cylinder head gasket blown help please

bobsimes

bobsimes

Member
hi all,

i have owned my a2 for one week now and from day 1 it over heated on the journey home, got some money back from the seller to cover repair costs, just been diagnosed with a blown head gasket (it is pressurising the coolant)

i have a question, when changing the gasket would you or should you always get the head skimmed???

has anyone changed the gasket and not had the head skimmed and was it ok?

and if anyone has done the job is there anything i need to look out for???

all help appreciated thanks

simon
 
On another car it's only happened to me once. I was advised to have it done. The additinal cost was modest in comparison to the overall.
 
head gasket

sorry spike we must have posted at the same time.

i am now confused, i have done a head gasket before on a punto and got it skimmed, i have only had the car for a week so dont know its history re overheating.

skimming the a2 head is out of the question as per audi service manual so am i going to have to just replace the head gasket clean it all up and hope for the best???

hopefully it is not warped or cracked.

oil is holding ok and is not mixing with coolant and it is not losing water just boiling over when on a fast run (when pressure builds).

any advice accepted :)
 
Hi Simon
The head on the 3 cyl engine is short and very stiff so its unlikely to warp. If the gasket face is marked, I'd be tempted to clean it up using sheets of coarse wet n dry taped to a sheet of plate glass (old mirror etc) Removal of the odd 'thou' or two won't make any difference. The big drawback is the injectors, glowplugs and valves all protrude above the head face and would all need to be removed.
If you are doing it yourself you will need a set of timing tools. If the cambelt is new, mark the direction of rotation so it goes back the same way otherwise replace everything if its more than a year or two old.

Cheers Spike
 
cylinder head gasket

turned out to be a blown head gasket!!!! an expensive first week with the a2.

for information (1.4tdi 122,000mls 2002 se)

these are the symptoms i had

1, initialy heat in the cabin but heat went after 5 mins of driving
2, top hose from thermostat cold and after warming up coolant pipes in engine bay engine became presurised and hard.
3,radiator never warmed up and fan never activated
4, bubbling and frothing when coolant cap left off (bubbles every couple of second)
5, overheated on a run over 40mph and quickly went into 110-120 temp and total loss of power unable to travel at over 40mph.


hope the above goes some way to assisting someone else diagnosing a blown gasket, initially i though blocked radiator, faulty water pump or thermostat.

in the end the garage put a tool/guage on the expansion tank and revved the engine the pressure in the coolant system went over the prescribed pressure indicating exhaust gasses leaking from the head gasket into the cooling system.

cost was £500 at my local bm.vw.audi specialist
skimmed head, thicker gasket, oil change, coolant change, labour and that was after shopping around!!

ouch!!

simon
 
I really think that you should go back to the seller, that really isn't on.
Definately sold you it knowing the problem.
 
gasket

yes i know but when buying private you have no recourse unless it is in writing re the condition of the vehicle i have already spoken to c.a.b , oh well i will have an a2 with new head gasket, timing belt, water pump, thermostat, oil and coolant change , new clutch for £4000 in total inc purchase price (52plate silver 1.4tdi ) so should last me a while when it is all done!!

simon
 
Yeah seems like all in all you still have value for money. I'd be ordering the scum bag pizzas and skips however. Scum of the earth.

Guess I'm too honest.
 
happend to me too

just died on motorway now will not start overheated caused head to go. Going in next few days for skim and new gaskets :(
 
My heart goes out to anyone when this happens.
It happened to ours week before xmas. :(

I had warranty with warranty direct...but I still had to shell out £700 of my own cash (total bill was £2000)

Good luck with it though...hopefully not as bad as ours (valves bent as well hence the extra cost involved)
 
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