Apologies if this has been covered in the past but on top of needing to replace both outer CV joints I have now found out that the head gasket is going. I know I'd be looking at about £250 for the joints but does anyone know how much I could be forking out for the head gasket? I paid £800 for the car and was wondering if it might be worth just getting the repairs done.

What are the symptoms? Are you replacing the gasket yourself?

The coolant keeps rapidly disappearing, the oil is high and you can smell the anti freeze from the coolant on the engine after it's been run for a bit.

If there's no way of getting a refund for the car - and money is tight, I would recommend trying to replace the gasket yourself, if you feel up to the task.

I am presuming you have the 1.3.

The gasket itself is at most £15, and you need the head bolts too. You will also need a haynes manual, labels for the bits as you disconnect them, a good socket set, and a 10mm hex 1/2" drive key with a wheel brace. Copper grease on the head bolt threads may also be useful. When removing the head bolts label the old one's up (or shove through ordered holes in a cornflake packet) so you know which length bolts go where.

In my experience the exhaust down pipe nuts from the bottom of the manifold are the most difficult part of the whole process and care needs to be taken

On the head bolts themselves, put lots of pressure on with the wheel brace until they free themselves. They should come out then.

Also bear in mind I have only experience of removing a head, not putting it back on yet. I presume it's just a case of taking lots of care and putting all the pipes back as they were before.

The main concern if doing the job yourself is that the head may be warped.

The coolant keeps rapidly disappearing, the oil is high and you can smell the anti freeze from the coolant on the engine after it's been run for a bit.

Is the oil level actually rising though? If so then yes it will be the coolant. Is there any white smoke belching out the back once warmed up (aside from usual smoke from cold air)?

Look for the obvious first as it may be a split hose, cracked housing or a duff radiator etc.

K-Seal

Steel Seal Head Gasket Fix! NEW TO UK! on eBay, also, Other Car Accessories, Car Accessories, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 09-Jan-08 20:53:52 GMT)

No guarantee by me. might save a lot of work tho

I know that Gasket sealents can be dodgy but out of desperation I tried it on my 1.3 p reg felicia estate , I had lots of creme bruillet mixture in my oil cap. A garage quoted me £250 + for a gasket change , I bought the car for £350 so I was ready to

get in crushed when I bought this american gasket sealent cost £30.

14 months & 6k miles later thru another mot ,touch wood its running good .

I suggest if you are low miler its worth it

I've just done the head on my 1.6

if the head has blown, it needs skimming!!

it cost me £30 to have mine skimmed. and new head bolts are a must.

other than that, its mechano.

The coolant keeps rapidly disappearing, the oil is high and you can smell the anti freeze from the coolant on the engine after it's been run for a bit.

OK, I see this is an oldish thread so the original poster may well have done whatever he's decided to do - but that sounds to me as if it could be a split hose or leaking core plug rather than a head gasket. I'm just not quite sure what's meant by the oil being 'high' - high level, smells high, ??? But anti-freeze smell suggests the coolant is leaking to the outside world and that tends to happen from hoses, bottles and plugs rather than gaskets.

And in general terms, whenever you do a head gasket be careful to observe the bolt-tightening recommendations in the book (Haynes or whatever you use). Put grease (ordinary lithium grease) on bolt threads before you fit them and tighten them quickly to the recommended torque/angle settings so they don't have a chance to 'freeze' and give you erroneous readings.

Gasket sealants are obviously a gamble because not all gasket failures involve waterways at all (though it's true probably a majority do), but fair enough, for £30 why not have a pop?