Hi guys

i am in the market for a fabia vrs and i have been doing some research and i have come across forum posts mentioning head lift.
I understand upgrading to pd150 head bolts can help with this but my question is this, how common of a problem is this in the mk1 vrs? Is it only remapped cars that suffer from this or can a standard car be affected too? Also would higher milage cars be more prone to this?

 

this is the only issue that would put me off wanting to buy a vrs so any help or advise would be much appreciated.

 

thanks in advance and sorry if this has been asked before but I'm struggling to find actual Information about the topic.

 

jason

1) Pretty common.

 

2) Standard as well.

 

3) Yes.

Thanks for the reply @sepulchrave, would you recommend me getting a head gasket change with pd150 head Bolts, timing belt and water pump fitted for the peace of mind if i do decide to buy one? I know that would cost a pretty penny but i have my heart set on a vrs but don’t fancy having any unsuspected surprises   
 

thanks again

5 minutes ago, Stodgy_VRS said:

head gasket change with pd150 head Bolts

Change the bolts one at a time in the assembly sequence and you don't need a new gasket unless the car already has head lift.

 

As for the timing belt kit and water pump, that depends on when the belt was last changed.

If you're buying one then unless you have absolute proof that the belt's already been changed on schedule you should always budget to get it done right away.

As for head lift you can change the bolts one at a time without disturbing the head itself as Ken rightly suggests.

Edited 29 January, 20206 yr by sepulchrave

Thanks again guys, is there any other way to tell if the car already has head lift other than loosing coolant? 

Yes, if there's still pressure in the cooling system after the engines gone cold then it has HGF either from lift or from long term neglect.

Great stuff thanks @sepulchrave & @KenONeill You two have been great help I appreciate it 

Sorry to be bringing this up again but i have another question, is it just the pd130 that gets head lift or do the pd150 or even the pd100 engines suffer too?

 

thanks

jason

58 minutes ago, Stodgy_VRS said:

Sorry to be bringing this up again but i have another question, is it just the pd130 that gets head lift or do the pd150 or even the pd100 engines suffer too?

 

thanks

jason

 

PD150 already has, errrr, PD150 bolts fitted as standard (surprise, surprise!), PD100 is probably the most reliable VAG group engine of all, 250k is apparently quite commonplace.

 

So it's just the PD130 that has lift issues.