HELP!!! GPX Head Gasket

bozhu001 · Post by **bozhu001** » Tue May 04, 2004 9:45 am

Guys

I have a cracked Head Gasket from rear top of the engine, the engine's been leaking oil.

Some mechanic is quoting me $2000 just to get the gasket replaced!!!!
Man thats expensive.

Was wondering if there is any mechanic in Sydney that you guys can recommend to do this for cheaper.

and how much does gasket cost anyway, i didn't think some cardboard seal is going to be so expensive.

Calvin

Theremin · Post by **Theremin** » Tue May 04, 2004 11:23 am

A friend of mine just blew his head gasket in his... dare i mention it.. Capri and it cost him $2000 to get it fixed.

Are you sure it's the head gasket and not a cam seal?

bozhu001 · Post by **bozhu001** » Wed May 05, 2004 4:33 pm

yep, its the gasket

I had 2 mechanics checked it out, they both said it was the gasket

lal · Post by **lal** » Wed May 05, 2004 4:51 pm

oouuchhh!!!

that's expensive...
a question on the side... how do you crack/blow your head gasket?
does it jsut happen with age of the car? or is there something specific that could increase the chances of blowing your head gasket?

not that i want to do it.. I jsut want to make sure I don't blow my head gasket (if I can help it).

hope you find a place that can do it for cheaper

cheers!

Theremin · Post by **Theremin** » Wed May 05, 2004 10:20 pm

In my friend's case, his radiator hose came off and he didn't notice the temp gauge go up. Cooked the engine and blew the head gasket. That's why it pays to check your radiator hoses! One thing I was wondering though, is does the FTO have any warning that the temp is high (other than the temp gauge and, let face it, how often do you really look at that)?

Post by **smorison** » Wed May 05, 2004 10:33 pm

Theremin wrote:In my friend's case, his radiator hose came off and he didn't notice the temp gauge go up. Cooked the engine and blew the head gasket. That's why it pays to check your radiator hoses! One thing I was wondering though, is does the FTO have any warning that the temp is high (other than the temp gauge and, let face it, how often do you really look at that)?

overheated the gearbox a few times but never the engine (and its not through any lack of trying) so i don't know what sort of warning lights there are but i'm sure there are.

payaya · Post by **payaya** » Sat May 08, 2004 9:14 pm

crack head gasket can be caused by a lot of factors!

Could be just a lack of maintanance, wrong type of coolant, head bolts stretching over time, improper installation of heads, etc etc.

about 1500 of that 2000k would be labour. Try find someone to do it for you, it cost nothing. Just make sure you get the head machined, and get the head pressure tested as well.

Also how do you know the head gasket is gone? You loosing coolant? Oil in water? how did you determine this?

payaya · Post by **payaya** » Sat May 08, 2004 9:17 pm

Theremin wrote:In my friend's case, his radiator hose came off and he didn't notice the temp gauge go up. Cooked the engine and blew the head gasket. That's why it pays to check your radiator hoses! One thing I was wondering though, is does the FTO have any warning that the temp is high (other than the temp gauge and, let face it, how often do you really look at that)?

mate i always look at my temp guage!
you must run out of petrol often as you never look in that region right?

mrx · Post by **mrx** » Sat May 08, 2004 9:38 pm

I have aslo discovered an oil leak in my engine - don't think it is a head gasket as that is normally oil in the water scenario.

However, it is concerning. Only had the car a week. The dealer will be getting a call tomorrow - one good thing about buying from a yard!

Car is running very well - great economy and power etc, just weeping oil from somewhere around the head. Anyone had anything similar?

payaya · Post by **payaya** » Sat May 08, 2004 9:48 pm

usually when you head goes, you dont notice a oil leak but rather coolant as you said.

The rocker cover is the highest cover at the top of each V bank. There is a gasket between there and below that which is the head.

When you look to the bottom of the head thats your head gasket.

make is hard to do a pressure test on each cylinder on the FTO becuase of the down east/west arrangment of the engine.

if there isnt a big loss of coolant, i wouldnt think its the head gasket.

I have friends with leaky heads, they go through 2-4 litres of coolant a week.

