Cambelt done, now head gasket leaking...
21 September 2012, 08:52 PM
#31
I had a mg160 zr a little while back which are prone to head gasket problems.Shortly buying it the headgasket was starting to go, someone told me of a product that you just pour in your rad and it seals it.
I can not remember what it was called but it costs around £30 and comes with a money back back up. It did its job for me.
I can not remember what it was called but it costs around £30 and comes with a money back back up. It did its job for me.
An MG fair enough whats the worst that can happen
I wonder what it does for water cooled turbos
Well the breakdown works like this... £280 for the timing belt and kit, and £270 for fitting it. Does that sound excessive then?
I've just read about Steel Seal, and am really tempted to give it a go.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Subaru-Ste...item3a79751173
I've just read about Steel Seal, and am really tempted to give it a go.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Subaru-Ste...item3a79751173
21 September 2012, 09:03 PM
#32
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Well, it WAS losing water, but thats why the radiator was replaced. I'm hoping (obviously!) that that is the end of the water loss.
Its never showed signs of overheating, but other than the dashboard temperature guage I've no real way of knowing.
I'll just have to keep an eye on the coolant level and we'll see what happens.
Because I'm not mechanically minded, I had no way of knowing that until you actually test the head gasket, you can't confirm whether its going or not. I assumed it was something you could tell just by looking at something in the engine, but it seems this isn't the case at all.
Perhaps he's a charlatan trying it on! I'll certainly ask him what made him come to this conclusion, when I see him Sunday!
Its never showed signs of overheating, but other than the dashboard temperature guage I've no real way of knowing.
I'll just have to keep an eye on the coolant level and we'll see what happens.
Because I'm not mechanically minded, I had no way of knowing that until you actually test the head gasket, you can't confirm whether its going or not. I assumed it was something you could tell just by looking at something in the engine, but it seems this isn't the case at all.
Perhaps he's a charlatan trying it on! I'll certainly ask him what made him come to this conclusion, when I see him Sunday!
It could be something like, when he took the rad out it could have been bowed - this can be an indication of HG issues.
Like I said we're all summising so you really need to find out what's what from him.
21 September 2012, 11:35 PM
#34
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As Shaun says, I'll check with him and let you know what he said.
Losing coolant, not for a massive amount of time, and I've been good with keeping it topped up when it was losing it, so hopefully (fingers crossed) no massive damage has occured from coolant loss.
What happens next depends what the geezer says I reckon!
Losing coolant, not for a massive amount of time, and I've been good with keeping it topped up when it was losing it, so hopefully (fingers crossed) no massive damage has occured from coolant loss.
What happens next depends what the geezer says I reckon!
25 September 2012, 04:00 PM
#35
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Well I did have a chat with him, and he reckons when he took the top of the engine off, he could see coolant in places it shouldn't have been.
I'm not a mechanic so if this doesn't make sense, don't berate me lol!
Then he said just keep an eye on it and see what happens.
I'm not a mechanic so if this doesn't make sense, don't berate me lol!
Then he said just keep an eye on it and see what happens.
02 October 2012, 11:08 AM
#36
Did he take your engine out to do the work? You have to strip the side of a Subaru engine down to get at the head gaskets so would suspect he did. Whenever you take a head off there will be some fluid spill around and its more than likely that some coolant will have spilled into the bores. The only way to tell if the head gasket had gone is to examine the gasket itself. This will show signs of failure and the block or head will show signs of the leak somewhere if gone.
Don’t know how he got to the decision of engine stripdown without a cylinder pressure test or obvious sign of leakage.
Don’t know how he got to the decision of engine stripdown without a cylinder pressure test or obvious sign of leakage.
02 October 2012, 11:57 AM
#37
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You dont take the 'top' of a scooby engine off. Maybe he was referring to the inlet manifold and saw some coolant on the top of the engine case. I had this and it turned out to be the seals in the crossover pipe had become brittle and leaked. £2.80 for the parts from subaru and jobs a goodun. I dont understand why he would remove all this though to change the timing belt???
02 October 2012, 12:52 PM
#40
he sounds like and awesome mechanic, the top of the engine, when the hg's are on either side and the cam belt on the front.
i would get you cambelt checked asap by someone who knows his arse from his elbow.
firstly i would make sure he has actually done it, secondly if he has makes sure its correct, i wouldnt trust him to pump my tyres up.
is this thread a wind up??? it is surely....
i would get you cambelt checked asap by someone who knows his arse from his elbow.
firstly i would make sure he has actually done it, secondly if he has makes sure its correct, i wouldnt trust him to pump my tyres up.
is this thread a wind up??? it is surely....
02 October 2012, 01:08 PM
#41
Can forgive the op as he obviously doesn’t know too much about cars or especially subaru’s himself.
Was the work done by a known Subaru dealer/tuner or back street garage?
Either there is a serious misunderstanding between what the mechanic said and the owner, or he is being spun a yarn. Definitely too expensive though!
Sharpy? Your not from Rugby are you?
Was the work done by a known Subaru dealer/tuner or back street garage?
Either there is a serious misunderstanding between what the mechanic said and the owner, or he is being spun a yarn. Definitely too expensive though!
Sharpy? Your not from Rugby are you?
02 October 2012, 02:19 PM
#42
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Can forgive the op as he obviously doesn’t know too much about cars or especially subaru’s himself.
Was the work done by a known Subaru dealer/tuner or back street garage?
