Head gasket replacement/oil leak

[Deleted User]

A bit of a long, and potentially strange, thread!

I've got a Corsa (2002) which has done 108000 miles, I've got no service history with it at all so no idea what has/hasn't been done in the past.

It uses (and leaks) a ridiculous amount of oil, to the point that I have a 5L bottle in the car.

A mechanic did a diagnostic inspection on it via 'ClickMechanic' and spent a good 45 minutes or so looking at various parts to try and see where the leak was coming through, turning it on and off etc.

The whole reason I went to this ClickMechanic is that I thought they'd quote and fix it, but that depends on each garages skill & parts etc apparently. So I now have to take his advise to another garage (or click mechanic online with a fresh quote).

He's advised that I need the Rocker Head Gasket replaced ASAP, and that once this is done hopefully the leak will stop - if it doesn't it is something a lot more serious, but there is no way to tell until the initial work is done.

I don't drive a great deal, and he said if I were to drive it I could just put plenty of oil in and it'll be ok, but keep the oil topped up. Now I've done probably 2,000 miles since then (and used 5L of oil)... but in terms of fuel consumption it seems to be pretty average, if not slightly more than my Corsa I had a few years ago. There have been (touch wood) no breakdowns, failures to start etc. So I'm thinking there can't be *that much* wrong with it, given that it's been up and down the Motorway plenty of times???

I'm stuck now in that I've got an MOT coming up (where presumably an oil leak or whatevers wrong with it isn't going to pass), so I've got a quote from Click Mechanic for a replacement and it's saying:


Cylinder head & gasket replacement
5-6 hours labour time
Includes parts: Cylinder head gasket kit.
£340.33

That seems a heck of a lot of money for something that *might* work... and that's not including anything else picked up in MOT, along with what I presume will need to be a replacement windscreen for another £75 as it's just got a big scratch across it.

Anyone know if that's 1: A decent price (apparently it's 30% cheaper than garages would charge, I'm waiting for some quotes back) and 2: If it's worth taking this or just the start of a decline and maybe worth scrapping the car?

I spent £50 on this diagnostic inspection and presumably any other inspection will cost. The issue if I get rid of the car is that my insurance want to charge a small fortune for a new car (£400+ premium increase) because the car is 'different' and I might crash it... that complicates matters somewhat and means overall I might be better throwing money at this to make it last another year or two!

I'm thinking of taking it for an MOT (only... no service etc) letting it presumably fail, and then that garage quote me on what they think needs doing, get that done by them and then put it in for the free retest - but they might not be amused that their time has been wasted on a car that's clearly going to fail???

straighttalker

Rocker gasket and cylinder head gasket are two totally different things. The rocker head gasket should be cheaper to do.

Geodark

Somerset_La_La_La wrote: »

A bit of a long, and potentially strange, thread!

I've got a Corsa (2002) which has done 108000 miles, I've got no service history with it at all so no idea what has/hasn't been done in the past.

It uses (and leaks) a ridiculous amount of oil, to the point that I have a 5L bottle in the car.

A mechanic did a diagnostic inspection on it via 'ClickMechanic' and spent a good 45 minutes or so looking at various parts to try and see where the leak was coming through, turning it on and off etc.

The whole reason I went to this ClickMechanic is that I thought they'd quote and fix it, but that depends on each garages skill & parts etc apparently. So I now have to take his advise to another garage (or click mechanic online with a fresh quote).

He's advised that I need the Rocker Head Gasket replaced ASAP, and that once this is done hopefully the leak will stop - if it doesn't it is something a lot more serious, but there is no way to tell until the initial work is done.

I don't drive a great deal, and he said if I were to drive it I could just put plenty of oil in and it'll be ok, but keep the oil topped up. Now I've done probably 2,000 miles since then (and used 5L of oil)... but in terms of fuel consumption it seems to be pretty average, if not slightly more than my Corsa I had a few years ago. There have been (touch wood) no breakdowns, failures to start etc. So I'm thinking there can't be *that much* wrong with it, given that it's been up and down the Motorway plenty of times???

I'm stuck now in that I've got an MOT coming up (where presumably an oil leak or whatevers wrong with it isn't going to pass), so I've got a quote from Click Mechanic for a replacement and it's saying:


Cylinder head & gasket replacement
5-6 hours labour time
Includes parts: Cylinder head gasket kit.
£340.33

That seems a heck of a lot of money for something that *might* work... and that's not including anything else picked up in MOT, along with what I presume will need to be a replacement windscreen for another £75 as it's just got a big scratch across it.

Anyone know if that's 1: A decent price (apparently it's 30% cheaper than garages would charge, I'm waiting for some quotes back) and 2: If it's worth taking this or just the start of a decline and maybe worth scrapping the car?

