Xantia Head Gasket

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PicassoPigeon
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Xantia Head Gasket

Post by PicassoPigeon »

Looks like it could be on its way, coolant had gone right down, temp at 100. Stopped car and refilled with coolant.
Home and when you start car many bubbles in coolant. What sort of price will i have to pay for this. Off to Norway in August, driving from Plymouth to Newcastle then ferry over.
Anybody near Plymouth or in Devon area fancy a job, give me a price please.
Thanks for your help.
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AndersDK
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Post by AndersDK »

It's not just the gasket to be replaced my friend.
The head must be skimmed as it is warped because of the overtemp. That's why the HG fails in the first place.
Next you HAVE to locate the cause of overtemp. Could be a clogged radiator, or general sludge in the cooling system.
My estimate is 3-500 as a garage job.
citronut
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Post by citronut »

or rad fans not cutting in,or cracked head,to have job done properly it will cost around £400/£500 and thats all being the head aint cracked regards malcolm
Rostami
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Post by Rostami »

Anders and Citronut,
Very good advice indeed.
I had a clio diesel and the HG went and did not bother to find out why. replaced the whole HG, etc,...after 2 months the HG perished and the Head was all cracked between the admission and exhaust valves...
It turned out to be the temperature sensor on the radator. Cost me 10 Euro...copuld have saved me 30 times more...
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Post by Peter.N. »

Be thankful its not an XM, they wanted about £1000 to do mine, I eventually did it myself but what a job!
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PicassoPigeon
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Post by PicassoPigeon »

There is no pressure in the system when cold(no hiss when you open cap) and the top hose does not get hard when the car is warm.
I have refilled and gone for a run all is ok at the moment, does it still sound like HG. When i run with the cap off the coolant in the header tank foams but could this just be air in the system.
It did this about 6 months ago i just refilled coolant and all was fine until now, could airlock take that long to cause the sudden loss of coolant and overheat.
Chrispy
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Post by Chrispy »

Only way to know for certain mate is to get a leakdown test done. That way if the cylinder being tested is at TDC and the gas still escapes then you know the gasket is on it's way out. Thats providing the piston rings are good thus not giving the gas an alternative form of escape.
Bubbles in the coolant and loss of coolant are usually pretty good indicators of HG failure. I had the HG replaced on a BMW 316i years ago cos it failed a leakdown test and was misfiring a bit. Cost me £350 all in including skimming.
My dad cooked his 405 1.9 TD earlier this year in France because the rad was leaking and he boiled it dry. It needed a new head as he'd cracked it. Cost him £1500 in the end at a Froggy Peugeot dealer.
Find the cause of the overheating first then fix the HG. Thermostat, water pump, rad, fans/ switch are all suspects. Failing that, it could be that the HG's been on it's way out for a while due to previous owners not changing the coolant at regular intervals causing the HG to rot away, thus leaking coolant into the cylinders and you running out, thus cooking the engine. Replace thermostat, test fan switch, make sure there are no other external coolant leaks and finally get a leakdown test done to see if the HG is kaput.
citronut
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Post by citronut »

brand new after market head ready to bolt strait on from GSF is aprox £500 squid regards malcolm
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Kowalski
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Post by Kowalski »

Is that a full head for £500 i.e. with cams, valves and the like already fitted or is it a bare head?
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PicassoPigeon
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Post by PicassoPigeon »

Found a leak in the radiator while at shops and engine stopped, it started to drop coolant from near bottom of rad, battery side.
GSF Plymouth did not have the right rad so it will be in on Tuesday ready for fitting next weekend. Did not really want to try my luck with a scrap one.
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Post by Mosser »

I'm suprised your still driving it if you know that the head gasket has gone, water can get into the oil and do all sorts of damage if you dont get it fixed asap
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