Help!

[Louisa]

After an innocent two week holiday in Derby, I was on my way home last night when my car suddenly stopped. I got out on a cold and dark A-road to discover my water tank boiling away like a kettle. I called the AA out and the chap told me that my 'head gasket' had blown, and gave me just a few options (in all fairness it was well after midnight), the first being to get towed back to London at a cost of ?320, and then get it repaired down here - or to get a taxi home (cheaper!) and then head back up and get the thing scrapped because it was not worth spending large amounts of money on. I need advice and quick, I do not understand the first thing about cars, and this one is only 3 years old and recently had a brand new clutch fitted. Do I get a friend to drive me all the way back to the services at Derby and get the thing scrapped, or spend money on taking it to a garage up there and getting it fixed? HELP! PLEASE! :(

A very tired Louisa..

[LuvPeckham]

Hi Louisa

What car is it ? and where did you break down ?

a Head gasket replacement, whilst labour intensive isn't normally more expensive then a 3 year old car is worth... try calling garages near where it is at the moment and getting a quote from them.. you can always courier the keys to them rather then traveling up again in person then go and collect the car when it is ready.

Also ring around in this area to get quotes for the head gasket to be replaced... if not to expensive then maybe you can get a freindly local to tow you back from where the car is now (if it isn't still in Derby I guess)

[Brendan]

Lousia. The head gasket is basically a washer that seals the engine where the head joins the main engine casing. The part itself should only cost about ?20 - ?50. The problem is that fitting it is quite tricky especially with newer cars that have lots of fiddly bits in the head and you need the proper tools.

Motor garages are generally crooks and will charge you in excess of ?500 to do the job. Thing is for someone with the right tools it will be ?20 - ?50 and a couple of hours work and the car will be right as rain.

Don?t get it scrapped. If you don?t want to get it repaired you will be able to sell it for a pretty good price to someone who has the ability to fix it.

DON?T under any circumstance take what a mechanic tells you as gospel. Especially if they try to say that you need a new engine or that they will ?take it off your hands? for a cheap price.

What type of car is it?

Had it been smoking from the exhaust?

If so do you know what colour the smoke was and was there a smell like burning plastic?

[Louisa]

Thanks guys for the advice. It's a Ford Ka from 2004, and I dont believe there was any smoke coming from the exhaust although the engine oil level was pretty low. I am considering going back up there and getting some quotes on repairing it, but because it is so far away and currently sat in a service station I feel as though I need to make decisions fast. I guess towing it back to London wouldnt have been a bad idea after all?

[Brendan]

If there was no smoke from the exhaust and all it was doing was overheating after a long trip I don?t know how he could have deduced that your head gasket has gone. Sounds like you could have just been low on coolant.

Did he offer any explanation?

Just to clarify. Was there smoke coming from under the bonnet or just steam?

[lozzyloz]

As already pointed out here, replacing a head gasket is not an expensive or particularly difficult job but you don't specify whether there was any other engine damage. It's fairly unusual to replace a clutch within 3 years and also for a head gasket to blow. Does it have unusually high mileage? What size engine, has it been thrashed? What state is the rest of the car in? Just trying to understand why the nice AA man is suggesting you scrap it? You could try talking to Paul or Reg at Dulwich Garage for their advice on 0208 693 1442.

[lozzyloz]

Rather than going back up to Derby why not phone around a few garages and then post the keys once you get a good quote?

[Brendan]

Doesn?t sound like a head gasket to me. Although I have no direct experience with that particular type of car and I?m not a professional.

Could be that there is an electrical problem and the fan is not coming on or a coolant leak.

It is a difficult situation you are in. I think you either have to get it towed back to London or go back there fill the coolant and oil up, see how it runs and drive it back to London stopping regularly to make sure everything is ok or do as lozzyloz says and try to get a quote from local garages.

Don?t get it scrapped though as more than likely you?ll get the AA man?s mate coming round and offering to ?take it off your hands? for ?500.

[Brendan]

Just to give you an indication if it does turn out to be the head gasket and you want to cut your losses and sell it.

3 year old Ford KAs start at about ?2500. If you put it on E-bay, properly described as a car that needs a new head gasket you should get anywhere between ?1500 - ?2000 (just an indication here from what I recently sold a punto with a shot head gasket for)

A garage will charge you anywhere from ?500 - ?1000 to replace it. More than likely they will quote you about ?600 and end up trying to charge you ?900.

[Louisa]

The problem is the mileage, it's currently sat at 75,348, and its a 1.3 engine, the new clutch was probably as a result of that. The boiling water tank was not a problem until last night when the red temperature gage came on and warned me of overheating, I filled the water up before I left and the oil was not unusually low, but the AA man seemed pretty sure it was the head gasket, although no smoke was coming from under the bonnet or from the exhaust. All I saw was steam and the focus of the problem was on the water tank, which was spitting the hot water out. If the engine has cooled overnight will I be able to drive it back do you think? I want to get it back to London but cant afford to brake down on the M1 as that could become very expensive.

[Ted Max]

If you can't afford to brake, down on the M1 or anywhere else, that might be the cause of the problem.

With apologies for completely useless, not helping at all, kind of post.

[downsouth]

Louisa if it is only three years old it should still be within the warranty period. Check with the after care service of the dealer you bought it from or if second hand a local ford dealership - there's one in Tulse Hill that springs to mind:

Brownes of London

349-351 Norwood Road

Brixton

SE27 9BQ

Phone 0208 674 3377

Fax 0208 671 9705

Aleternatively check the Ford dealer locator below for dealers in Derby who may be able to help.

http://www.ford.co.uk/ie/-/-/-/dealerlocator/-/-/-/

[lozzyloz]

Whatever you do don't attempt to drive it to London. It won't take long for the engine to overheat again and you'll end up seizing the engine up and even more expense.

The high mileage is an indicator. It might prove more cost effective to have a reconditioned engine fitted rather than fix the head gasket and then for something else on a knackered engine to break.

[Brendan]

Driving it back may be a risky business Louisa. You may be ok but it is also very likely that you will break down again. It was perhaps not the best suggestion.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Not much of an car internals man myself Louisa so I ma no help at all, but I did wonder where you had got to

really sorry to hear about the breakdown - has any decision been reached in the last couple of hours?

[Louisa]

Hiya everyone.

The decision was made in those few hours Sean and I travelled up to a place called Swadlingcote (sp.?), which is in between Derby and Coalville in the East Midlands. The car was picked up by a local garage and the chappie towed it away for free. I received a phone call back today telling me that the problem was a cylinder had blown? He did explain in more detail but it just went in and out the other side. In short it will cost me ?365 all in inclusive of labor. Soon after the phone call I decided to go to the Ford Dealership in Bromley to see if I could get any deal on a part exchange once I get my Ka back. I was offered ?1600 for it if I bought a car the same day, so I walked away with a Ford Mondeo Estate. They tried to throw in the cleaning kit for 400 quid and I completely ignored him when he brought the topic up. Anyway, I hope i'm doing the right thing. I dont know. But thankyou so much everyone for your ideas on what the problem could be. Its been a horrible week for me and a costly experience today, but maybe things will start to go well from now on.

[Clazza]

mmm may have been covered under 3 yr / 100K Ford warranty - so hope it was over 3 yrs old? Hope you are happy with the Mondeo.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Its no consolation whatsoever louisa. . . But come along friday and ill buy you a drink

[SeanMacGabhann]

Has anyone heard from Louisa since this incident? I was expecting a lengthy diatribe about, well, something but no sign