Hi
I have a Corsa td 1997 102k on the clock. I've had this car for a month. The problem is that it is very noisy. The previous owner has recently admitted that the she blew the head gasket 2 months ago after noticing steam coming from the bonnet. She says that the gasket was repaired and the head skimmed. Apart from general noise there seems to be a loss of power and the engine really sounds awful above 3000 revs. The fuel economy is only 40 mpg which should be fifty. When decelerating from
60+mph there is a groaning sound from the engine.My guess is that the head is warped or camshaft bent but what is puzzling is there is no loss of coolant whatsoever or any sign of coolant in the oil. There is a plume of white smoke on start up and the car does struggle to start from cold, after a few seconds it seems to need extra revs to keep going for a full 30 secs or so all the while white smoke is being emitted. Only then it will tick over by itself.
One day a friend reved it very hard from cold 6000 rpm+. To our astonishment the car went very quiet and ticked over as it should but that only lasted 10 mins!
If the head is warped does it send the timing out, hence lack of power and fuel economy??
I've bought a second hand head but am concerned that the groaning noise when decelerating from 60+ mph is the block.
After reading haynes it doesn't seem that difficult to change the head, has anyone got any comments on the difficulty or any advice on changing heads on this vehicle? The setting of the timing belt looks a lot easier than some cars or am I kidding myself?!! How high do I need to raise the vehicle? My theory is that if I do the head myself then it won't matter too much if it's also the block that is making noise!
Thanks very much to any replies
Jon
(please don't ask why I bought the car in the first place- I've been ripped off!!!)