So yeah I decided to bite the bullet. 

Borderline failing  head gasket. 

With this post I hereby announce the official start of my felicia restoration project. 

The car is going to be restored to a factory condition and I am going to apply for a fiva youngtimer certification. 

More photos will follow soon, 

As well as a comprehensive list of the things done. 

Valves are sealing perfectly, no wear on the liners and pushrods. 

Lower coolant hose on the verge of blowing 

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything.

 

Let the 'fun' begin, sooner you than me but I am sure you will enjoy it (for the most part).  Be interesting to see which new parts are better than factory and which are not as good.  The hose was a lucky find.  If you can get a silicone set with proper s/s clips all the better.  Good time to thoroughly clean out and service the whole 'water' cooling/heating system too.

 

A can of GT85 would probably help with some further disassembly of mechanical and electrical.

 

Check all new parts before taking out of the packaging if possible, check the label for correct parts and code numbers.  I have had parts sent from the manufacturer and not realised or found out they were wrong or faulty until fitted and test/used.

 

Good luck.

 

Edited 18 December, 20223 yr by nta16
ETA: Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything.

Head is getting cleaned up and ready. 

Very little warpage. 

Less than 0.05mm

Will continue sanding tomorrow. 

Just some finishing passes 

You were right about HGF from the very beginning.

 

 

So, you will spend your holiday, trying to find a cure for your Škoda. That's a knightly quest Sir!

 

You will fix more than the head gasket. Just like the bad hose. Your car will be better than before.

Edited 18 December, 20223 yr by R_Blue

3 hours ago, R_Blue said:

You were right about HGF from the very beginning.

i am a sniffer dog hahaha

 

3 hours ago, R_Blue said:

You will fix more than the head gasket. Just like the bad hose. Your car will be better than before

ofcourse

before

               

after
               

I hope your work is going well.

Here are some questions for the record.

 

- Your old head gasket seems Škoda made. Is that the original one from factory? Is this the first head gasket replacement job for this engine?

- If not, do you know the mileage since the last head gasket change? Since you are using LPG too, I want to check, if LPG affects head gasket life or not. The are some myths about it. (Myth busting while repairs is fun too)

 

Do you think while the engine head is out, is it a good time to replace freeze plugs? Two of my freeze plugs started to leak after the HGF job and made me regret I didn't change them while the head was out. (There are also freeze plugs near the valve springs.).

Looks like the head was eaten by the coolant a bit. What coolant were you using? Are you going to get it skimmed?

3 minutes ago, Papez said:

Looks like the head was eaten by the coolant a bit. What coolant were you using? Are you going to get it skimmed?

Right now I was checking the surface.

 

If I remember correctly from other topics, for the longevity of the new head gasket job, the most important damage to check is around coolant passages. Is that right?

Do you think @Thefeliciahacker should get rid of the deep pits around coolant holes? I marked them with red.

Also there seems to be a little bit of damage on one of the valves. I marked it with orange arrow. How serious is it?

1 hour ago, Papez said:

Looks like the head was eaten by the coolant a bit. What coolant were you using? Are you going to get it skimmed?

It has 140.000kms and 24 years hahah.
As long as it is in my possesion i was using ethelyne glycol based stuff.
I will find the protection standarts but they were bs:: something something.
Skimming, well skoda allows for a maximum 0.8mm skimming depth, the deepest pits are more than 0.8 even if i go down to the skim marker they are still going to be present.
Since the head is not really warped I think im just gonna clean it really well with sandpaper on a glass.
0.01mm is the amount I am aiming for and I will see after that.

 

1 hour ago, R_Blue said:

If I remember correctly from other topics, for the longevity of the new head gasket job, the most important damage to check is around coolant passages. Is that right?

It indeed is I am going to report back with conclusive findings!!!
 

 

1 hour ago, R_Blue said:

Also there seems to be a little bit of damage on one of the valves. I marked it with orange arrow. How serious is it?

