Fix it or dump it?

arcon5

Mercdriver wrote: »

Still here then, Matter of Darkness?

Seriously...? Are you actually for real

Mercdriver

Matter of darkness as in Dark Matter. The problem with him is that he talks so much BS you don't know whether he actually knows anything about what he is talking about.

I'm not mechanically minded and would never do something as Walter Mitty as give advice on something I have no idea about. DM however...

patronniall

patronniall wrote: »

Head gasket failed either because you didn't change the oil regularly enough or less likely (considering the freezing cold weather) the antifreeze was not effective

How else would the head gasket fail? It's usually excessive heat that is either caused by engine oil well over its expiry or lack of oil. It can cause be caused by lack of antifreeze and/or over due antifreeze flush

GTE_Boy

patronniall wrote: »

How else would the head gasket fail? It's usually excessive heat that is either caused by engine oil well over its expiry or lack of oil. It can cause be caused by lack of antifreeze and/or over due antifreeze flush

Why are you quoting and arguing with yourself?

Richard53

patronniall wrote: »

How else would the head gasket fail? It's usually excessive heat that is either caused by engine oil well over its expiry or lack of oil. It can cause be caused by lack of antifreeze and/or over due antifreeze flush

You obviously don't know much about engines. Don't post about stuff you don't understand.

System

patronniall wrote: »

How else would the head gasket fail? It's usually excessive heat that is either caused by engine oil well over its expiry or lack of oil. It can cause be caused by lack of antifreeze and/or over due antifreeze flush

Can be caused by a lack of coolant because of multiple reasons, can be caused by water pump impeller blades getting worn, can be caused by a thermostat failing to closed, can be caused by stretch bolts giving up the ghost, can be caused be pre-detonation if the ignition timing is incorrect and if the engine uses cylinder liners it can be caused by the rubber O rings of the liners failing which allows the liner to drop, can be caused by a turbocharger fault causing excessive boost.

Mercdriver

GTE_Boy wrote: »

Why are you quoting and arguing with yourself?

Because he has so many aliases that he's forgotten who he is

Tiddlywinks

Aw, come on, the squabbles are a bit tedious and not really helping the OP are they?

arcon5 wrote: »

Corsas can be picked up dirt cheap on every corner. Get rid and buy one with mot on it

I disagree with this ^^^. Just having an MOT will not make a replacement any more reliable than the current Corsa. An MOT is not a guarantee of 12 months trouble free motoring; it's just a statement of condition on one day only - the day of the test.

OP - how well has your current car been maintained? As someone pointed out, there are many causes of a failed head gasket - a lot of those could have been prevented by adequate and regular maintenance.

I remember when I was a single, young female working irregular hours in far away places - I needed a reliable car but was on a tight budget.

I had an old car BUT I had a trustworthy garage (recommended to me by a work colleague) who gave me good advice and could be trusted to do the necessary work and properly service the car.

In all those years of driving the old car, I suffered only one breakdown and that was a failure of a part that was a fluke and not part of any service schedule.

My advice (given to me by Bob the mechanic back in the 80s) - the age of the car doesn't matter - it is the condition that is everything. Service the car correctly and on time and keep an eye on the temperature gauge, get used to the noise of your engine (and check out any changes) and keep fluids etc fresh and topped up. It worked for me.

parking_question_chap

For the price of the fix and next mot you could probably find another whole 1.0 Corsa.

thescouselander

Personally I'd scrap it if the MoT could be an issue. By the time you've done the head gasket and potentially MoT remedial work you could have bought another running banger with 12 months MoT and would probably have some change left.