:( head gasket ... Dead 4x4?

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travelmad

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So our ancient pajero seems to be nearing death. Looks like the gasket is leaking (it was in garage today for new thermometer as heating wasn't working and they found the fumes). It's 20 years old, so I guess it's entitled to die if it wants but I had not budgeted to fix it, ESP as I only bought it less than 12 months ago and then spent 1200 quid doing it up at that stage, new cam belts etc.

Anyone who knows about towing vehicles care to enlighten me on what a new gasket would cost or if I should suck up and pay for a new 4x4. Not fussy on types, 2.5l ideal really as needs to tow an Ifor and 2 ponies (500kg each). While I'd like a newer shogun they are all 3.2l and my insurance will be huge so I'd like to keep the engine size as small as possible.


Oh and I know SFA about cars so cars for dummies advice would be awesome! And should add despite the fact it is incredily costly to run I do like the old thing a lot to drive!
 
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Head gasket = baaad news! Whatever you do don't start the engine, as the more it gets used with the head gasket gone the much higher chance of the head going! To be honest, you might be looking at around £300-400 for the head gasket.

ETA- that sound like a lot for what is essentially a piece of rubber, but they have to take the whole head of the engine apart to replace it :(
 
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I blew the head gasket in our shogun a few years ago and didn't get much change from £1300 :(

If I'd known the reason for the cold heating and the loss of water (the seal was leaking) I may have avoided blowing it completely.
 
Depends if you have a good mechanic. Head gasket isn't the end of the world, it is repairable, its just the labour charges really.

Years ago, we had an ancient Vovlo 240, and I'm sure we did the head gasket in that more than once! It finally died nearing 25, with a list as long as your arm of repairs required!
 
Our Shogun is in the garage having head gaskets done as we speak! V6 engine so has 2 gaskets, estimate from the garage is around £1,000. If its a diesel it will only have one gasket (according to hubby) so should be cheaper.
 
Head gasket isn't the big deal that some folk seem to make. Get a few quotes and don't fall for the old 'sucking air through teeth' mechanic who tells you theres no point, they obviously don't need the work. If you've already spent £1300 on it then it's worth spending another few hundred or so on it, at least then you'll know you have a car that's had all the essentials done.
 
cheeryplatypus said:
I blew the head gasket in our shogun a few years ago and didn't get much change from £1300 :(

If I'd known the reason for the cold heating and the loss of water (the seal was leaking) I may have avoided blowing it completely.
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Oh that sounds similar. We are watching the coolant fluid right now... It's decreased an inch in 90 minutes and it's not even turned on!

All of the rubber is banjaxed to be fair, we did you seal up the sun roof permanently cause it had a water leak, but I'm guessing it's age causing the rubber to perish.


Grrrr. Its not the end of the world of course, we are safe etc, but it's frustrating. We have had no luck with it.
 
cheeryplatypus said:
I blew the head gasket in our shogun a few years ago and didn't get much change from £1300 :(

If I'd known the reason for the cold heating and the loss of water (the seal was leaking) I may have avoided blowing it completely.
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At that price I'd expect you had a new head fitted? It costs no more to replace a gasket that's weeping slightly as one thats badly damaged, however its the damage you can do from continuing to use it thats the big expense to repair.
 
Scarlett said:
Head gasket isn't the big deal that some folk seem to make. Get a few quotes and don't fall for the old 'sucking air through teeth' mechanic who tells you theres no point, they obviously don't need the work. If you've already spent £1300 on it then it's worth spending another few hundred or so on it, at least then you'll know you have a car that's had all the essentials done.
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Yeah we had all the inside engine bits and lots of rubber fixed last summer when we bought it, had both cam belts changed, and 2 new (second hand) batteries in. We rely thought the only thing left for us to do with it to keep on the road for another 2 years was sort the heating/ac system. But maybe it is not too expensive. Giving it to a private mechanic we know now, as we trust him and the dealer is £105 an hour in labour Alone!!
 
travelmad said:
Oh that sounds similar. We are watching the coolant fluid right now... It's decreased an inch in 90 minutes and it's not even turned on!

All of the rubber is banjaxed to be fair, we did you seal up the sun roof permanently cause it had a water leak, but I'm guessing it's age causing the rubber to perish.


Grrrr. Its not the end of the world of course, we are safe etc, but it's frustrating. We have had no luck with it.
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Yep, drove around with water bottles in the car to stop and top it up for a few trips and then it finally guffed out smoke from the exhaust and died. Once fixed it was better than ever though. We thought the frosty winter had ruined the seal as it had been down to -10 that year.
Good luck with yours. I think it's the labour that is really expensive so he replaced the cam while he was in there. If you know a mechanic yours won't cost as much as ours did.
 
OP, what area are you in? I'm in the trade and if you're in Surrey I can recommend a good place to go where you wont be ripped off....
 
Just been quoted close to £500 today for one of my company KA's. Asked whether we could use the head gasket from one of the other cars that we're about to scrap and was told it would be £80 cheaper as most of the cost is the labour rather than the part. That's 3 KAs scrapped this month :(
 
cheeryplatypus said:
I blew the head gasket in our shogun a few years ago and didn't get much change from £1300 :(

If I'd known the reason for the cold heating and the loss of water (the seal was leaking) I may have avoided blowing it completely.
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Me too, only in my freelander!! loved that car! now got a vw passat!

was drivinf around for a good week with no heating, i thought it was the heater or something, apparently the head was twisted/warped and needed new one, so sold as spares or repairs:(
 
travelmad said:
Oh that sounds similar. We are watching the coolant fluid right now... It's decreased an inch in 90 minutes and it's not even turned on!

All of the rubber is banjaxed to be fair, we did you seal up the sun roof permanently cause it had a water leak, but I'm guessing it's age causing the rubber to perish.


