this might sound like a bone question but i know cometic gaskets are reusable but i assume the head gaskets are not, am i right or are they, reason i ask is just fitted one, mating faces perfectly clean, new bolts and tightening sequence followed and its took a lot of water and i think theres water in the oil!

 

they are supposed to be re-usable, but i have never known anybody actually try...........they are only £130 odd, why take the risk

 

Cometic do NOT advocate re-using their head gaskets.

 

thats what i thought, well pi**ed off now, it's only an 18000 mile engine and both surfaces were spotless, i don't understand what has gone wrong, ho-hum back to the garage to strip the fuc*er again!

 

Poss the wrong gasket allowing water/oil ways to leak into each other??????????

 

on closer inspection i was completely wrong, the water feed pipe had a minute split in it and this explained the loss of water, the water i thought was in oil is in fact fuel, i took all the plugs out and no 1 was black, i think no 1 injector is stuck open which would also explain why its used 7 quids worth of fuel for 25 mins running at idle, a bonus in some respects, i'd rather replace an injector than pull the engine apart again!, thanks for your input guys!!