1.8t h.g.f HAS struck

[Sheraton]

How'do folks :}

despite my efforts, best intentions and positive attitude towards the 1.8t k-series.
it seems you can't escape the sins of the past(owners) I've had my car for 7 months 10k miles and have been steadily getting through all the wee things requiring attention and she's been running Great - been checking levels daily, keeping an eye on IPK temp on every run and letting engine come up to temp before revving above 2k(ish) RPM. also repaired low speed fan operation with Gold resistor fix.....

I had a suspicion that the head gasket would require attention sooner rather than later (and had planned to have it replaced) - Given the issues the car had from purchase - overboosting turbo, misfire issues and the fan (all repaired) - and a couple of signs of external weeping but no emulsion,smoke,leaks etc..

yesterday driving from work i noticed the temp rise to 101 - half way through a 5-6 mile journey :eek: straight away i wacked the heater on full and dropped the temp to mid/high 90s - i initially thought to pull over right away when i had a chance but the engine was running fine/no smoke etc.. the temp stayed in the 90s and being so close to home thought i'd get her home :shrug: not sure that was best thing to do but seemed best option at the time;)

i left the car and checked on her this morning - coolant was low, took half a litre :getmecoat: checked the oil :puke: :welcome: H.G.F :duh: (emulsified oil i'm assuming is coolant ? therefor internal H.G.F ? )

Good thing is - i have just started a new job. so have income :D and i don't really need to have the car running to get to work :D

and i was hoping that this would be repairable ? - as i didn't overheat the engine ?

any ideas of potential cost to repair and replace head gasket ? are there any problems in repairing a failure as described ? as the coolant seems to have contaminated the oil are there likely to be issues or potential damage to the turbo ? is the system easily flushed (oil/coolant) after this type of failure ?

I loVe this car and want to do all i can to keep her on the road and running at her best :D also i haven't run the engine after that short journey and i'm hoping that has kept any damage to a minimum.

she'll likely have to sit for a week or three til i have funds but i'll get her looked at ;)

any recommendation for the repair work ? (central Scotland) is it possible to get specialist mobile repair for H.G.F ?



Paul....

[stevestrat]

Turbos are known to go soon after HGF.

Regarding repairs, have a word with Dunc (cossie dunc (http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/private.php?do=newpm&u=13107)) out in Whitburn, best in the area!

[tidus72]

Sorry to hear of your HG loss :sad3:

You cannot help what neglect is done by others :eek:

It sounds like you did the correct thing by not letting the engine over heat and caught it before melt down.

You will need to budget about £300 all in to get it fixed providing the head did not warp and does not need skimming, as its not boiled you may be ok but its worth getting it checked before any repair work is carried out.

You will need head gasket kit, this includes head gasket, stretch bolts, inlet manifold gasket etc, worth changing the cam belt and water pump while your at it. :D

DO NOT use engine flush on a Turbo K series engine, just drain the oil, put fresh in then run for a bit then repeat, coolant should be ok unless its got oil contamination in it, then flush that through :)

[Sheraton]

:cool: looks like I may be lucky then - i'm confident the head will be undamaged:D weighing up repair options at the minute - I can keep the car off the road for now, so I may even tackle the job myself - I was concerned about how i'd flush the system but a couple of oil changes isn't too bad :}

i'll update any progress ;)

cheers.


Paul......

[marinabrian]

When you replace the HG, change the antifreeze to blue stuff ;)

This is a classic case of elastomer delamination, as you've not overheated the car, a simple enough fix, and in regards to the turbo, make sure you clean the gunge out of the oilways, and run some fresh oil into the feed pipe before startup ;)

Best of luck

Brian :D

[Sheraton]

:} thanks
what would be the benefits of the blue coolant?

Paul..

[marinabrian]

:} thanks
what would be the benefits of the blue coolant?

Paul..

It doesn't damage the head gasket elastomer seals Paul ;)

This may be anecdotal evidence perhaps, but I'm about to scrap a car in which I've personally covered 370,000 miles without HGF, which has run blue antifreeze since 2005 ;)

There was almost no occurrence of this type of failure prior to the widespread introduction of OAT antifreeze, and when you take off the head gasket you will find the triangular seals separating the jacket water from the oil drain galleries in the head bolt areas will have parted company with the main gasket body.

Brian :D

[rovermadhead]

One thing needs to be mentioned it hydraulic. Lifters, on the 1.8 and many other engines to that matter, when your sort the hg out, the lifters get noisy, I would personally. Swallow the cost and replace those too, also consider seriously if you are going to replace all belts. Tensioners and the water pump, it all adds up though, but it's worth the inemveatment, why not throw a vvc on while you are at it

[Sheraton]

:cool: i'll defo consider using blue coolant
and i will get the water pump cambelt etc.. done with the repair ;)

has anyone experience of the uprated oil rail ?


Paul.......

