Head problems...the truth.

[Kirsten]

They might have head trouble after a alot of good years of driving but look how many people pay out to have them fixed surely that tells you how good these cars are

[SNAKEYES]

130.000km and no head problems. touch wood, cross fingers,toes, legs arms and pray alot.

[WELSHVIKING]

100,300 kms still running like a dream . I check my coolant at least once a week to see if i have lost any but in the 16 months i have had the Emina it has been A1

[mr mince]

Originally Posted by SAVA9E

I think the vote should be did you come to the site because you had head problems or because you were looking for a club.I was the latter but then a year later suffered a cracked head.

Good point because a lot of people turn up here because they've got a problem with their bus which would give the number of failures a bit of a boost I would imagine.

[stevyba]

Originally Posted by mr mince

Good point because a lot of people turn up here because they've got a problem with their bus which would give the number of failures a bit of a boost I would imagine.

I have top be honest and admit to only being here after suffering head problems.

Mine went at about 160k km.... had it welded (only the 2 cracked areas) used a patern head gasket (before we sussed out they were not correct)

Bus is currently sat with the head cracked again waiting for me to find the heart to part with another few hundred... it's now got 210k km on it

[Ian]

Bob has said he did 96 heads in one year, Gary at GT Motors does quite a lot.
Increasingly people are doing their own (they buy my CD specifically for the head change tutorial). So at a guess I reckon you stand a 1 in 10 chance of a cracked head in any one year......................
There does seem to be an element of inevitability about it - all that seems certain is that a poorly maintained cooling system will make it a certainty if left. Good clean systems are not a guarantee. Two I have done have been in excellent condition.

Virtually all our cars are now over ten years old so the chances must increase.

I do agree that it would boring if every one posted 'mines running well' so the impression is far worse than the reality.
You have to take this in context of other repairs to other cars - A Subaru Impreza turbo discs and pads are £1000. A HID headlamp can run into £500.

So the new lower prices of a genuine head (thanks to the Chinese for copying it - that seems to have prompted Toyota to lower the price) make it a viable, economic and effective fix. If there was not a big market for 3CT heads would the Chinese have set up a foundry to make them?

Please discuss!

[JOEDRIVE]

I've just got a Estima 2.2 diesel. i came here looking for info about the radio / DvD player/ TV, now I'm getting worried about the engine head. my bus has 125K on it

[Cader]

my head was replaced by bob with a fully welded one. this one was faulty & went after 11 months so bob came back & replaced it under warranty.

[so_devo]

Car bought at 125k
Replaced by Bob at about 150k
Now on 180k and 2 1/2 years on, no further head problems to date.

[oitsnik]

Wonder what the head failure ratio is for people running pure diesel, and those running on various mixes,I havnt had my bus long but i bought it of a friend who had owned it since import almost 4 years ago,and she has had no problems with it at all,I have put veggie in at a 50/50 mix and its running fine,except its deffo quicker,so i presume all those little explosions in my cylinder heads are now much bigger,im wondering are we partly to blame for the demise of our own cylinder heads,by increasing the heat in the combustion chambers,just a thought.