I spent £50 on this diagnostic inspection and presumably any other inspection will cost. The issue if I get rid of the car is that my insurance want to charge a small fortune for a new car (£400+ premium increase) because the car is 'different' and I might crash it... that complicates matters somewhat and means overall I might be better throwing money at this to make it last another year or two!

I'm thinking of taking it for an MOT (only... no service etc) letting it presumably fail, and then that garage quote me on what they think needs doing, get that done by them and then put it in for the free retest - but they might not be amused that their time has been wasted on a car that's clearly going to fail???

But an MOT *might* not pick up what is wrong though, an MOT is more about the safety of the car. A car can still pass the MOT with an oil leak.

Norman_Castle

Somerset_La_La_La wrote: »

The issue if I get rid of the car is that my insurance want to charge a small fortune for a new car (£400+ premium increase)
I'm thinking of taking it for an MOT (only... no service etc) letting it presumably fail, and then that garage quote me on what they think needs doing, get that done by them and then put it in for the free retest - but they might not be amused that their time has been wasted on a car that's clearly going to fail???

Changing a car during an insurance year might result in an excessive quote as they know you have few options. Pay the extra or pay the cancellation charge. Try new quotes for a replacement car.

MOT testers are paid the same regardless of a pass or fail. Many people test cars with known faults to find the overall cost of passing an mot. Try talking to the tester. They may identify the leak.

Ask friends and neighbors to find a good local mechanic.

bazster

All this oil must be going somewhere.

If it's the rocker cover gasket the oil would be all over the engine.

If it's the head gasket the oil could be coming out all over the engine, or it could be going into the coolant (have a look in the coolant reservoir, it'll be a scummy mess in there if there's oil in the coolant), or it could be going into the pots (which, if there's that much of it disappearing, would probably show up as blue smoke from the exhaust).

So what have you got? Can you see leaking oil all over the engine? If so, attack it with some brushes and Gunk. Once it's clean you might be able to see where it's coming from. Or have you got one of the other symptoms?

Quote sounds reasonable for changing the head gasket, but you want to be sure that's the problem first! Rocker gasket much easier and cheaper!

colino

Why not name and shame the, "mechanic" who was unable to diagnose accurately a fault on a v/x without resorting to an online tool? For a Corsa to drink a litre of oil every 400 miles, you have either got an obvious leak that would show externally if it is as simple as a rocker cover/sump/sump plug gasket; or the car would be producing some blue smoke and/or it would run really badly as the plugs would be constantly be getting fouled and your cat would now be dead.
In any case, in the absence of a real diagnosis, £350 would buy you a decent, up and running 13 year old Corsa.

Paradigm

My boy had the same on his 02 Corsa & it was initially diagnosed as head gasket failure...mayo in oil, loss of coolant etc. Turned out it was the Timing chain cover gasket.
Apparently a very common problem & cheaper to fix.


That's not to say it isn't the head gasket but get the thing checked out properly.

bazster

Paradigm wrote: »

My boy had the same on his 02 Corsa & it was initially diagnosed as head gasket failure...mayo in oil, loss of coolant etc. Turned out it was the Timing chain cover gasket.
Apparently a very common problem & cheaper to fix.

Most of 'em have belts I think, only the 3-pot 1-litre has a chain?

Paradigm

bazster wrote: »

Most of 'em have belts I think, only the 3-pot 1-litre has a chain?

The 02 1.2 sxi is chain, 100%

arcon5

So you engine is leaking oil out of it at quite a fast rate and you're still driving it happily... get it to a garage, an actual garage, not a website.

[Deleted User]

Thanks everyone - I've tried new quotes instead of mid term changes - EUI are the cheapest by miles though, and they know I'm an existing customer, so new quotes are just as ridiculous (£1,700+ for a full year). Mid term adjustment on any car over 1L is £800 on top of the £800 I've paid already. I think the whole problem comes from me probably being quoted too low in the first place. The £400 increase was based on a tiny car

So paying for another old working Corsa was my first idea, but that isn't an option.

I like Norman Castle's idea of talking to the tester beforehand - seems like a good idea so they can identity anything else too.

I've found my MOT can be renewed from next month to preserve the same date, so I'll let the insurance run for now before taking any decisions, and take it in next month - it's parked up the majority of the time, but when I do drive the savings vs train still outweigh the insurance, car costs etc.

The strange thing is there is no oil leaking when it's parked etc, so is there a chance it's burning the extra oil rather than leaking it?

Just need to find a good local garage now!

I have accidents on my record so that's why insurance is so high anywhere but EUI. Annoying they've decided to play silly with a new car (despite it being same model etc) but guess they're entitled to do whatever they want, especially as this years quote was very cheap and they obviously want their money back. I expect them to hike it next year, but once I'm 25 I can just use hire cars all the time and it's cheaper.

I literally just need to get this car through until May, then cancel the insurance and not have my own car until my record is clear.