Fault reappears after major engine repair, now garage says problem is something else

attila_

rkrishna wrote: »

apart from the engine warning light, the temperature gauge was turning all the way to the right and I stopped driving as soon as that happened.

Ah ok, that's different then.

It looks like the gasket has failed again leading to overheating. This could be down to a number of reasons:

1. Cylinder head was not skimmed before fitting the new gasket (sometimes it needs to be done sometimes not) and so the gasket has failed leading to air gaps/water escaping.

2. There is an issue with either a thermostat or fan not cutting in - this could have caused your head gasket to pop last time due to overheating. The garage would have fixed the problem - i.e. the cylinder head gasket, but not another problem. To be fair to them they would not have been looking for the cause of the gasket failure.

3. Fitted gasket incorrectly or made a bodge at re-fit. This is unlikely as its a fairly simple job - plus your symptom is of overheating again not white smoke (i.e. steam) or engine running rough etc. These symptoms would mean the repair was not adequate.

Tricky to say - I would take it to another garage. Get them to check the thermostat and fans are cutting in at the right temp. Get them also to check the cylinder head gasket. If you stopped in time you may have saved it from blowing again.

I would still be surprised if it was engine block issues.

vax2002

A simple water test can diagnose a blown head gasket as gasses leak in to the water.
On an engine of such compression, engine block faults tend to end in half the engine missing and a large bang .
My opinion is that they have just made a bad job of the head gasket and looking to pass the buck
Are you in the AA or RAC, you can ask them to do a report.
I would not let the first garage near the car, they will lie, you need to get it repaired elsewhere and sue them for the failed work.

mikey72

What's to stop the garage saying the joyriders who stole the car damaged it, and indeed, what's to stop the op claiming off her insurance if they did?

bigjl

I had a tddi Focus that would overheat, AA said Headgasket, I reckoned it was the water pump, I was right.

However it is entirely possible that a broken waterpump, impellor not spinning properly, could lead to head gasket failure if driven for a long time, it is also entirely possible that the garage fixed the HG issue but didn't do the water pump.

Water pump isn't a bad job on the tddi, though you do need to take off an engine mount and lift the engine a little to get the pump out.

I wouldn't have tried fixing the HG on a car of that age to be honest.

And nearly £1400 for a HG! They really pulled your trousers down on that one.

I would have bought a warranteed low miles secondhand engine and had that fitted.

For the price paid the garage wants to charge the big bucks, but they should have fixed it or known what was wrong in the first place.

Though if i was the garage I would blame the problem on the treatment when stolen.

I know what I would do, but can't really say what on an open forum. But it should be obvious.

My Tddi would sit for an hour and not overheat when the waterpump had failed, would sit stationary in traffic with no oveheating, but as soon as you drove it the temp guage would shoot up to the red, but again would cool down after a while.

As mentioned I think the waterpump is a possible.

Any garage that strips an engine down to do the HG and doesn't at least suggest a cambelt and waterpump change to the owner is not a garage I would use again.

Hammyman

kaya wrote: »

any mechanic worth his salt would have been able to tell if it was the headgasket or a cracked engine block visually when they removed the cylinder head to replace the gasket,

Absolute rubbish. You can have both in an engine and a cracked block usually cannot be seen with the naked eye unless you completely strip it down and you're lucky enough to have a crack that is both big enough to see and ingresses at the block face or the cylinder bore wall.

However one thing you can end up with is a warped block deck so you can skim the head flat but as the block face is warped you get a leaking headgasket again.

But in regards to the comment from the garage about the full strip down, they are correct. Nobody wants to pay an additional 8hrs labour plus the cost of a crack test, the cost of checking the deck is flat or a block skim plus £100 in additional gaskets and o-rings to do the job properly.

rkrishna

mikey72 wrote: »

What's to stop the garage saying the joyriders who stole the car damaged it, and indeed, what's to stop the op claiming off her insurance if they did?

the car was driven only for two miles by the thieves and no additional damage done to the car because of the theft. insurance company won't be convinced that the engine would be damaged by driving just two miles even if the car already had the problem. my car has a tracking device in it (fitted by the insurance company), that helped in locating my car faster within few hours. they did try to put the blame on me by saying the thieves had damaged the car, but I told them car has a tracker and the thieves haven't driven for long distance and they didn't raise that point later again. the car was stolen without the keys which I don't understand how that is possible and wondering how I can secure that car once I get it back (of course that is a different matter not required to be discussed here).

s_b

the car was stolen without the keys which I don't understand

what do the police say on this?
the injector pump is locked into the key chip
this car is unstealable without a coded key
plus of course you can blow it up in two miles if that was the aim of the perpetrators?

rkrishna

bigjl wrote: »

I had a tddi Focus that would overheat, AA said Headgasket, I reckoned it was the water pump, I was right.

However it is entirely possible that a broken waterpump, impellor not spinning properly, could lead to head gasket failure if driven for a long time, it is also entirely possible that the garage fixed the HG issue but didn't do the water pump.

Water pump isn't a bad job on the tddi, though you do need to take off an engine mount and lift the engine a little to get the pump out.

I wouldn't have tried fixing the HG on a car of that age to be honest.

And nearly £1400 for a HG! They really pulled your trousers down on that one.

I would have bought a warranteed low miles secondhand engine and had that fitted.

For the price paid the garage wants to charge the big bucks, but they should have fixed it or known what was wrong in the first place.

Though if i was the garage I would blame the problem on the treatment when stolen.

I know what I would do, but can't really say what on an open forum. But it should be obvious.

My Tddi would sit for an hour and not overheat when the waterpump had failed, would sit stationary in traffic with no oveheating, but as soon as you drove it the temp guage would shoot up to the red, but again would cool down after a while.

As mentioned I think the waterpump is a possible.

Any garage that strips an engine down to do the HG and doesn't at least suggest a cambelt and waterpump change to the owner is not a garage I would use again.

they have changed the head gasket, timing belt, drive belt, drive belt tensioner (pulley), engine oil and other bits and pieces (and also charged for cylinder head skimming).

rkrishna

s_b wrote: »

what do the police say on this?
the injector pump is locked into the key chip
this car is unstealable without a coded key
plus of course you can blow it up in two miles if that was the aim of the perpetrators?

police didn't say anything about how the thieves managed to steal without the keys and I haven't asked them. may be you are right about blowing up, but how to find out if that was the case? I was thinking they couldn't drive for long distance because of the problem. even if I get this car fixed, securing it will be a challenge for me, because the thieves may try another attempt.

marksandsparx

Garage is poor... never just change a head gasket.. always check EVERYTHING that could cause the orginal fault.. in my garage, we would have to stand the cost of the further repair!