Our MG-ZR Head gasket has gone..

somech

there you go cheap is not always cheerful every head should be pressure tested and skimmed when removed k series heads are known for warping when overheated.
hope hes not charging you anymore labour for replacing the head

i use bridge cylinder heads last rover one i brought was a complete head circa £250

gabyjane

Hi thanks guys. I am completely lost with the whole thing tbh and have no idea what needs doing or in what order. All i do know is everything i post (on another site) is being escalated and it now needs xxx..it is turning into a complete farce tbh. IF i take it somewhere else we have effectively shelled out £400 for nothing. I am afraid the bloke who started it is going to have to come back and finish it and hope to god he was telling me the truth when he said we can drive it still or he will not know what's hit him.

gabyjane

somech wrote: »

there you go cheap is not always cheerful every head should be pressure tested and skimmed when removed k series heads are known for warping when overheated.
hope hes not charging you anymore labour for replacing the head

i use bridge cylinder heads last rover one i brought was a complete head circa £250

He's charging us £200? I am guessing fuel will go on that so another £50..sigh it's not the money i ahve my reasons for not actually using the other garage for the work but sill not sure we did the right thing. He did say the head was completely shot and unable to have been skimmed..would he have known this before skimming it? Like i said no idea about cars just want the bleeding thing fixed really.

gabyjane

wazza wrote: »

Just had a quick look on the internet and came up with this


http://www.idealengines.co.uk/id-what-we-offer.asp

never used them but you can give them a call to get a quote.

Thanks..will a new engine sort out the heater then? sorry lost with it all..can't get a quote without registering which i'm not going to do as tbh if the car is sound according to 2 garages i'm not quite sure why it now needs a new engine?..is it an easier way of getting it all fixed..?!

gabyjane

Also forgot to say! he did say we could source our own cylinder head but tbh we dont have the time..have any idea what we are looking for and i have images of us getting one..waiting 4 weeks for him to come and it being wrong for some reason..easier this way.

somech

if he knew the head was shot whats the point of refiting it
did he tell you it needs replacing? did you ask him to fit the old one?

if you didnt ask him to refit a knackered head i dont see how he can charge you more labour, i know i would'nt

gabyjane

somech wrote: »

if he knew the head was shot whats the point of refiting it
did he tell you it needs replacing? did you ask him to fit the old one?

if you didnt ask him to refit a knackered head i dont see how he can charge you more labour, i know i would'nt

Ill try and explain it from the start!

The car made an awful ticking noise and i was wondering about our brakes (as made a bit of a noise) so booked it in, the day of it going in dh said there was some scum on the coolant so we mentioned that..on outcome they said the HG had gone at a cost of £700 if we were lucky. This was our local garage who always has it in.

After being told by a few people £700 was a lot i was given the name of the Mg specialist who quoted us £330 for a HG and cambelt change. He was highly reccommended on the MG site and so for the huge saving we went with him. When he arrived he said the HG was shot (prob didnt help us driving it) he changed it and the cambelt and when almost done i went down to see how he was getting on. He said not very well as he was getting no hot air from the heater (to which i joked saying i didnt want any in this heat!), he said it may cause it to overheat and although not a huge isse as such it would be very cold in the winter, there were hot spots in the pipes and we needed a new head..cylinder head?..this means apparantly what he did with the HG and cambelt neds redoing due to it all having to be taken apart again. I am assuming due to him being mobile he just replaces Hg and doesn't fix them..again i have no idea on things like this so have to go with what he says.

So that is where we are up to..HG done, cambelt done but the noise is still there and the heater does not produce hot air so he will be back in 4 weeks to redo and replace head (hope i have that bit right!) other than that he said ok to drive so long as we don't go far and just keep an eye on it. Tbh i just want it fixed and i dont really care aout the ins and outs just want it drivable without worrying it is going to blow up!

Also meant to add he is not charging us anymore labour just the cost of the head (again cylinder which i hope i listened right!). IF we take it somewhere else we will be starting from scratch and god knows what will happen..i am letting him sort it now.

somech

just make sure you dont pay any more labour than you already have.

impo i would have removed the head and if it was shot left it off until a replacement was found.

i do mobile work (and have a workshop) and have done a few hg and for my own reputation and warranty all cylinder heads are skimmed and pressure tested using 1 of 3 engineering firms across the area. theres no point in doing a job twice do it once and do it right

gabyjane

somech wrote: »

just make sure you dont pay any more labour than you already have.

impo i would have removed the head and if it was shot left it off until a replacement was found.

i do mobile work (and have a workshop) and have done a few hg and for my own reputation and warranty all cylinder heads are skimmed and pressure tested using 1 of 3 engineering firms across the area. theres no point in doing a job twice do it once and do it right

Hi think we are at crossed purposes!..the HG was changed for a new one with the cambelt..when he was done and it was all put back together he said the heater wasn't working (how and why he tests this i have no idea)..i asked him, due to him now having to have to re do it all if he couldn't have noticed the heater before..he said no? so he has to take off everything he has done and redo adding the new cylindar head..if he had left it all in bits i wouldn't have been too happy tbh as would have meant 4 weeks off work!..like i said he obviously replaces with new as opposed to replacing with skimming etc..i will ask him though when he returns.
Thanks for the reply x

somech

i understand completly what your saying

just making sure you dont pay anymore money for labour and parts(excluding new cylinder head)