[neilbaker86]

Depending on the age and condition of the turbo I'd be tempted to replace the core at the same time as contaminated oil ruins them pretty quickly. It's also fairly easy to replace once the engine is stripped down for the heat gasket job anyway.

You can take the lifters apart by whacking them on a bit of wood, soak all three parts in parafin and fill with oil during reassembly. It takes some time as there are 16 of them, but worth it. After turbo failure on mine they were full of metal swarf from the turbo bearings!

[Greeners]

If the car has had an HGF then the turb will fail at some point as they spin at 200,000 RPM and the bearings don't like running in water.

Also if you change the core, put a new oil feed pipe on as well, they can get restricted over time with poor oil / lack of changes , and for £26 it's a no brainer

http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=244506

[Sheraton]

:} just ordered premium head gasket kit inc cambelt, water pump, headbolts etc.. some oil filters (x5:D) Aux belt, power steering pump belt :cool:
from DMGRS ;) and had a Good quote for labour from CossieDunc ;) so just waiting on parts to arrive and book her in with Duncan - looking forward to having her running again :}

I will consider doing the turbo soon - i'm sure i caught the Gasket failure as it happened and the car was driven less than 4 miles with coolant in the oil, so i'm hoping potential damage done to the turbo by the contamination will be minimal ;)
replacing the core seems like a Good way to go and at a reasonable cost :cool:
i'd also like to upgrade to the VVC inlet manifold in time :drool4: just looks right

i'll update progress on the repair :}

Paul......

[tidus72]

That's great news :D

Nice to see another one saved rather than being chucked away, you know that it makes sense ;)

You have ordered all the correct part's so when it gets done by the expert you should have no further problems :bowdown:

I really miss my 75 turbo :duh:

[Sheraton]

How'do folks :}

Just picked my car up after repairs :D she feels great (only 7ish mile drive home)
I'm confident she'll be Good (headgasket wise ;)) for another plenty few thousand miles and will be worth doing all the other wee bits - exhaust, suspension, engine mounts etc.. :D

many thanks to CossieDunc :bowdown: for doing the repairs :cool:

on the road again :driving:


Paul.......

[FLYING BANANA]

Banana is on her original turbo but has the HG changed 4 times.

1st by previous owner and non uprated fitted. 40,000miles

2nd by me but had to have old type fitted as warranty direct would not pay out for the uprated one as this was deemed to be a modification. Long story. 80,000miles.

3rd one fitted and was a MLS uprated. 121,000 miles.

4th one was fitted as car kept losing water. Was done under warranty. 125,000 miles. Later found to be a split in the radiator. New rad fitted.

Banana is now on 169,900 and runs just as sweet. Red coolant used throughout.
Uses no water or oil. Still on original turbo and clutch.
Regulary returns 40mpg.

Oil and water checked every time she goes out.

[Sheraton]

Banana is on her original turbo but has the HG changed 4 times.

1st by previous owner and non uprated fitted. 40,000miles

2nd by me but had to have old type fitted as warranty direct would not pay out for the uprated one as this was deemed to be a modification. Long story. 80,000miles.

3rd one fitted and was a MLS uprated. 121,000 miles.

4th one was fitted as car kept losing water. Was done under warranty. 125,000 miles. Later found to be a split in the radiator. New rad fitted.

Banana is now on 169,900 and runs just as sweet. Red coolant used throughout.
Uses no water or oil. Still on original turbo and clutch.
Regulary returns 40mpg.

Oil and water checked every time she goes out.



that's reassuring r.e the turbo :} and the mileage :cool:

my car turned 069690 miles on the clock today - i'd love to keep her for another 100k - really like the 75/ZT, love my car in particular :D and i like the 1.8t k-series a lot - it requires maintenance and continual checking but mine has always ran smooth and strong, even when the head gasket failed.
if i could hope to get that kind of mileage with regular servicing etc.. i'd be happy ;)

i'm a daily oil and coolant level checker too ;)

i ran the car last night for around 150 miles and she was running sweet :cool: - perfect temp, running strong/smooth, no smoke from the exhaust - checked levels today :cool: all good - i'll do another oil change as soon as i get a chance to flush any trace of coolant still in the lubrication system.

I'm confident she'll go for a good while longer - time to get some of her other issues dealt with now :cool:


Paul..

[DMGRS]

Sorry I hadn't seen this sooner - thanks for the order, and glad it's worked out well. :)
Hopefully many trouble-free miles!

For anyone else contemplating a HG kit, our selection is here: Head Gaskets and Kits - All Models (https://www.dmgrs.co.uk/collections/head-gasket-kits)

[Sheraton]

Sorry I hadn't seen this sooner - thanks for the order, and glad it's worked out well. :)
Hopefully many trouble-free miles!

For anyone else contemplating a HG kit, our selection is here: Head Gaskets and Kits - All Models (https://www.dmgrs.co.uk/collections/head-gasket-kits)


cheers Mat :}

Great service and quality parts :cool:


Paul..