Head gasket went on a brand new (to me) van, bought from a dealer, with a warranty

burlingtonfl6

Did I mention that I paid over £9000?!?!

With van prices the way they are, that doesn't mean much anymore.
You have a dealer who is there to help, willing to pay and you're still not happy.
You want a new van but won't give the money. (new vans go wrong too)

Chhrispy

AdrianC said:

Does the van have a temp gauge on the dash? What did that do BEFORE the light came on? What was it doing while you were driving around after the initial top-up?

Had you checked the fluid levels at all during the three weeks you'd owned it?
What does the owner's handbook say about fluid checks? Weekly?

It's a blue/red light, not a temp gauge as such. First time I've seen that sort of thing. After the coolant top up, the stop light went off, and the red temp light went off.

Fluid checks weekly?! Seriously? I don't think I've ever met anyone that would do this? I can't find it in the manual, but from reading around in other manuals etc the average seems to be twice a year?

Chhrispy

Also, thanks so much for all the great insight on this thread. You are all the best to help a total stranger out!

I'm leaning towards going with the general consensus here and getting it fixed.

Thanks!

fred246

I have been driving for 40 years and have never had any problems whatsoever with an engine. I change the oil regularly and have changed cambelts and spark plugs etc but never done any sort of repair. I check the coolant and oil quite frequently, much more than anyone I know. Normally before any long journeys but obviously everybody's usage is different. It takes less than a minute to check coolant and oil. The coolant is in a sealed system so the level should always stay the same. Maybe go down VERY slowly over long periods. So as soon as I lift the bonnet you can see the pink level in the reservoir. I keep mine at max. Just lift the dipstick to check the oil. Always do it with a cold engine. I have never had an engine that uses oil. Obviously if you found your engine used a significant amount of oil you would check and top up really regularly. It always amazes me how much money people have invested in their engines but they steadfastly refuse to do such simple checks to protect their investment. The other change is the lack of temperature gauges on modern cars. My adult children were very upset when I tried to teach them to check the temperature of the engine during a journey. Their car has an LED display that they didn't know was a temperature gauge.

AdrianC

Chhrispy said:
Fluid checks weekly?! Seriously? I don't think I've ever met anyone that would do this? I can't find it in the manual, but from reading around in other manuals etc the average seems to be twice a year?

Yes, seriously.

The average for actually doing it might be that infrequent, but...

tiggerbodhi

AdrianC said:

Chhrispy said:
Fluid checks weekly?! Seriously? I don't think I've ever met anyone that would do this? I can't find it in the manual, but from reading around in other manuals etc the average seems to be twice a year?

Yes, seriously.

The average for actually doing it might be that infrequent, but...

Yep, every week, even though I now have TPI still check the tyres every couple of weeks, still do a "walk round" check most times before I drive it, old habits die hard!
It does worry me sometimes that people make the second biggest investment after their homes, one that has the potential to kill, maim and cause general mayhem and they fail to give the the most cursory of checks, use part worn tyres, will strap their kids into something that they got the cheapest ditch finder special tyres on and the only time it sees a mechanic is for its MOT.