Just had one of those 'oh sh*t' phonecalls.....
Discussion
....to my local garage.
Does £1550 sound reasonable for new head gasket, cambelt, fanbelt, ignition coil, and extras (i.e. spark plugs, oil, fluids etc) plus labour.....also including removal of the driveshaft to change some kind of seal there (to stop oil leak)? Car is a 54 plate Clio, 1.4 16v.
Any info/advice appreciated!
Does £1550 sound reasonable for new head gasket, cambelt, fanbelt, ignition coil, and extras (i.e. spark plugs, oil, fluids etc) plus labour.....also including removal of the driveshaft to change some kind of seal there (to stop oil leak)? Car is a 54 plate Clio, 1.4 16v.
Any info/advice appreciated!
Uprated head gasket and full service came to about £900 on the MG TF at the MGOC (main dealers). This included picking up the car with a trailer and transporting it about 35 miles.
If they're doing driveshafts and ignition stuff too I can see it adding up. Must be getting on for the value of the car?
If they're doing driveshafts and ignition stuff too I can see it adding up. Must be getting on for the value of the car?
IMO sounds a bit mad. Especially when you consider that you could have a replacement engine bought and fitted for under £500. Phone around the local motor factors and you'll probably find those parts for around £250-£300.
Removing the driveshaft and changing the end seal on the gearbox isn't a big job either, half an hour tops and a seal is around £20.
Removing the driveshaft and changing the end seal on the gearbox isn't a big job either, half an hour tops and a seal is around £20.
£1500 PLUS labour 
way way too much! I work on renaults and could turn the headgasket, cam belt and alternator belt round in a day,plus an hour or so for the other bits and bobsthe parts to do the headgasket should only come to 500 tops. I'd get another quote. why has the headgasket gone, quite unusual for a k4j.
way way too much! I work on renaults and could turn the headgasket, cam belt and alternator belt round in a day,plus an hour or so for the other bits and bobsthe parts to do the headgasket should only come to 500 tops. I'd get another quote. why has the headgasket gone, quite unusual for a k4j.I was quoted 400 quid for a head gasket on an 8V astra which was worth oh 400 quid.
I did it myself. Took 3 days : but only 7 hours of Touch time for a rank amateur. Extra time included - Realising my tool kit wasn't up to the job and going to buy the right tool, transporting the head to engineering shop for a skim and pressure test, and VERY careful reassembly.
If I were a mechanic I reckon 3 hours tops !!!
Gasket Set cost me £12. Bolts £18, Cambelt £6, tensioner £7, plus oil, filter and new coolant £30. Skim was £40.
It lasted 1 year and 18K before I drove it into a lamp post in a car park
I did it myself. Took 3 days : but only 7 hours of Touch time for a rank amateur. Extra time included - Realising my tool kit wasn't up to the job and going to buy the right tool, transporting the head to engineering shop for a skim and pressure test, and VERY careful reassembly.
If I were a mechanic I reckon 3 hours tops !!!
Gasket Set cost me £12. Bolts £18, Cambelt £6, tensioner £7, plus oil, filter and new coolant £30. Skim was £40.
It lasted 1 year and 18K before I drove it into a lamp post in a car park
jimtech said:
£1500 PLUS labour way way too much! I work on renaults and could turn the headgasket, cam belt and alternator belt round in a day,plus an hour or so for the other bits and bobsthe parts to do the headgasket should only come to 500 tops. I'd get another quote. why has the headgasket gone, quite unusual for a k4j.
Sorry meant including labour...parts around £650, labour £900.... way way too much! I work on renaults and could turn the headgasket, cam belt and alternator belt round in a day,plus an hour or so for the other bits and bobsthe parts to do the headgasket should only come to 500 tops. I'd get another quote. why has the headgasket gone, quite unusual for a k4j.FWIW I don't think the gasket has gone as such, but it's peeing oil from there and the driveshaft seal. Don't know why it's so bad, less than 60k on the clock, always service it on schedule and never rag it from cold....up until now it's never needed anything doing other than 'consumables'...
