Head Gasket Failure

davyc · Unread post by **davyc** » 05 Nov 2003, 00:28

HELP!!
Now on my second xantia TD, this ones got 116k on the clock and i've just sprung a fairly big oil leak! My wife took it to the local dealer this morn and after much deliberation - the verdict was a suspect head gasket with a repair estimate of £450!!! Can someone please tell me what other symptoms I could expect to see if it was a HG as my colleagues at work have mentioned overheating etc. Any advice would be very gratefully recieved. Thanks

Dave Burns · Unread post by **Dave Burns** » 05 Nov 2003, 00:37

Where abouts is the leak exactly.
Dave

davyc · Unread post by **davyc** » 05 Nov 2003, 03:50

Sorry but this isn't gonna be a very technical reply! I haven't yet managed to clean up the oil to pinpoint the exact spot but looking directly at the head from the front of the car, it appears to be somewhere around the gasket directly beneath the far L/H glo-plug.
Slightly to the right of the main run of oil,(engine running) is some kind of ident plate but its hard to make out by torchlight. Sorry I can't give you any more but I hope to get a jetwash on it tomorrow to get a better look. Thanks for your interest anyway and hope to hear from you soon!

benj · Unread post by **benj** » 05 Nov 2003, 04:44

"A straight edge on the head will tell if it needs skimming, often it doesn't, saving time and money. "
i would always always get the head skimmed
go to the Puma Racing website to find out why. skimming the head once you take it off should be as automatic as washing your hands after youve been to the toilet.

Dave Burns · Unread post by **Dave Burns** » 06 Nov 2003, 00:30

The diagnosis is probably correct in that case, its at that corner of the head that the oil feed passes from the block to the head for camshaft and valve gear lubrication, there can be up to 70 psi of oil behind the gasket so any sudden leak here can turf alot of oil out.
Dave