scooby_girlie

hi. Just recently blew my head gasket

I was wondering if any of you guys would know a good place to take it to. I was planning on taking it to East Coast Customs in Lisburn but just wondering if you guys would know anywhere better. Im in the Bangor area so as close to home as possible would be best.

Thanks

dmc1980

OMA in mallusk, if you want more details give me a shout

scooby_girlie

Are they good? What's their prices like? I was wanting to take it to eastcoastcustoms cause they're excellent, but they're so much more expensive and I just can't afford it.

Only problem is the distance. The car isn't drivable so I don't know how I'd get it that far to Mallusk. But I do have breakdown cover so they might be able to tow it there. I know it'd be about a half hour from here. I take it you use them? I'm just worried about ending up with a garage doing a half-assed job.

I appreciate your help.

ustolemyname??stevieturbo

iTrader: (1)

It will be in safe hands....

If getting the car towed, make sure ALL 4 wheels are either on the ground, or on a flat bed.

DO NOT TOW WITH ONLY 2 WHEELS on the ground. Although any recovery place should know this already.

Who diagnosed the head gasket ? it isnt really that common a problem, although it can happen.
What age is the car ?

drewruberry

iTrader: (2)

Hi,

I can also highly recommend michael white from OMA hes done alot of work on my impreza and hell be doing more in the next few weeks. His work is excellant, he know imprezas in side and out as well as most other makes.

He even did my brothers old nissan sunny GTIR which had big end failure and no one would even touch it but michael had it up and running for a very reasonable price.

Diffently try and get michael but he is away until monday.

scooby_girlie

Well it hasn't been officially diagnosed as being the head gasket, but I described the symptoms on here and a lot of people have said, 'it's the head gasket'. I've pasted below the original thread that I posted describing the problem.

'I'm having some bother with my scooby. I've got a 95 wrx jap import. It's got 55,000 miles on it. I've had the car 2 months and it's being going grand with no bother. Then today when I had it out I noticed that the temp gauge had gone right up to the max. I pulled over and had a look, one of the radiator fans wasn't working, so I checked the fuse and it was blown, I replaced it and the fan then worked fine. But when I took it back on the road the gauge still read at max. I stopped again and took a look, and the coolant was boiling up out of the tube than comes out of the water level reader (can't think of what else to call it lol, it's at the front right side of engine, with a yellow cap and a black tube coming out top). It was spitting everywhere. I took it home and waited for it to cool and took the oil reading and it was a wee bit low, so topped it up thinking that would be ok. I also topped up the coolant.

I took the car back out when the engine was totally cooled down. The temp gauge rose up to 'normal level', stopped there for a moment, and then rose up to max. It seems to rise when I put the foot down. But it's quite strange. It goes up and down a bit whilst driving. It moves between just above the 'normal' level and the max level. It doesn't just stay constant.

The car seems to be driving fine, the turbo's working, there's no funny sounds or smells. There's no engine warning lights or anything on, so it's totally puzzling me. I have no idea what it could be. The only thing I could think would be the radiator.

Anyone with any ideas how to check what it is? Or any help at all? Thanks. '

Also only 1 litre of water drained out of radiator when I drained it.

Bit of a nightmare really. lol

ustolemyname??stevieturbo

iTrader: (1)

Could be the head gasket then.

The pipe/bottle you refer to is the overflow. Any coolant that gets chucked out of the main system is supposed to go into this bottle, and when the car cools down, it will get drawn back into the main system...

at least, thats the theory.

When water does get chucked out, these cars can be a nightmare to get water back in, as they get air locks very easily, which could give the symptoms you now describe.

But a blowing head gasket can also give the same symptoms, which given the car has been heated, is a possibility.

They take circa 7.5 litres from empty to full. Best way is to drain the system entirely, and re-fill slowly. If it takes 7+ litres, then you can be pretty sure its full with no air locks.

If you only get say 5litres in, then you have still air locks. It can be a slow process.

