Hey, I'm new to the site an I'd like some help with something. What it is I bought a fiesta the other day from the auctions the water tank was broke so i got that replaced an thats all i thought was wrong with it, but now the head gasket has gone so ive took it to an engineering company so they can sort it out for me. I got told that it still might not work when i get it back an fit it again and that I might need to get a new engine fitted. I was wondering what would be the best thing to do? and when i get it back from the engineering company if it works will it work fine or is it a problem waiting to happen? Cheers.

 

make sure they check that the head isnt warped and if it is get it skimmed, there must have been a prob before to make gasket go so check car over,

 

as long as the do the job wright you wont have a problem if thay say it needs an engine ask why if you can get it in writing then ask us lot and we can tell you if its rubbish lol. head gaskets do go on cars its very rair for it to kill an engine unless it get way way hot or mixes the oil and water that bad
hope this help

 

Thanks for the reply, the water tank was damaged an when tryin to fill it up water was just pissin out it might of gone because of the engine over heatin because of this but am not too good with engines so i cant say for sure. The water tank has been sorted an the head gasket is gettin skimmed as we speak so am hopin it will work fine after this.

 

Ok thanks for the support hopefully all will go well after this an i wont need a new engine lol ill let ye know what happens anyway

 

You will without a doubt need a skim, alloy heads can develope tiny eroded channels in them from super heated water where it blows.
Make sure you are not filling the expansion tank up full, best on the LOWER mark but NEVER to the top, as water cannot then expand and so will find the easiest route, the headgasket to escape from.

tabetha

 

Ive only just bought the car I havn't drove it yet, I always kept an eye on the water level with my last car an filled it up to just below the maximum level. The fella who had the fiesta before might of abused it abit lol I used to have a 1.1 punto that was my first car I liked it at first cos we all fall in love with r first cars no matter how bad they r dnt we haha but then after i had it a while i started seeing it for what it really was..a dog lol im glad to see the back of it. How dya reckon my new fiesta will compare to my punto? haha Ive been readin reviews about it an ive heard the 1.25 zetec 16v is a good engine, It looks the part colour coded an that with sporty seats an dials i heard its quite nippy aswell

 

The 1.25 zetec se is a very good engine, and they go well for what they are, I recently did a lambda on one of these as it was only doing around 140 miles to a tank!!
Driven gently all the time she(owner) now gets 300 plus, even though the lambda value was ok on the emissions, but CO way over, everyone telling me it was the cat, I was not convinced, the lambda had been dodgy for a few years and had a dodgy mot last time before being sold at auction, by dealer tha mot'd it!!
I can see why he did not change the lambda, it very nearly entailed the removal of the exhaust manifold, but copious heat from a gas torch had it free eventually, wtf do people do things up so tight, these only need a slight nip, used a universal lambda at about £25, works perfect.
If the head is skimmed , and put back right it will be ok, most likely been run low on water, they don't have any particular weakness in the cooling system.
tabetha

 

i hope they are skimming the head. and not the gasket lol

 

haha me too

 

Its been skimmed an its sorted now works perfectly

 

how much did it set u back in the end??

 

25 quid haha

 

for a skim? thats a bit cheap if you ask me? plus labour? did you miss a figure off there?

 

Nope haha 25 quid not bad at all

 

Sounds like they found something simple wrong with it if you ask me.

Its fixed tho

 

I got it for 400 quid at the auctions it had the tow bar on the front an water was pourin out of the tank when fillin it up i said oh thats a bin that! when evry1 was lookin at it, i threw a bid in an got it alls that it needed was the water tank sortin then the head gasket went got that skimmed for 25 quid now it works perfecly haha what a bargain ive seen the same car with no alloys or anyfin just a basic model with more miles gettin sold for 1600

 

honestly i really dont think theyve skimmed the head mate, road and rally charge £165 for skimming a head iirc

Glad youve got it sorted though mate, whatever it was seems to have been sorted for little money I just hope if it was the head gasket that they have skimmed the head, my bet is that for £25 all youve got is a new gasket in there.

 

No mate honest i took it to a local engineerin company they skimmed the head ye cud c it had been skimmed when i went to pick it up.

 

Sounds like a pocket/beer money job.
Theres nowhere locally that'll do jobs like that anymore.
You're lucky.

 

i can get a head skimmed for £25 and that any head and never had a problem with there work

 

i ment how much did the hole job cost you??

 

Notin my mates a mechanic he took it off an fitted it back on for me he done the water tank an put a new cam belt on for me aswell i said id go round to is an take the plaster off is walls for im to repay the favour.

 

£165 for a simple skim is daylight robbery; i pay £25 for a skim, its the going rate generally

unless they are doing more than skimming a head for £165?

any half decent engineering shops can do it

 

i got charged 35quid for a head skim and i could tell him how much i wanted off.
this was on a cast head not an alu one,

 

if some one tryed to charge me over 100 quid for a skim i would want it ported as well lol

 

That was the first time i have got a skim so if i got charged over 100 quid id b non the wiser, I was surprised wen e sed 25 quid its a good price an now my car is sorted.