect, water pumps and head gaskets can be common bedfellows.

 

As Sepulchrave has said, as head gaskets go, it's quite a nice one to do on the 1.4.

 

Gaz

Offski, it was loosing coolant,  so we got that looked at, and thats when they said head gasket gone, becuase water pump had been on way out for a while. Thanks V6TDI,  Its good to know its not  a complicated job, just be glad to get someone to do it

Implication is that is was getting rather hotter than it should then.

In which case the head (and to a lesser degree block) need checking for flat/true.

This should be done as part of the job of changing the head gasket.

 

As a short term measure, it may help to get the head bolts re-torqued. This may alleviate the problem for a while.

ALL head gaskets on N/A engines blow due to head warpage, there's no other way for it to happen.

Once a head is warped it stays warped no matter how tight you redo the bolts, that's why ALL heads with blown gaskets need skimming, it's the only way to guarantee that the head is completely flat.

You can see the extent of head distortion once you run a touch-on flycut first pass, even heads which have not blown gaskets are not flat, they deform over time due to the uneven clamping force of the head bolts and the thermal cycling.