Try and get as close to the full amount in before driving it


if there is no, or not enough water in the cooling system your heater wont work, nor will the temp guage read properly all the time. If there is no water passing over the sender, it will not read right. Hence the up/down on the gauge.

If you do manage to get the full amount of water into it....and the same symptoms occur, then the head gasket is likely on its way out.

555-Scooby

Every chance that the rad is burst as this is a common fault on classic imprezas... they often burst at the top left hand side just below where the top hose connects to the rad....worth checking out.

Suresh

Thermostat jammed shut? Doesn't a blown HG usually give water in the oil and vice versa?

dar1984

Yeah dont jump to conclusions that the head gasket is gone,
When you take the dip stick out is there a white mayonase type stuff on the end of it? or the oil cap? or check the water for oil,it wont be much..way to tell is let it drain out and look at it in the light and you will see the oiley slimey texture to it
More than likely its your thermostat,
Can you get hot air coming thru the blowers?

scooby_girlie

stevieturbo - Drained only one litre from radiator using tap, and so decided to see if more would come out from bottom radiator hose, only a tiny trickle came out. It would only let me put a litre back in until it read full. Sound like an airlock?

555scooby - will definately check that first thing in the morning. It's too dark here now to do it. Thanks for tip.

suresh - There is definately no water in the oil or visa versa. Is that odd for head gasket gone?

Really appreciate all your help on this guys. I'm hoping it isn't head gasket gone as, although it's only £600, for me at the minute that's a lot.

With smaller jobs I can do quite a lot on car myself, and for what I can't do my neighbour helps. He's got a scooby too. (and a skyline, and a cosworth, and a renault 5, and a few others, lol) But I can't see him agreeing to do a head gasket. He's away at the moment on holiday, so I'm lost, and need your advice.

scooby_girlie

I'm just assuming it's the head gasket as most of the guys on here have said it is.

There's no white gunk on dipstick or oil cap. Def no oil in water. No hot air coming through heater vents. Stays cold. Are those symptoms of thermostat? I tried to get thermostat out yesterday to check it but I'm missing a socket wrench and couldn't find another.

Suresh

I'm not an expert, sorry. That was just an experience I had years back. As far as I know the head gasket functionally separates the water channels from oil channels and both of those from the cylinder bore. I guess if the cylinder bore is leaking into a water channel then it could give the blowback and overheating symptoms you describe.


I'm sure there'll be someone along who really knows..
Good luck and hope it doesn't cost too much whatever it is.

dar1984

Yeah cold air could mean thermostat is sticking,best off to just get the part..there only like a tenner,put some new coolant in and see,
as long as you didnt drive long with it in the red i think you will be alright

scooby_girlie

Will definately try that. I'll try to get one tomorrow and fit it. Would that account for the car only taking 1 litre of water?

dar1984

Well the water would probably be all around the coolant system so id say when ya take the thermostat out you will get alot of water coming out aswell,
If i was close by id give you a hand but im in dublin so not possible,
anyone from near on this that could lend a hand?

ustolemyname??stevieturbo

iTrader: (1)

Stats are usually very reliable.

And no, it rarely gives water in the oil etc....

A very common misconception.

If it blows between a waterway and an oilway, then yes...but that doesnt happen very often. Ive never seen it on a Subaru engine.


But yes, radiator plastic end tanks do fail...although its quite obvious as water pishes out of them.

ustolemyname??stevieturbo

iTrader: (1)

you can remove and check the stat, but its unlikely. Free to try though. 2 x 10mm bolts, just follow the bottom hose.

air locks will account for it not taking water as I described.

Fill the car up, with engine off and cold..and very slowly.

Sometimes removing top hose at rad helps, and re-fitting when water comes out.

