Punto head gasket blown - will head need skimming?

not worth taking the risk, i would get the head skimmed, straight forward skim should'nt be anymore the £40/50

I've got this far so probably right and worth paying the extra and do a proper job of it. Having done a quick google it seems that head gasket failure is a common problem on these motors.

Heads only need skimming if they're distorted or the gasket face has suffered damage. Burning, corrosion etc.. Have it checked by a garage, or do it yourself. Visually and with a straight edge and feeler guages. If it's within 2-3 thou of being flat, and undamaged, I'd just refit it with a new gasket. Cheaper than having it skimmed if it doesm't need it, and IME that's frequently the case. Mike.

Everyone I know who's owned a 1.2 Punto, including myself, has had a head gasket failure. That's about 8 in total. They are *utter* s**te.

Mike P

As Mike says, if it's flat it doesn't need skimming, but it's a Fiat so don't get your hopes up to much.

Thought it was worth having done so had a look in yellow pages and a local place did it for £35. Nice friendly place & done within a couple of hours. I can defo recommend them if anyone wants any head work in the stoke-on-trent area - called "Cylinder Heads" in Fenton. A good tip he told me is to make sure the new HG is on the right way. Although it initially looks like it can go on a couple of ways there is one passage hole which will be covered up if wrong way round. He said even the main Fiat dealers sometimes f*ck it up and the car will probably drive ok for 1k miles before it starts squealing like a pig.

Good luck with it. FWIW, mine was fine once it had been put together properly again. Apparently it's the lack of coolant changes that leads to HG failures on them, so keep to the schedule if she's keeping it for any length of time. IIRC it's a full drain and change every 2 years..

Mike P

NO, NO what you have to say is just that they are s*1t, you mustn't mention the fact they need servicing, what are you thinking of?