Phone up a couple of motor factors, and explain the jobs you are about to do, and get prices on the parts. Trade will be getting a 20% off. If it comes to more than £250 I'd be surprised. Then ask the garage what the hourly rate is. I doubt that there's more than 6 or 7 hours of work. Then get 3 quotes somewhere else, and take the car somewhere else.
I think the MG included a couple of tyres in that £900 so £1550 is sounding rather steep. For some reason I thought coilpacks were on your list rather than a simple coil too.
Worth getting some other quotes. I've done head gaskets on other cars and they've only taken a few hours, the MG went into the dealers because of the reputation of Ks and engine access on a TF is pretty awful. Then again it's not a lot better on MR2s and I've known of them being changed at race meetings...
Worth getting some other quotes. I've done head gaskets on other cars and they've only taken a few hours, the MG went into the dealers because of the reputation of Ks and engine access on a TF is pretty awful. Then again it's not a lot better on MR2s and I've known of them being changed at race meetings...
As jimtech said, I've never heard of a K4J's headgasket failing. Only time I've had to remove a head on one is when the cambelt has failed, or it has injested the auxillary belt!
Check to see if this is something that they've just 'advised' as main dealers tend to advise every possible defect with your vehicle, where backstreet garages who work on typically older cars, don't feel the need to point out every minor imperfection.
How bad is the oil leak from the engine and/or gearbox?
Check to see if this is something that they've just 'advised' as main dealers tend to advise every possible defect with your vehicle, where backstreet garages who work on typically older cars, don't feel the need to point out every minor imperfection.
How bad is the oil leak from the engine and/or gearbox?
SpeedMattersNot said:
As jimtech said, I've never heard of a K4J's headgasket failing. Only time I've had to remove a head on one is when the cambelt has failed, or it has injested the auxillary belt!
Check to see if this is something that they've just 'advised' as main dealers tend to advise every possible defect with your vehicle, where backstreet garages who work on typically older cars, don't feel the need to point out every minor imperfection.
How bad is the oil leak from the engine and/or gearbox?
It was leaking a little bit for a couple of years - barely enough to show on the dipstick. But for the last few months it got worse, and lost about 1/2 according to dipstick. So I got the engine bay cleaned (with a steam/jet-wash) last Friday, and had it booked into the garage for Tuesday (yesterday). I didn't drive it over the weekend, and checked the oil level again on Monday morning before leaving for work (about 6m away) - no change, still half full.Check to see if this is something that they've just 'advised' as main dealers tend to advise every possible defect with your vehicle, where backstreet garages who work on typically older cars, don't feel the need to point out every minor imperfection.
How bad is the oil leak from the engine and/or gearbox?
Then on Monday evening, a couple of minutes after leaving work, queuing in traffic, the revs started dropping and the engine light came on. I drove very gingerly for a couple hundred metres (because it wasn't safe to stop right there), engine running pretty rough, to find no oil left at all......luckily I had some oil in the boot so after calling the garage for advice I put that in, and it ran fine again - no noise or vibration, no light etc. - luckily the garage was only about a mile away from there and I made it without any further drama. Am hoping that means it wasn't damaged....
So to answer your question at last, it was a fairly reasonable leak, that suddenly (I couldn't say if this happened throughout the day or in the instant before the bad running) turned into a chronic leak. Which leaves me with a problem to take it to another place for inspection, as I'm worried any oil I put in may not get me very far...and obviously don't want to completely lunch the engine!
Currently gathering other quotes, but without the car it's not ideal...all I can do really is compare the labour rates for similar jobs as the other garages can't see the car to make their own diagnosis. If they come out low enough I guess I'll have to arrange for a tow.
the oil can only go 3 ways: externally,quite easy to see 4 litres of 10w-40 on the floor,in the cylinder itself via guides/gasket and would smoke like s
t, or in the water,which could be seen. i'd tow it from there and have a look on your own for the basics.k4m's are usually super reliable and this is rare.if you weren't so far away i'd offer to come and have a look.
t, or in the water,which could be seen. i'd tow it from there and have a look on your own for the basics.k4m's are usually super reliable and this is rare.if you weren't so far away i'd offer to come and have a look.Gassing Station | French Bred | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff