head gasket

howdy all.

the booldy head gasket is gone or on its way out. is it possable to change it my self or am i going to have to take it in to a garage. the eehgine temp is normal and so i dont thhink the head has warped. and over the last 2 weeks or so its been losing so much coolant. will i have to buy any special tools to do the job.
thanks

bruce28 said:

howdy all.

the booldy head gasket is gone or on its way out. is it possable to change it my self or am i going to have to take it in to a garage. the eehgine temp is normal and so i dont thhink the head has warped. and over the last 2 weeks or so its been losing so much coolant. will i have to buy any special tools to do the job.
thanks

Click to expand...

Are you sure its hgf? or just loosing coolant? Is there sludge in the coolant or on the dipstick?

Yep sure is possible to repair, would recommend a Heinz manwell (Haynes manual) or RAVE download CD.

Do you have a good metric socket set, torque wrench, female Torx bit E12 etc.

Search through the forum for 1.8 k series, hgf

bruce28 said:

howdy all.

the booldy head gasket is gone or on its way out. is it possable to change it my self or am i going to have to take it in to a garage. the eehgine temp is normal and so i dont thhink the head has warped. and over the last 2 weeks or so its been losing so much coolant. will i have to buy any special tools to do the job.
thanks

Click to expand...

HOLD IT!!!

If it is losing coolant, FIRST find out where it is going!

It might just be a worn-out radiator cap on the expansion tank, or a wee leak in the system such as a cracked expansion tank or a pin-hole in a hose, or a little leak in the radiator matrix .... if the head gasket was "gone" you would be in no doubt about the fact. So, it probably isn't!

CharlesY

hi try looking at transfer box top its water cooled and the pipes leak and you dont see the leak
presuming its a 1.8 petrol do a compression test it will show if head gasket is blown
if you can find a pressure test for water/ rad avaible to fit all cars it will show some leaks as its presurised system

regards jummy

Hi i would not try this myself, head may need to be skimmed? i payed £350 to have mine done and that included head skimmed, all parts and labour+ new cambelt.