drunkenfool
Member
Registered: 7th Feb 03
Location: Hereford Drives: Audi R8 V8
User status: Offline
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My car has had an oil leak since ive had it, and i was told that the head gasket was fine, but found out today that it isnt! Im going for the 2.0 conversion in about 9 months when i have the £, but how much can i get a head gasket for, and are they DIY fittable for a novice with the haynes manual?! I got the 1.4 8v SRi. I dont wanna waste too much £ on the engine now when i plan on replacing it, so am considering just keeping it topped up with oil and hoping for the best till then, ive had it 11 months so far with no real problems, and its done 122k miles now! cheers, Matt
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PaulW
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Registered: 26th Jan 03
Location: Atherton, Greater Manchester
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head gasget kit for 8v can be got for around £8-£40 depending where ya get it from (sometimes includes timing belt, otherwise the belt is about £10-£15)
recommend you skim the head - £25-£50
few other extraqs (guide plugs, headbolts, oil, antifreeze, etc) £40 or so for the lot
I did mine myself, the 8v's are pretty easy, get yourself a Haynes manual, and if you don't quite feel comfortable doing it, get a m8 or someone who's worked on cars (pref a mechanic) to give ya a hand
[Edited on 16-09-2003 by PaulW]
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drunkenfool
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Registered: 7th Feb 03
Location: Hereford Drives: Audi R8 V8
User status: Offline
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cheers m8, garage quoted me £260 for the job, and hes the cheapest around!
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miles
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Registered: 25th Mar 02
Location: plymouth Drives: Astra Sport
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£260 is well expensive for an 8v.
Do it yourself, about £50 tops of parts, and about 3/4 hours.
How do you know its the head gasket?
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Adam-D
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Registered: 11th May 02
Location: Cheshire
User status: Offline
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could be the rocker gasket?
mine leaks now ans again
even when i had a new one put on
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drunkenfool
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Registered: 7th Feb 03
Location: Hereford Drives: Audi R8 V8
User status: Offline
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thats what my mechanic said. Ill have a look at the haynes and see how hard it is. U reckon it would be worth getting an OE one from vaux, or chance one from a scrappy?
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Adam-D
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Registered: 11th May 02
Location: Cheshire
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rocker gasket is a few quid
might aswell get a new un
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miles
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Registered: 25th Mar 02
Location: plymouth Drives: Astra Sport
User status: Offline
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So is the only problem that it is phyiscally leaking oil that you can see? If so it wont be a head gasket. Very very unlikely anyway
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Adam-D
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Registered: 11th May 02
Location: Cheshire
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mine leaks from rocker box
no problem
if it was the headgasket
the engine would eat it self of be smoking and runnig rough
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drunkenfool
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Registered: 7th Feb 03
Location: Hereford Drives: Audi R8 V8
User status: Offline
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i think i need to get a second opinion on this from someone who knows a lot more than i do, before i start making decisions! Its leaked oil since ive had it though, so i guess it wont be a problem so long as i keep it topped up, and that will cost less than the repairs especially considering it has almost no second hand value anyway (122k miles)
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miles
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Registered: 25th Mar 02
Location: plymouth Drives: Astra Sport
User status: Offline
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If its just leaking oil it wont be head gasket.
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MoNkEy MaGiC
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Registered: 12th Apr 03
Location: West - London Drives: Corsa GSi
User status: Offline
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hi guys my cars had oil leak too!!
i can actually see it leaking from the headgaskests!!!
but wat are the main signs of the head gasket needing replacing???
coz my car is using/burning/leaking? a lot of oil per week!!!
oil is getting into the cylinders and leaving spark plugs gunky so i think the valve stem seals are gone too???
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Greasemonkey
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Registered: 17th Apr 02
Location: Drives a Tractor
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the oil travels around the cylinders in oil way the thing stopping the oil getting in the coolant ways and cylinders is the gasket, so it could be that.
check ya header tank for an oily slick on the surface of the water and under the oil filler cap for white gunk any of these and its ya gead gasket.
are you getting smoke out the back of ya car, if you are and its only when ya change gear its ya stems if its all the time it could be ya piston rings!!
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MoNkEy MaGiC
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Registered: 12th Apr 03
Location: West - London Drives: Corsa GSi
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 actually mate only time i get excess smoke is when i floor it and hit redline!!!
other than that its fine, have noticed the performance getting slightly bad from revs 2 to 3, but its drinking oil man!!!!
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Juha GSi
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Registered: 22nd Aug 03
Location: Finland
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i had the same problem. valve stem seals and pistonrings were replaced, no smoke now!!
yours could be just valve stem seals,very typical in all vaux...
and if you change them get definately original valve stem seals from vaux, will last better..
its also worth glueing them in to head.
[Edited on 18-09-2003 by Juha GSi]
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drunkenfool
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Registered: 7th Feb 03
Location: Hereford Drives: Audi R8 V8
User status: Offline
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no smoke at all, havent noticed any problems at all apart from it usning about a bottle of oil a week! 
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miles
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Registered: 25th Mar 02
Location: plymouth Drives: Astra Sport
User status: Offline
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I say you have a physical oil leak somewhere.
Glueing valve stem seals in? No thanks.
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Edtrix_GSI16V
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Registered: 3rd Sep 03
Location: Sheffield,South Yorkshire
User status: Offline
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take it to a decent mechanic preferbally someone who deals with vauxhalls alot will probabally tell you what it is right away
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Dave Hay
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Registered: 10th Apr 02
Location: Aberdeenshire
User status: Offline
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get it compression tested then....
sound slike rocker cover gasket - replace it/clean it and fit thicker oil so it doesnt seep through so easily  car has done 122k
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Dave Hay
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Registered: 10th Apr 02
Location: Aberdeenshire
User status: Offline
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forgot to say head gasket on an 8v is easy! id recommend u get a new water pump too though! (£15) as they tend to fuck up once taken of and replaced!
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