03 Corsa Headgasket??

SJPK

Hi,
So basically, the brother has a 03 1.0 corsa, 75/80k and I think the headgasket might be gone! What leads to believe this is
-its been using a lot of coolant/water
-when you turn on the heat inside you get some hot air for a few seconds then it just goes cold
-and finally theres that 'mustardy' 'creamy' stuff on the oil cap!

As far as i can see there arent any leaks!

What i want to find out is, how much would it normally cost to get a headgasket done on this car? The car hasnt over heated as its been kept topped up with water so will it need to be skimmed or anything else like that?
The timing chain is fairly rattley so while its there would he be as well off to get that fixed also, and if so how much will the lot cost?

So if anyone has any advice on getting the headgasket/timing chain fixed and how much they'd cost, it'd be greatly appreciated
Thanks

Nissan doctor

IMO before you commit to a job like a HG change you'd want to have it properly diagnosed first. A couple of straight forward diagnostic test which any decent garage can do will tell you 100% if the head gasket is gone.

Its very common for the water pump to leak on these too.

With regards to the chain, its the tensioner that can go slack on them.

SJPK

oh god yeah it'll be diagnosed first maybe by 1 or 2 places/people, but i wont be doing it myself like, I just want to get a rough idea of how much a garage would charge to do it, and how much extra it'd be to do timing chain/tensioner and waterpump if so needed?

Nissan doctor

SJPK wrote: »

oh god yeah it'll be diagnosed first maybe by 1 or 2 places/people, but i wont be doing it myself like, I just want to get a rough idea of how much a garage would charge to do it, and how much extra it'd be to do timing chain/tensioner and waterpump if so needed?

Well any garage who was going to do the job will need to have specific tools to time that engine too.

I would always change the tensioner and WP on those engines anyway as they are both problem items, they also need to have the sump and chain cover gasket replaced along with the head gasket, pressure test/skim etc

I'd say you'd be paying around the €700-€800 mark to have a proper job done in a reputable garage.

SJPK

whoa, right!:eek: Would you know if there'd be any cheaper solution or how much'd the HG'd be by itself? btw is it doing any major damage by just keep filling it up with water when it runs low, and how long could you continue to do this for?

Nissan doctor

SJPK wrote: »

whoa, right!:eek: Would you know if there'd be any cheaper solution or how much'd the HG'd be by itself? btw is it doing any major damage by just keep filling it up with water when it runs low, and how long could you continue to do this for?

Thats the only way to do it properly and have everything functioning as new. If you just replace the HG by itself it is basically a lot of labour for what will only be a temporary repair.

When head gaskets go it is proper practice to have the head pressure tested(to ensure the head has not been damaged) and skimmed(to give a perfectly smooth surface for the new HG to seal against). On the corsa the sump and chain cover gaskets are single use, as are the head bolts so they all have to be replaced. As said the water pump and chain tensioner are both problem areas on that engine so it makes sense to save labour on future issues by replacing them while they or off anyway.


As for doing damage by continuing to drive it as is, well if the head gasket has failed(it won't fail on its own, another problem will have cause it)then you can have several issues, 1: coolant leaking into the cylinders causing eventual damage/wear to bores, valves, catalytic converter, lambda sensors etc. 2: coolant mixing with oil leading to lack of engine lubrication due to the degradation of the oil as well as the clogging of cooling system/rad etc due to build up of oil sludge. 3: When it gets worse, you can loose compression/performance and by that stage the head and block will be toast anyway:eek: