106 headgasket...........maybe

[trem1]

Hi all, i need some help/confirmation on this fault on my daughters little pug.First its a 1996 1.1 petrol and on friday she noticed the red high temperature light had came on, didnt know what to do about it so drove it to my house but we wernt in so she just ignored the light:rolleyes: anyhow last night i checked the water and it appeared to be airlocked(we put antifreeze in 2 weeks ago) BUT there was some 'steam/smoke' out of the exhaust and a slight mis-fire. she took it home and all seemed well but about 5mins after startup today the light was back on. So we whipped the thermostat out today and put it in a pot of boiling water and it didnt open so we thought we had found the problem,rebuilt the car without thermostat and it seemed ok but steam/smoke out of exhaust was still there. she took the car home and enroute there was a bang but she couldnt see anything until she got home and popped the bonnet and it's blown the expansion bottle cap off.

We think this definately confirms its the headgasket but if anyone knows different let me know please, we cant fix it till next weekend so we have a week to work out what the problem is.BTW she's totally skint so it needs to be right first time as cheap as possible
Cheers
Neil

[jasper5]

Yes, headgasket, these are quite a simple job, but you must get the head skimmed, if you don't know the timing belt history change that as well...it has to come off anyway....engine mount has to come off as well to get the cover/belt off.
Fit a new thermostat as well.

[trem1]

thanks jasper, is it an absolute MUST to get the head skimmed??? if yes it'll put it off the road till after xmas cos she's got 2 kids and is skint

[jasper5]

You could do it without skimming, but it may go again somewhere down the line.My personal rule is always skim alloy heads, they usually warp, but I guess needs must.
Might be worthwhile using instant gasket/silicon sealer on both sides of the gasket if you decide not to skim.

[FarmerPug]

them instant gasket things work ok, theres some stuff you put in the coolant that seals it, i did it to my fiat when the same problem happened because of the frost, the sealant got the car sold. But on any cars where a headgasket was needed the heads got skimmed.

[STALLED]

It makes sense to skim it - if the head is warped, you are only replacing the gasket - and it won't sit on the block and still leak/be down on compression.