How much to replace head gasket - much shaking of head at local garage

Bollocks. It's easier than the turbo version and they take less than a day. A replacement head is £500 for a recon, but £50 from a scrapyard. If it's just a gasket, then the headset is £20-30. There are 5 different thicknesses.

I had my head gasket changed on a 98 1.9 turbo D in June 2002. The car was under extended warranty so the job was carried out at a Peugeot main dealer. The full cost at SE England main dealer rates was about £700 including new timing belt. The dealer said that these heads rarely need skimming and certainly mine was fine after they did it without skimming. I ran up another

20,000 miles in it before I changed it with no further problems. I know plenty of people who have had suffered head gasket failure with an XUD9 engine, I can't think of any who have required a new head.

A non franchised (and very trusted) garage quoted about £400 but the warranty company wanted me use a main dealer!

AFAIK the atmo (non turbo) head is much easier to access and doesn't usually seem to suffer from head gasket failure in the same way as turbo versions do.

I wouldn't have thought that 4.5 hours was way off mark.

5 hours is probably ok. Some engines are different I've just had the head off a fiesta 1100 in an hour flat quiet easy no timing belt to worry about.

If you plan on doing a gasket replacement yourself buy a straight edge which I did when I replaced my citroen head gasket. A steel ruler will not do! I found that there was no need for a head skim as the head was perfectly level. So don't just assume it will need this.

Worst case is that the head is warped and warped so badly that a new cylinder head is required. If that were the case I'd scrap the car and buy another.

Thanks for the replies - no substitute for first hand knowledge Seems that some garages are trying to be very conserative in quoting for the work in case the cylinder head is gone. I do appreciate that they have no way of knowing without doing the initial work and standing back to see if it has been successful

Had some more realistic quotes of £220+vat, £370 + vat or £475+ vat. depending on degree of remedial work. It would seem to make sense to do some remedial/preventative work because (having a look at the Haynes manual) its a bit of a b**** of a job to get access. Not for a pro of course, but time is money.

Car has done a high mileage for year but according to the people who work with peugeot engines it will last if properly looked after. Supose its the same for a lot of things!

Why is that? A car is a car - an engine is an engine. Someone famous said that a long time ago.

Cars are now disposible items plenty available at cheap prices. I'm not saying that I would scrap a one year old car if it a gasket failure but a 6+ year old car. Do the maths the car is going to be practically worthless a repair to the head gasket if you are having to pay for the labour will be expensive. Take the head off and then find that you need a new cylinder head because it's warped out of spec perhaps or at the very least need it skimming. After the repair no guarantee that it will fix the problem. I've lost count of the number of people who have had a cylinder head gasket replaced only to find the problem comes back a few weeks later. Easier just to get rid of the car and get one without an engine problem.

In news:c25egl$80t$ snipped-for-privacy@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk, David Cawkwell decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

Heh, scrap it if it's over 6 years old? You're mad!

and to get back on topic, new head gasket fitted to my Jag XJ-S (about as sturdy head gasket wise as a K series Rover) £260 all in. Bargain :-)

I appreciate your point of view but's who to say that the next car I buy does not develop the same or some other major problem. Its not an age related thing - lack of maintenance after coolant loss is probably the cause,. But what caused the coolant loss? Who knows. Its cooked.

I have done some costings. A lot of garages will not guarantee the work with a simple head gasket change.The ones I have contacted have said that the cylinder head would need to be replaced ( reconditioned unit) . I have gone for that option with a garage that I have used for many years.

Having done the basic maths. Price I bought the car + work required , is around what I would get for the car at private sale. Even with the state of the market.

I never reckon to cycle through cars and worry about depreciation loss. Get a car, maintain it properly and it will last a very long time.Bodywork condition is far more important and the area that is most likely to make you ditch a car.

Everyone takes a hit on changing cars - its the price paid for a nice shiny thing that the neighbours admire in your driveway. Nothing to do with economics. Why do people pay 26 grand for a diesel car - it does not make any sense.The price you save on fuel is nothing compared to the depreciation.Yet they come up to me and say - get 52mpg, what does yours do. When I say I get 36mpg they seem delighted. But my depreciation is £200 a year. Theirs is £2000

Anyway, thanks for all the help. It is very relevant and informative

much appreciated