Grrrr. Its not the end of the world of course, we are safe etc, but it's frustrating. We have had no luck with it.
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If the coolant level has dropped that much in that time without the engine running, you've got more problems than the gasket!

I was quoted £200 to fit a head gasket to my car, it depends on the engine as to how much the parts cost, some gasket sets are over £100. If you haven't overheated it, you might get away without a skim, but probably as well to get it checked.
 
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In a car that age, it won't be long 'till the next thing goes - they tend to "cascade." I had an old Landcruiser (username:rolleyes:) with very low mileage that I threw good money after bad at for a couple of years 'till the big end went and I gave up. Thousands, it cost me, and ended up as scrap. I should have cut my losses when the heater matrix went causing it to keep overheating, or maybe when the fly wheel came off the front of the engine, taking out the brakes and power steering as I was going down the outside of a steep hairpin bend with no barrier:eek:
 
Mitsubishi's are awful for this. I've had 2 shoguns and both went. The head gasket will be the guts of £2K (if you go to Mitsubuishi) but the real issue is the other damage caused. You may have to replace the pump etc. I then had one go in a Chrysler (bad run) and had this fixed (1K) but then the water temp gauge never really settled at one level and so I p- ex'd it.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but in my (considerable) experience, go to a garage and trade it in. They will warranty it for the next peeps and can fix it far cheaper as most of the costs are labour. x x x
 
The issues with old vehicles is that anything can go but treat them as a meccano kit in which anything can be replaced.
Get a compression test done on each cylinder before doing anything to check if the pistons need attention. Also after the new head gasket is fitted to check all is o.k. The danger is that their may be other issues developing. May be worthwhile finding out the cost of a completley refurbished engine as that way you will know you have a good engine in it.
 
Google something called 'Steel Seal', they have their own website.

Head gasket went on my Fiesta, paid about £70 in total for the stuff and labour. Has been driving like a dream ever since. Rather than £500+.

And there I'd usually a money back guarantee :)
 
Many years ago I had a gorgeous bright yellow mgf trophy … head gasket went (as do most mg’s so I believe) cost me £900 and that was about 8-10 years ago? Had it replaced … 6 months later someone crashed into me – it went off for repair and when they dropped it off they said you do know your head gasket has gone don’t you? I part ex’d it, ditched the car in their car park and got my new one and drove off very quickly lol !!!! :eek:
 
Fumes from a bust head gasket? Coolant disappearing in 90 minutes even though "not switched on"?

Second opinion is something that springs to mind....

One of the tell-tale signs of a bust head gasket is air bubbles coming up through the cooland in the coolant reservoid. Remove the filler cap (when cold, not when hot!), rev the engine and look for the air bubbles. There may also be cooland staining inside the engine bay where it has blown out of the over flow.

That amount of coolant must be going somewhere, but where? The heater might be a separate issue and confusing the diagnosis.
 
Charlie Bucket said:
Google something called 'Steel Seal', they have their own website.

Head gasket went on my Fiesta, paid about £70 in total for the stuff and labour. Has been driving like a dream ever since. Rather than £500+.

And there I'd usually a money back guarantee :)
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^^^^^ We have just this done on our elderly Frontera - under £50!
Were quoted £3-400 for a new HG, just not worth it
 
My hubby's 20 year-old Mazda bongo had a head gasket go. He had heard the tell-tale bubbling noise and it stunk - it's the coolant boiling - and the engine overheated. The heat made the hoses perish and it leaked everywhere. Initially he fixed some leaky hoses himself then replaced the coolant which took him a whole day. But it bubbled again.
He went to a local garage (NOT a main dealer - they charge double for labour) and it turned out the cylinder head was cracked too. So you need to find out if this has happened as it will cost more to fix it - I think it depends whether you've been driving round in it bust!
He got a reconditioned part off ebay for about £400 and the garage fitted it. It cost about £800 in all. So worth doing really. The car was only worth about £1500 but he had another year out of it then traded it in for another one the same age with less miles.

There are plenty of internet forums which will help you. Bear in mind though the hoses/seals will be perishing on a car that age - my hubby is forever under his 'new' one fixing a leak of some kind!
 
Thanks for info everyone, it's with a trusted local mechanic now and he thinks the dealer may be incorrect but I'm waiting for his diagnosis ... Fingers crossed! Will use the info from all of you in my chat with him :)
 
noblesteed said:
My hubby's 20 year-old Mazda bongo had a head gasket go.
He went to a local garage and it turned out the cylinder head was cracked too.
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Mazda Bongos are renowned for overheating, leading to blown headgaskets going and the cylinder head cracking. The Bongofury forum is full of Bongo owners with this problem and the subsequent obsession with temperature gauges that follows.

Our 1998 one did the same. We paid £900 for an exchange engine to be fitted by a garage in Dagenham.

OH then fitted a Mason temperature alarm/gauge and for a long while we were OCD about the temperature when driving. Soon as the temperature rose, the heater went on full blast hot and the windows got opened fully.

Driving it normally again now but it took a year or so to trust it.
 
Hoping its the water pump! Secondhand, low mileage japanese engines can be quite cheap as the japanese like to change engines at 30,000 miles
 
Scarlett said:
OP, what area are you in? I'm in the trade and if you're in Surrey I can recommend a good place to go where you wont be ripped off....
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Out of interest, and sorry to hijack OP, but what would you quote for:
a clutch
2 rear shocks
cam belt

on a legacy? These will be done separately but interested to have a figure in mind when ringing round for quotes :)

OP if you do decide to get another vehicle don't discount pick-ups as they are great vehicles and are brilliant for towing as well as having loads of room for your gear ;)
 
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