Either there is a serious misunderstanding between what the mechanic said and the owner, or he is being spun a yarn. Definitely too expensive though!
Sharpy? Your not from Rugby are you?
Was the work done by a known Subaru dealer/tuner or back street garage?
Either there is a serious misunderstanding between what the mechanic said and the owner, or he is being spun a yarn. Definitely too expensive though!
Sharpy? Your not from Rugby are you?
As BPR says quite correctly, I'm not mechanically minded unfortunately, just someone who likes the car I've got and wants to keep it in good condition.
To be entirely honest the work was done by what would be termed a back street garage, although the geezer is known to me and isn't just a random place I decided to take it.
There could definitely be some misunderstanding between what the mechanic said and what I've reposted on here. I tried to use the same terms he did when describing what he said, but I might have got it wrong, its a possibility.
As far as tests on the head gasket is concerned, I'm certain he hasn't done any, as what he talked about was coolant leakage.
I did actually think to myself "How would I even know if hes done the work, and not just put the cambelt kit in a corner and the same belt is still on there", but he put the old belt and pulleys in the passenger footwell for me, which rules that out, and its extremely unlikely he'd just have the old kit from an STi lying about... its not that sort of garage.
The car is running fine, so I think for now I'll just keep an eye on it and see what, if anything, develops.
02 October 2012, 02:41 PM
#46
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Glad it seems to have turned out allright for you Sharpy.
For your own peace of mind find a specialist to do the work next time, and then at least we can all get a good night's sleep
For your own peace of mind find a specialist to do the work next time, and then at least we can all get a good night's sleep
02 October 2012, 02:43 PM
#47
unless your mechanic is mystic meg he has no idea if the hg is failing.
why does he think it is, if you want my advice take the car elsewhere as in my opinion he has ripped you off once by vastly overcharging you for a cambelt change and sounds like he is lubing you up for another shafting.
02 October 2012, 03:03 PM
#48
I’d agree with you mate. Just drive it and forget about it. If its driving fine, not overheating & not loosing water, not smoking etc then there is absolutely no signs that the current head gasket has a problem and I’d say his previous comment about needing to be done in 6 months is just b*****ks.
You live and learn mate! Next time, your MUCH better off taking it to a Subaru specialist who will better understand the problems and save you lots of money!
Good luck. Just enjoy the car! And there are lots of very helpful people on this site with a huge wealth of knowledge so don’t be afraid to ask questions.!
You live and learn mate! Next time, your MUCH better off taking it to a Subaru specialist who will better understand the problems and save you lots of money!
Good luck. Just enjoy the car! And there are lots of very helpful people on this site with a huge wealth of knowledge so don’t be afraid to ask questions.!
02 October 2012, 03:27 PM
#49
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im confused here, so you are loosing no water,there is no smell of coolant or any overheating.
unless your mechanic is mystic meg he has no idea if the hg is failing.
why does he think it is, if you want my advice take the car elsewhere as in my opinion he has ripped you off once by vastly overcharging you for a cambelt change and sounds like he is lubing you up for another shafting.
unless your mechanic is mystic meg he has no idea if the hg is failing.
why does he think it is, if you want my advice take the car elsewhere as in my opinion he has ripped you off once by vastly overcharging you for a cambelt change and sounds like he is lubing you up for another shafting.
The car was losing coolant until the radiator was changed, but since the works been done theres no smell of coolant, and no overheating or any other hg failure signs. Personally I'm happy with the car now, I think he might have been mistaken about the h.g.
Either way, things seem to be alright, touch wood!
02 October 2012, 03:30 PM
#50
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I’d agree with you mate. Just drive it and forget about it. If its driving fine, not overheating & not loosing water, not smoking etc then there is absolutely no signs that the current head gasket has a problem and I’d say his previous comment about needing to be done in 6 months is just b*****ks.
You live and learn mate! Next time, your MUCH better off taking it to a Subaru specialist who will better understand the problems and save you lots of money!
Good luck. Just enjoy the car! And there are lots of very helpful people on this site with a huge wealth of knowledge so don’t be afraid to ask questions.!
You live and learn mate! Next time, your MUCH better off taking it to a Subaru specialist who will better understand the problems and save you lots of money!
Good luck. Just enjoy the car! And there are lots of very helpful people on this site with a huge wealth of knowledge so don’t be afraid to ask questions.!
I definitely appreciate all the time and knowledge that has gone into answering my questions (in depth!). Its great to be able to come onto the forum and chat with likeminded folk, who know what they are talking about, and really is appreciated!
Its certainly set my mind at rest anyway!
19 October 2012, 03:08 PM
#51
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Could it be that in removal of the radiator he has spilled coolant an the motor, thus assuming the head gaskets are starting to leak???
19 October 2012, 04:02 PM
#54
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Just thinking, the mechanic may have given a laymans explanation as to why he thought the head gasket may be on its way out. The actual technical reasoning as to why it could be failing may he simply been left out if he knew the OP's knowledge about the situation.
I did it all the time in my old job.
I did it all the time in my old job.
19 October 2012, 07:49 PM
#57
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Just thinking, the mechanic may have given a laymans explanation as to why he thought the head gasket may be on its way out. The actual technical reasoning as to why it could be failing may he simply been left out if he knew the OP's knowledge about the situation.
I did it all the time in my old job.
I did it all the time in my old job.
19 October 2012, 07:50 PM
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And f it is leaking you get hot water mixed with oil all over your screen, also make sure you are driving into the setting sun just for more adventure hahaha