Same applies to small overflow pipe on rad, from rad to header tank.

scooby_girlie

I just drained the coolant again and only litre came out. There was def no way anymore water was coming out. I refilled it throuhg the reservoir using all the instructions I could find on here and it willl still only take 1 litre. I can only assume that there is a blockage in the system. Is there any way to clear it or do I need to get a garage to do it. I tried squeezing the hoses when filling it, and although some bubbles came up, it didn't make much of a difference. Is this typical of a blown head gasket?

ustolemyname??stevieturbo

iTrader: (1)

regardless of a blown head gasket. It should still take the same amount to fill the system from empty.
Drain via the bottom rad hose. There will always be a little left in the system...eg heater core inside the car. But this is unavoidable without a lot of hassle to try and drain them.

When filling, remove the top radiator hose, at the radiator end.

This will make it easier for air to escape. Fill slowly, so the water can fill all areas, and allow the water to escape when filling, so it doesnt get trapped anywhere.

Sometimes filling via the top hose can help...but again, go very slow, and finish via the main header tank.

I assume you are filling it at the header tank bottle attached to the inlet manifold ?

The bottle in the wing with the yellow cap, isnt important at this stage.

gojonnyjo

iTrader: (1)

If you know a good garage they will be able to tell ya if the gasket is gone, when a head gasket is gone it will leak into the water or oil and even both, there is a tool for testing the water and it will tell them if hydro carbons are in the water, if there is then it is a head gasket.

Kenny McKinstry in banbridge is ur man for doing the job, but be prepared, it will be expensive, the heads wil have to be skimmed because they are alloy, soft metal will warp to a small degree, gasket gone = overheating = warping, the heads will have to be sent to a specilist engineer to skim them, McComiskies are the guys for that, they are in portadown, thats usually about 200 quid, pressure tested as well.

get prices, shop around, if the problem is getting your car to where ever ya want to fix it, i am sure we can sort a trailer out for you to get her there on.

there is another guy out side dungannon, ali burrows, another top man, all rally men, prep and build scoobys

Pm Me if ya need there numbers or addresses

scooby_girlie

I did all that and it still will not let me put more than a litre in. I am def filling it up in the right place. I'm filling it up in the tank, not the overflow. I took off the top hose when filling. I just can't work out what could be causing it. Either there's coolant trapped inside that is being blocked from draining, or there is a blockage preventing new coolant filling the syatem. I just can't understand why?

robertgraham

iTrader: (2)

I`ve also had work done by ali burrows, highly recommended, engine still going strong

scooby_girlie

Just re-read your message. If you have a trailer I could use to get it up to one of those places then that would be great. I don't have the money at the min to fix car, so it would be a few weeks, but I'll def keep you in mind. The distance was the only thing putting me off as I had no way to get it up there.

ustolemyname??stevieturbo

iTrader: (1)

try removing the top hose, and blowing into the header tank....too see if there are any blockages.
its a little nasty though.

or undo each hose from the header tank, and check individually......but bare in mind, the plastic header tanks on early cars can get brittle with age, and break. Same as mentioned earlier about radiator end tanks.


cant see why there would be blockages though. Have you tried filling via the top hose ?

If you think its full, try squeezing the bottom hose, you should be able to feel if there is water in it or not.

As I say, filling these can sometimes be a nightmare with air locks. Or sometimes they fill first time very easy. Usually the nightmare though lol


But if you try and fill the tank too fast...it will likely just fill up, and over flow.

Going very slow is the key. Never allow the header tank to actually get full up when filling.

scooby_girlie

It's fixed!!!!!

Can't believe it. RAC couldn't come so they sent a local mechanic round and he was great. There was a massive airlock in the system and the thermostat was sticking. He had to take all the hoses off and flush the system with a high pressure jet of water, it took 2 hours to do, but it's working perfectly now. I'm just so glad it wasn't the head gasket! Thanks for all your help guys, I really appreciate it.

scooby_girlie

ustolemyname??stevieturbo

iTrader: (1)

good to hear

brocks

iTrader: (3)

Yay for a cheap fix LOL. Means you will still be going to Lurgan Park then eh???

scooby_girlie

Definately!! If it had been the head gasket there was no way I'd have been going as it wouldn't have been fixed in time, but I'd been putting off telling you lot that until I was certain. I'm looking forward to it. Should be a good day.

gojonnyjo

iTrader: (1)

great news