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car ran out of water & blew gasket

asp746
asp746 Posts: 421 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
in Motoring
the recovery man said i'd put water in the screen wash rather than the water tank (doh) and it had run dry. anyway, it's smoking from the exhaust and the recovery man reckon it's blew a head gasket. My question is..now that there's water in can i still take it on short journeys - i'm a bit skint till payday. Also is it an expensive job? The car's only worth about £500 to me if that so maybe time to scrap it.

thanks
«13

Comments

  • adandem
    adandem Posts: 3,592 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    My darling son did this to my car. If the HG has gone, don't drive it. The only problem was with mine was the only way to tell if it was the HG was to fit a new one which can be costly - mine was £300.
  • sexy_fufu
    sexy_fufu Posts: 758 Forumite
    Is it a Rover 25 by any chance ?
    :ASexy_fufu:A
  • MORPH3US
    MORPH3US Posts: 4,906 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Was speaking to my uncle (mecanic) about the very same thing yesterday and he said it costs £400 - £800 depending on the car and other things to replace the HG...

    Sounds like it might not be worth fixing if your car is only worth £500, but that said if you rely on your car and don't have money for a new one, maybe it is worthwhile....

    I wouldn't drive it before its fixed if you plan to keep it in the long run!

    M
  • asp746
    asp746 Posts: 421 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    yes it's a rover 214
  • thescouselander
    thescouselander Posts: 5,547 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    It will probaly cost a few hundred pounds to get this fixed so it will probably be best to scrap it and get a different car.
  • MORPH3US
    MORPH3US Posts: 4,906 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    thescouselander wrote: »
    It will probaly cost a few hundred pounds to get this fixed so it will probably be best to scrap it and get a different car.

    As I said, thats fine and dandy if the OP has £5000 stashed for a new car, but if they don't then maybe they are better getting the head gasket fixed.... unless they can live without a car that is!
  • Nile
    Nile Posts: 14,766 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Hello asp746

    I'll move your thread to the 'Motoring & Public Transport' board.

    Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]!!!!!![/EMAIL].

    Regards

    Nile
    10 Dec 2007 - Led Zeppelin - I was there. :j [/COLOR]:cool2: I wear my 50 (gold/red/white) blood donations pin badge with pride. [/SIZE][/COLOR]Give blood, save a life. [/B]
  • iolanthe07
    iolanthe07 Posts: 5,493 Forumite
    Rovers, apart from the 75 and the ones with Honda drive trains, are notorious for blowing head gaskets. Apparently the radiator is only just large enough, so any loss of water has quick and catastrophic results. If you do have to replace the car best to look for something Japanese.
    I used to think that good grammar is important, but now I know that good wine is importanter.
  • plane_boy2000
    plane_boy2000 Posts: 1,482 Forumite
    Not just Rovers - this engine is the K series - craking engine, but has a few inherent design issues. Its the same engine that used in the old freelander, old lotus elise, most of the rover line up, plus a few others that I cant recall.

    If the head gasket has gone then it may be time to scrap it as the cost will be high to fix, however if the car has been reliable to date then it may be worth fixing if you are keeping it for a while.
  • anewman
    anewman Posts: 9,200 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    If you feel up to it have a gander at a haynes manual and see whats involved in replacing the HG for your car. For my car it involves removing the air filter box and all connecting bits, a cover from the top of the engine, some rod things, more connecting pipes etc then undoing about 16 bolts which are likely to be very tight. Then lifting off the top of the engine which is likely to be heavy. And then obviously remembering where everything goes and putting it back together.

    You could give it a go anyway as chances are the HG itself will cost relatively little and if you manage to do it yourself it's a plus, and if it goes to the scrap yard and it was off there anyway you're only down a HG (that you could probably flog on as unused on ebay) and some tools which may come in useful later anyway.
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