VR6Pete 1,455 Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 not what i want to be hearing, especially when my schrick arrives tomorrow!I'm not loosing any water, im not having any sort of misfire, im not loosing oil, i've got no mayo on my filler cap, having a job done today on my car, the garage just phoned be back to say my head gasket is on it's way out, they asked me the above questions etc.. to which i said it's fine, and has just rolling roaded in at 200BHP+ .... they say they have found "gasses" in my combusion chamber, are they talking bollocks? is there anything else i can check, or get them to check to back this up?Next question...how much work is involved in replacing it, what else needs to be done when replacing the gasket etc.. etc.. as i'll be having the inlet manifold etc off tomorrow when i fit the schrick, I have a couple of days of work, will it be long enough for a very clued up mechanic to rerplace do this job?Thanks.Pete Link to post Share on other sites
jcorallo 0 Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 first question - why were they checking your engine out? Was it at the garage to diagnose a problem? Had you blown a hose or something recently?I have a "sniffer" that you stick in the cooling system expansion tank - it sniffs the air to see if it contains CO2 gases - if positive, the gasket is leaking combustion gases into the cooling system.Jules Link to post Share on other sites
VR6Pete 1,455 Posted April 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 they've done a leak test, but under pressure,the reason they have done that is bcos ive got a leak on my coolant housing and it needed to be put under pressure to see if the leak showed. Pete Link to post Share on other sites
VR6Pete 1,455 Posted April 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 well, it's fucked! top end will be off later on tonight, head skimmed and gasket replaced. Link to post Share on other sites
Geastb 0 Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 Help! I'm loosing water, i have a slight missfire when accelerating away in a low gear, im loosing oil slightly, but i've got no mayo on my filler cap - could it be my headasket? How can i tell without going to a garage?How much roughly to get fixed and how long off the road?Sorry to hijack the thread but didn't want to start a similar thread to your vr6pete! ~ Link to post Share on other sites
patrick green 0 Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 The misfire could be a number of things - fuel relay is often a cause although mine was due to a faulty camshaft sensor. If you are losing water & oil, check for leaks first as I've found most of these are down to seals or hoses rather than the head gasket (this is on my previous cars btw!) Link to post Share on other sites
Macca 1 Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 Sounds like it could be a head gasket Have a really good look around the coolant pipes and check for leaks, they should be fairly easy to spot as the coolant would leave a white residue. If theres a split pipe you might be ok. The misfire sounds ominous though.You really need to take it to a garage and they will do a hydrocarbon test on the coolant to see if oil/ combustion gases and coolant are mixing. This wont cost much. You can check for yourself whether theres crap getting in the coolant: just unscrew the expansion tank lid WHEN ITS COOL and if it stinks and theres an oily film then its bad news. Cost of a head gasket i reckon £300-£500, off the road for a few days.Let me know what happens [ Edited Wed Apr 28 2004, 04:22PM ] Link to post Share on other sites
VR6Pete 1,455 Posted April 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 vince charges 650 + VAT for head gasket... pretty standard price from what i understand.. u only see mayo on ur cap in extreme cases... normally a hydrocarbons chemical check shows up the problem, failing that, then a leak down test should Identify the problem! getting mine done for a small fee just ordered a thermostat (nuspeed) Link to post Share on other sites
Macca 1 Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 My head gasket went just after i bought the car, then to really rub it in the mechanic put it back together with the timing out! Drove around with a very lame VR6 for a few weeks Link to post Share on other sites
wilko-vr6 0 Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 my local vag main dealer charges £370.00 for the job!and he quotes about 5 hours if memory serves me right!!!! Link to post Share on other sites
VR6Pete 1,455 Posted April 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 hows does £300? including fitting of my schrick and new eninge mounts? Link to post Share on other sites
mightyvr6 0 Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 I paid £350 for headgasket, front discs/pads, rear pads, oil change, brake hoses, water pump at a vw specialist.What mileage are you on? Link to post Share on other sites
VR6Pete 1,455 Posted April 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 74k Link to post Share on other sites
acf8181 0 Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 you won't need your headskimmed pete, as you've cought it early...just like i did.its not that hard to do yourslef, until nuts/bolts start rounding anyway! Link to post Share on other sites
VR6Pete 1,455 Posted April 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2004 just seen water on plug 2 when stripping it today :( but i dont care!!! the schrick is here!! Link to post Share on other sites
VR6Pete 1,455 Posted April 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2004 just seen water on plug 2 when stripping it today :( but i dont care!!! the schrick is here!! Link to post Share on other sites
acf8181 0 Posted April 29, 2004 Report Share Posted April 29, 2004 wow, thats a record...posting the same reply 4 times! lol Link to post Share on other sites
patrick green 0 Posted April 29, 2004 Report Share Posted April 29, 2004 Pete just wanted 2 brag about his Schrick! Link to post Share on other sites
DundeeDub 0 Posted April 29, 2004 Report Share Posted April 29, 2004 i got a feeling i'm going to have to replace my head gasket aswell, got all the symptoms, missfire (only very rarely), going through coolent, smelly coolent, and also starting to go trhough a bit of oil to.how hard is it really to do and how long.would it be worth getting a set of cams to put in when the head is off or is that a specilist job.car has done 120,000 anything else i need to do. Link to post Share on other sites
wilko-vr6 0 Posted April 29, 2004 Report Share Posted April 29, 2004 would only go to a vr specialist or main dealer myself!i have heard some bad stories about 'mechanics'(or is that maniacs???) that hacve a stange habbit of getting the timing wrong when@slinging it back together!also,while it's off,i'd do the guides 'n' seals on the valves!cost more,but cheaper than removing the head twice! Link to post Share on other sites
acf8181 0 Posted April 29, 2004 Report Share Posted April 29, 2004 i got a feeling i'm going to have to replace my head gasket aswell' date=' got all the symptoms, missfire (only very rarely), going through coolent, smelly coolent, and also starting to go trhough a bit of oil to.how hard is it really to do and how long.would it be worth getting a set of cams to put in when the head is off or is that a specilist job.car has done 120,000 anything else i need to do.[/quote']its not that hard to do (when armed with a bentley manual), apart from if you get rounded bolts, like i did! Link to post Share on other sites
Guest couzens Posted April 30, 2004 Report Share Posted April 30, 2004 Ok shit on a stick, but mines on its way out as well now. Done 118,000 and had a coolant leak for a bit of time. just had it up on the ramps and noticed flurred red coolant around the join of the head and block. No other problems at the moment. Mate says its OK for now because the water is coming out rather than going into the block as the coolant can be seen on the outside. Said check the dipstick to make sure fluid level isn't increasing = water into the oil.[ Edited Fri Apr 30 2004, 06:06PM ][ Edited Fri Apr 30 2004, 07:05PM ] Link to post Share on other sites
VR6Pete 1,455 Posted April 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2004 unlucky! my upper chain tensioner has gone too! fount water on my cams that's caused them to scratch. they been buffered up and fixed hope urs isnt too bad, but get it done rather than later ! Link to post Share on other sites
Guest couzens Posted April 30, 2004 Report Share Posted April 30, 2004 What the total cost with Vince m8? Link to post Share on other sites
VR6Pete 1,455 Posted April 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2004 ive not gone with vince, ive my mate to do it. Link to post Share on other sites
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