Head Gasket Woes

[Kneewax]

Hey Guys,

Well, I gave up waiting for a slot in Bob's busy schedule and as the over-heating thing was getting pretty serious I took a friends recommendation to a local Garage.

The ol'girl has been looked over and they have diagnosed that old favourite the Head Gasket. That along with a a brake cylinder issue at the rear and a plethora of minor jobs leaves me in a quandary...

...DO I sink probably nigh on £1200 into the old bus, or call it a day, buy a new one, and either sell this one for spares or strip her back for a few myself?

Any advice muchly appreciated.

[sarahjaneking]

to be honest it depends how much money you have, i have very little and would prefer to spend the £1200 on repairs as it would cost me an awful lot more to buy anything newer and newer does not mean you won't get problems, at least you know what is wrong here, ask them what they think about the general condition overall and try to get Bob to have a look and get his advice as well, if £1200 is going to bring her up tp a high standard then it is well worth spending, what are you going to get for £1200 anyway?

hope it works out for you

sarah

[aliendan]

I am new here so hello to all, i recently bought a 1996 2.2 td estima with 17" wheels, skirt kit and lowered from ebay which was over heating for £999. The seller had a head test done and been told it was a head problem but after some reasearch i found a lot of oaners had clogged/blocked radiators, bought a new rad on ebay for £70, removed old rad (which was full of crud) fitted new rad and it is now good as new. Mine would over heat above 70 miles per hour which is a sign of a clogged rad.
Dan.

[Kneewax]

Thanks folks for your posts.

Well, it might be worth trying the radiator first, I'd rather spend 70ish than 700ish! Did you get the radiator done or did you DIY it? I'm told its not a hard job.....?

They also have said that the rear diff needs repairing possibly replacing! I'm not sure really sure what that means. What with the brake problem as well if it is the gasket the cost is mounting fast!

[busboy]

im an ex mechanic id try a radiator and a thermostat before id rip the head off if the rad dont cure it it may be a sticky thermostat

[Kneewax]

Thanks BusBoy, I'll give that a go before going as far as the gasket. How simple is it as a job?

[mr mince]

Originally Posted by busboy

im an ex mechanic id try a radiator and a thermostat before id rip the head off if the rad dont cure it it may be a sticky thermostat

Good point. If the head has gone you'll be doing them anyway so no money wasted and if the head hasn't gone then you just saved a fortune.

[busboy]

im roy by the way ill be honest normally and easy job on many cars are thermostats and rads to change dont know about toyota estimas or lucida or emina but be brave get stuck in

[mr mince]

Originally Posted by busboy

im roy by the way ill be honest normally and easy job on many cars are thermostats and rads to change dont know about toyota estimas or lucida or emina but be brave get stuck in

Hi Roy, I've never tried to do the rad but I'll back you up on the stat it's a piece of cake to get in and out, although it could be in a more accessible place

[SNAKEYES]

Originally Posted by mr mince

Hi Roy, I've never tried to do the rad but I'll back you up on the stat it's a piece of cake to get in and out, although it could be in a more accessible place

you can find out soon on mine.