Astra head gasket

Sounds about right for a properly done job. Which is why it pays to have proper servicing done, rather than wait till it stops.

Just throw it away and start again.

Mrcheerful

I agree with Mr C, its about the right price for that sort of job, im guessing its a petrol engined vehicle if it is you could consider a recon head if it is. If its a diesel id forget it, it wouldn't be financially viable for what you paid for the vehicle.

In news: snipped-for-privacy@b75g2000hsg.googlegroups.com, tartansand typed: | My daughters car's blown its head gasket. garage have the head off, | reckon it's been like it a while judging from mayo instead of oil, | they sya it's a real mess, caused by overheating (small rad leak | found). Quote to fix is £640 but say they want to check for cracks and | do a preassure test which, if it fails could add a further £150+ | (assume to replace head?) | I don't have full facts but appreciate guidance on the cost in case | she's being ripped off | (Older Astra, don't know the year but cost her £1,000 6 months ago) | Thanks

It does not sound right to me for an Astra. All I can say is that they are charging about £300 for labour.

It is not as difficult to replace a head gasket on an Astra.

Your daughter has had the car 6 months so she was not tucked up by the seller, it is quite common for people to buy cars and then find that the head gasket has gone after driving for a short while.

if the OP can give some more details as to CC year ect i will price it up, just out of interest, but i dont think the price is far from the mark, labour, gasket set, head bolts, oil & filter change, coolant degrease flush, timing belt kit, consumables, it soon mounts up.

My thanks to you all. At least she doesn't appear to be getting ripped off It's a petrol engine, so now she'll have to make the hard decision now

- ditch or repair! Thanks again

If she ditches, she'll need a replacement so it's worth asking if she'll get a better car than she has for £650 - £800?

Quite probably not

And if repaired, in 6 months time it'll probably still be worth £600 or so, so she'll probably get most of her money back.

Just done that job over Easter on my wifes Astra 1.4 M reg

Apart from having the right tools, and buying a cylinder head gasket set, new set of head bolts, new belts, oil filter, oil, new water pump whilst at it (aprox total £100)

It took me one whole day (8hrs), laying on a gravel drive.

So I reckon a garage could do it easily in 4 hrs.

So you work out the hourly rate.

Its certainly by no means a difficult job.

The problem is as what others have said, is the head or block cracked. You can pick a head or engine up at the scrap yard or even buy a recon unit.

My advice first is to get the engine cleaned to find exactly where the problem lies. All mine ended up being was the head gasket had just eaten itself away. First of all there was an oil leak ( put up with it for 12 months, as it was small) then a water leak into the oil.

If it's a MK3 Ashtray, they are now in £200 territory.

TBH, she can do far better for £800.

plus a radiator plus antifreeze plus head skimming (and collection/delivery of the head) It all adds up amazingly fast.

That's where you're going wrong. It's easier to get to the head when you're standing up.

I've replaced a set of piston rings on an 8v vauxhall in a weekend which involves taking the engine apart and a head gasket change on a friends nova in two lunchtimes. I need to do the camshaft on my carlton and it'll cost me about =A320 and a weekend (plus the camshaft kit)

=A3600 odd is I guess ballpark if they're putting a new rad etc in there too and fixing everything. I'm sure you could find somewhere a little cheaper but whether it's worth it I don't know.

Tell us the year & model etc!

Ooops! You did - M reg 1.4.

Crack testing and skimming is not always required. The symptons, along with a careful examination of the head and gasket when they're removed, may indicate that all that's needed is a new head gasket. Checking those items could take less than an hour. Mike.

Good on Ya.

How do you change you oil (properly), and not suck it out thro the dipstick. And change the water pump, and take the crankshaft pulley off etc etc.

It could be my arms are not long enough then if you can do it standing up.