Teania · Post by **Teania** » Sat May 08, 2004 9:49 pm

Hi mrx - .... not uncommon - check this link for more info.

http://www.ftoaustralia.com/modules.php ... opic&t=692

Cheers
Tanya

payaya · Post by **payaya** » Sat May 08, 2004 10:03 pm

heads gaskets are common in a lot of cars. It seems FTOs dont suffer as much as other cars.

people seem to mistake a rocker cover gasket for a head gasket leak a lot.

Check rocker gaskets and cam seals for a oil leaks!

remember when replacing the head gasket to do both! You dont want to do one then the other one goes.

The best preventative measure is to keep the cooling system up to scratch. Replace coolant ever 20,000 or 1 year.

bozhu001 · Post by **bozhu001** » Mon May 10, 2004 4:16 pm

MRX, this is my situation:

The car runs very well, only leaks some oil (5-10 drops a night)
Temperature is always under 1/2 way on the guage.

I believe someone in Japan blew the head gasket when he drove it too hard. but nonetheless i have to get it fixed right.

I hope to get someone to do the job for me, but its so hard finding a person with the right knowledge of FTO to do this sort of job.

If you have oil leak from rear top part of the engine, then you better check it out, cos it can be a head gasket issue too.

Theremin · Post by **Theremin** » Mon May 10, 2004 4:37 pm

mate i always look at my temp guage!
you must run out of petrol often as you never look in that region right?

And you must have a lot of crashes if you are always looking at your temp guage

Seriously though - how much time do you reckon it would take from when a hose comes off and dumps your coolant on the road until you blow a head gasket? I would have thought in usual driving conditions you wouldn't have to wait too long.

payaya · Post by **payaya** » Sat May 15, 2004 8:30 pm

Theremin wrote:
mate i always look at my temp guage!
you must run out of petrol often as you never look in that region right?
And you must have a lot of crashes if you are always looking at your temp guage

Seriously though - how much time do you reckon it would take from when a hose comes off and dumps your coolant on the road until you blow a head gasket? I would have thought in usual driving conditions you wouldn't have to wait too long.

i dont deliberately look at the temp guage but if its high i would notice it. There will by a temp light i think.

Depend on the leak. Usually the hoses only come off a bit which give you a few minues, but if it totally comes up, your looking at under a minute.

But you should notice steam coming out of the engine bay, as the exhuast manifold is real close to the action.

I had my oil filter come lose, pressure light came on, smoke pouring from the engine, oil everywhere, damn disaster!

mrx · Post by **mrx** » Sun May 16, 2004 7:30 am

It turns out that it was the cam seals that were leaking, not the rocker cover or head gasket.

However, it is a big job, so will not have my car for a few days

! Still, it is better that is costs me nothing than the approx $2k it would have.

Just hope they look after it. I bet they don't tuck it in and read it a story at night time...

payaya · Post by **payaya** » Sun May 16, 2004 5:18 pm

mrx wrote:It turns out that it was the cam seals that were leaking, not the rocker cover or head gasket.

However, it is a big job, so will not have my car for a few days ! Still, it is better that is costs me nothing than the approx $2k it would have.

Just hope they look after it. I bet they don't tuck it in and read it a story at night time...

can i ask what oil you use? What grade?

mrx · Post by **mrx** » Sun May 16, 2004 8:46 pm

Good question, but difficult to answer. I have only had the car for 2 weeks now, so I have not yet had to actually do an oil change (but that was going to happen soon anyway, not knowing service history etc).

I have read some stuff on a UK website about oil. Given that their temps are quite a bit colder than ours, I used it only as a guide, but something in the 5-40 or 5-50 range, fully synth. Mobil, Shell or Castrol. I really dont see their being a great deal of difference. Just pick one and stick to it I guess.

Why do you ask?

payaya · Post by **payaya** » Sun May 16, 2004 8:50 pm

just trying to work out if theres a correllation between using thinner oils than mitsu recommend and oil leaks!

ive stuck to what mitsubishi recommend, ive done 150,000kms and have NO oil leaks.

ruchi · Post by **ruchi** » Sun May 16, 2004 10:48 pm

[quote="payaya"ive stuck to what mitsubishi recommend[/quote]
So what do Mitsubishi recommend and where did you see this? In the various official manuals it simply states that it must be of a "SG" grade or higher it does not actually state a Xw-XX rating.