Saxo auto HGF - likely cost for repair

Village · Unread post by **Village** » 31 Aug 2010, 12:55

One of my colleagues has a late Saxo 1.6 AUto which has a blown head gasket. the car has low mileage (circa 38k) and is otherwise in good condition.

what is involved in repairing a HGF, is it a DIY-able job and if not, what would be a reasonable price for a gargae to do the job?

thanks in advance.

Pete

Pompey_Dave · Unread post by **Pompey_Dave** » 31 Aug 2010, 13:37

only advisable if your mechanically minded!

When my old rover blew its HG, it was roughly about £150 for all parts, and to get the head skimmed which most people say is a must, which I agree with, more so if it over heated when it went

Parts needed will be new HG set (set is best as comes with bolts), aswell as a new cam belt

to get it done in a garage wont be cheap....that £150 for my old rover was me and a friend doing the work

citronut · Unread post by **citronut** » 31 Aug 2010, 18:54

if it was cooked it may well have sunk the wet liners, so pay good attention the there protrution from the top of the block once the head is off,

also it is best to use new head bolts, cam belt, tensioner/s and water pump,

non of which come with the head gasket set/kit,

if i were doing it for a customer labour would be £200 + parts and the skim,

the TU engine is mostly very easy to work on and you dont even need to remove the O/S/F wheel to gain access to the crank pully, as the three retainning bolts can be got at from the top under the bonnet,

were abouts are you

regards malcolm

spider · Unread post by **spider** » 31 Aug 2010, 18:59

Thinking about this, the TU5 1.6 (might) be a cast block unlike the liner'ed smaller units, although I'm 50/50 on it being either really...

citronut · Unread post by **citronut** » 31 Aug 2010, 19:13

i agree Andy i cant remember doing a head job on a 1.6

regards malcolm

Village · Unread post by **Village** » 01 Sep 2010, 09:28

The car is in Ferndown, Dorset, but can't really be driven due to the HGF.

Does anyone know of a Citroen-friendly garage in that area?

Cheers
Pete

Chris570 · Unread post by **Chris570** » 02 Sep 2010, 19:34

having just done a HG on a TU i can tell you its very easy to do, but only do it if you're handy with a spanner

the 1.6 is an iron block so you don't need to worry about liners. While you're in there i'd do the tensioner and water pump too. then you're set for another 60k

might be worth a look into why the HG failed so soon, i know from personal experience those engines 1.6 inparticular will take an awful lot of abuse and not give in.

hope this helps.

Deanxm · Unread post by **Deanxm** » 02 Sep 2010, 20:17

not having good strong clean antifreeze in there will kill the gasket stone dead, and will eat across the alloy head mating surface, if the coolant is brown there is a good chance this is the case.

Good luck though,
D

citronut · Unread post by **citronut** » 03 Sep 2010, 08:36

or if the rad fan is/has not been working, even maybe a stuck/sticking thermostat,

regards malcolm