Owned it for one week and headgasket has gone

Cant say im enjoying MK1 ownership my 1987 1.8 auto cabrio has been a nightmare this last week and to top it off the headgasket has now blown……..

my question is should I get it repaired t has done 150000 miles and what is a repair likely to cost? should i repair it myself im a complete novice or should i seek out another engine and swap it complety….. any thought advice greatlyu appreciated…..

personally i would do the headgasket if it was mine. what are the other probs you have been having.

personally i would do the headgasket if it was mine. what are the other probs you have been having.

Probably more likely the head was already blown and its symptoms masked, which then revealed themselves after a week…..

If it was a private sale chalk it down to experience and fix the head gasket, etc. If you're unsure of the work required, if you're a complete novice then get a garage or mechanic to do it; if you're happy with mechanical tasks and just never done a HG, give it a go they're not overly complicated.

Worth doing a skim + top end rebuild (valve train, etc) too, then you have a half rebuilt engine and a new lease of life in the car!!!

buy a haynes manual , have a read and give it a try …..will probly cost you about £60 if you do it yourself …….take your time , cange your timing belt at the same time and your belt tensioner…….when you have done it , great feeling that you have fixed it yourself, even greater feeling when you add up the money you have saved  by not taking it to a garage …..where are you based …..

Im down in cornwall….. thanks for all you replies I think I will have a go my self i have a fortnight off so can take my time I grab a copy of the haynes manual and start reading…….

Ill do a pictorial thread of my progress hopefully folk will be able to iron out any issues Ill have…….

id def do it myself, its fairly straight forward once u get going, ive done one before, just take your time and take a few pics for reference, if u get stuck im sure theres plenty of help here

chris

Cheers chris……………..

right i need a list of what im gonna need… please feel free to add to it…

Haynes manual
gasket kit
timing belt
head bolts
torque wrench

M12 12 spline tool, long reach
pulley puller
valve spring compressor
valve grinding paste and appicator

plenty of beer
swear box
magnetic pick up tool for small bits


         

chris

Ok here comes my first question    

Valve grinding Paste and applicator why and what does it do   :?

http://www.clubgti.com/forum/archive/index.php?t-152194.html  found this thread on clugti seems quite good beginning to look forward now to doing this

good for you, getting stuck in gives you a better understanding how everything works, scary a first but good when its running again and you can say "i did that"

chris

Important thing not mentioned and to safe you alot and i mean alot of hassle thou not had the incident happen to me as i was given this advice from paul c a few year back and glad i took it.
The exhaust manifold studs, wire brush them down, then over a 2 day period wd40 them, i did it once in morning and then at night when car parked for the night.
Doesnt matter if your driving car during day inbetween blast of wd40.
Slighty tighten nut very small fraction when your coming to actually undo them, then undo nuts from studs, tell you what fella, they come off sweet, no snapped studs anything, then get yourself some nice new studs and copper nuts to replace, job is a good un.
Also a small mirror is perfect to see the 2 bolts sunk inside the inlet manifold, that sit close to exhaust manifold.
Make sure the gasket kits consist of gaskets for both inlet and exhaust manifolds also
Pete :wink:

Cheers sounds like realy good advice I managed to find a PDF Haynes Manuual on the ibternet and have had a read it suggests leaving the manifolds on until the head is outta the car...... just disconnect exhaust manifold from down pipe is there a special tool to disconnect

Use exhaust clamps. it is somewhere on the site how to use them, pretty simple but awkward but they do the job just fine by stretching the c clamp enough to get it off

last time i removed a set of those clamps i couldnt get em back on, i ended up taking to a garage to refit em, had the exhaust held up with rope lol

chris

great thread here re head rebuild etc  

http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2799&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=160

Used them on my mates 1.5 just 2 week back fitting new downpipe bought from funk :wink:
help's with one person holding downpipe up whilst you re-fit clamps simples, 5 mins job.
What i find helps loads is still kept my original vw small 13mm open ender from one of my previous mk2 golf jack kit, perfect for job misses the manifold etc whilst tightening, if you have one keep it.
Pete :wink:

well had an hour today so got stuck in and made a start manged to drain down the coolant system remove all hoses alternator cambelt etc etc ………………….  bought some exhaust clamps to remove the c clips but the ones i bought where too small :redfaced:  so will need to get some more tomorrow have ordered a M12 12 spline bit to get the head bolts out……..

now what are people s thoughts on skimmimng the head???? my car never got really hot so im assuming the chances of warpage are much less…….. I guess its a false econmy not to get it skimmed but to be honest im  on a tight budget…… my concern is the head has cracked but wont know this until its all apart………………. enjoying it all so far