Good catch I am going to check right now

Valves are perfect must have been debries, plus checked for leakage and they seal perfectly.
Now the coolant passages althought corroded I dont think would cause any sealing issue since its far away from either the pushrod galleries and the fire rings...
But I want your opinion now and after I removed 10μ then I will post photos with the straight edge and a 0.04mm feeler that even now is a no go

Edited 19 December, 20223 yr by Thefeliciahacker

Obviously will know more when I remove just that little bit more, for now the head has been hand cleaned with 600 grit paper.
So really no material was removed, you can see the original milling marks

Edited 19 December, 20223 yr by Thefeliciahacker

3 hours ago, R_Blue said:

Your old head gasket seems Škoda made. Is that the original one from factory? Is this the first head gasket replacement job for this engine?

Indeed it is original, yes FIRST head gasket change and hopefully last.

 

3 hours ago, R_Blue said:

I want to check, if LPG affects head gasket life or not. The are some myths about it. (Myth busting while repairs is fun too)

Lpg per say NO but if the mixture is lean or hotter burning YES if the engine is running hotter, the HG will fail sooner

 

3 hours ago, R_Blue said:

Do you think while the engine head is out, is it a good time to replace freeze plugs? Two of my freeze plugs started to leak after the HGF job and made me regret I didn't change them while the head was out. (There are also freeze plugs near the valve springs.).

Tbh, I dont want to mess with them, they dont like being disturbed so I aint gonna brake their peace and quiet

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything.

 

Do you know how often over the car's 24 years the coolant was changed as the corrosion protection element of the coolant goes before the antifreeze element does and often the coolant is not changed if the antifreeze part passes perhaps a once in a year, or longer, test, if ever tested.

 

Edited 19 December, 20223 yr by nta16
spelling

1 hour ago, nta16 said:

Do you know how often over the car's 24 years the coolant was changed as the corrosion protection element of the coolant goes before the antifreeze element does and often the coolant is not changed if the antifreeze part passes perhaps a once in a year, or longer, test, if ever tested.

During my ownership it was every two years

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything.

 

1 minute ago, Thefeliciahacker said:

During my ownership it was every two years

I expected that to be the case.

 

Compared with areed's head even after being skimmed yours is a lot better for corrosion.

 

18 hours ago, nta16 said:

Compared with areed's head even after being skimmed yours is a lot better for corrosion.

I agree.

21 hours ago, Thefeliciahacker said:

But I want your opinion now and after I removed 10μ then I will post photos

For now, I'd take it for a skim.

22 hours ago, Thefeliciahacker said:

the deepest pits are more than 0.8

Are they over 1mm?

 

21 hours ago, Thefeliciahacker said:

Lpg per say NO but if the mixture is lean or hotter burning YES if the engine is running hotter, the HG will fail sooner

If your engine wasn't overheated it could even lasted longer.

 

BTW, What is the average life of a valve stem oil seal?

6 minutes ago, R_Blue said:

What is the average life of a valve stem oil seal?

More than 160k

 

7 minutes ago, R_Blue said:

Are they over 1mm

The deepest ones yes

 

Now after continuing sanding with 1000grit

Still wapred though

Tomorrow we are going to know for sure if the head is warped.
My gut feeling is that the head IS SUPER FLAT,
today I went home with the 400 grit

1 hour ago, Thefeliciahacker said:

Tomorrow we are going to know for sure if the head is warped.
My gut feeling is that the head IS SUPER FLAT,

Definitely, as long as you have a suitable plane surface to rub the blue off against.

Head is ready very very flat the top down photo shows the overall flatness after just 4 passes to scrub the marker down

30 minutes ago, Thefeliciahacker said:

Head is ready very very flat the top down photo shows the overall flatness after just 4 passes to scrub the marker down

Good work!

 

Grinding limit indicator notch shows that, you can still go for more if you want it.

How do you know how much is enough? Just the flatness?

9 minutes ago, R_Blue said:

Grinding limit indicator notch shows that, you can still go for more if you want it.

How do you know how much is enough? Just the flatness?

Flatness and surface finish, I will try to get some better lighting photos tomorrow.
I dont think there in any reason to go deeper, the head is going to seal perfectly

1 hour ago, Thefeliciahacker said:

Head is ready very very flat

For sure that is totally for sure for sure.