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Head gasket; Screwed
Topic Started: Mon May 30, 2016 10:29 pm (821 Views)
Buggs1
Newbie
[ * ]
Hiya guys, it's Buggs. Hope you're all well.
HELP HELP! Big problem with my car, seems the head gasket has failed again. I've lost all coolant and I tried topping up with water and poured in 8 litres and still it didn't fill. I turned the engine on and water started pouring out of the exhaust.

Does anybody know where I can have it repaired..? It does start but only runs on 3 cylinders. Have I killed my car??? ^o)
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Buggs1
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I'm not a newbie, haha. I had to re-register, I forgot my login details
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Chunk
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Spammer Zapper

Where abouts are you?
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Buggs1
Newbie
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I'm in west London, Harrow.
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Toff190
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190 Mob Member and a Wise Guy.
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Alright Buggs, how's it going mate.

Definitely sounds like the head needs to come off to know exactly what's wrong. Hopefully it's just a head gasket and not anything more serious.

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Toff190
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190 Mob Member and a Wise Guy.
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When you say failed again, when was the head gasket last replaced?

If it's resent then there's a problem with a cracked head or it wasn't fitted right in the first place.
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Buggs1
Newbie
[ * ]
Hello sir, hope you're well.
It was done may 9 or 10 years ago my an independent Mercedes specialist. I've now made the car SORN and hoping someone can fix it. Are there any good mechanics who could possibly swap the engine over?.

I'm stuck on what to do.
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Gaz2N
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Old Merc nutter
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Assuming you've used the correct Coolant and changed it regularly youv'e been unlucky for it to only last 9-10 years. That said most new cars wont last that long in total!

Depending on mileage/condition I would stick with the original engine, as you can easily end up in a worse position You know how your engine has been serviced but you wouldn't on a used unit. I faced the same dilemma some years ago and sourced a low mileage replacement engine (which wasn't cheap), however it wouldn't run properly once fitted. It turned out that it had been sitting around in damp conditions for some time and had internal corrosion. I ended up with a huge bill of about 10 times the cars value!

I can recommend Steve Griffin in Redditch but obviously you'd need to trailer the car to him.

Hope that helps.

Good luck!

Gary
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stwat
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Hi Buggs. Sorry to read about your woes.

I can reset the password to your old account and PM it to you through this account if you want. You can then reset the password to whatever you want.

let me know.
Edited by stwat, Tue May 31, 2016 9:06 pm.
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Buggs1
Newbie
[ * ]
Thank you Gary- Gaz2N, that's good advice.
My engine has done 194,000 and was running so sweet . . .then this happened all of a sudden. I'll have to arrange a trailer to get the car there. Any idea how much a head gasket and possibly skimming would be? George Fraser did mine last time at a huge price of £1200
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Buggs1
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Hiya Stwat, yes please that would be great to have my old account working again.
Thank you.
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stwat
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PM sent. :)
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Toff190
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190 Mob Member and a Wise Guy.
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Buggs1
Tue May 31, 2016 11:46 pm
Thank you Gary- Gaz2N, that's good advice.
My engine has done 194,000 and was running so sweet . . .then this happened all of a sudden. I'll have to arrange a trailer to get the car there. Any idea how much a head gasket and possibly skimming would be? George Fraser did mine last time at a huge price of £1200
Around £800 - £1200 on average. Me and a mate done mine, very straightforward job.

I'm not 100% sure but I think you can only skim a head so much so if yours already been skimmed you might have problems.
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Buggs1
Newbie
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Oh no. .I really hope it doesn't need skimming then. Fingers crossed it's a simple fix.
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jeremy
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Too Far Gone To Help
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Watcha Buggs, apart from the car hows it hanging?

Jeremy
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Gaz2N
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Old Merc nutter
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Buggs1
Tue May 31, 2016 11:46 pm
Thank you Gary- Gaz2N, that's good advice.
My engine has done 194,000 and was running so sweet . . .then this happened all of a sudden. I'll have to arrange a trailer to get the car there. Any idea how much a head gasket and possibly skimming would be? George Fraser did mine last time at a huge price of £1200
I guess the cost will be dependent on the condition of the head. If it needs welding, skimming and maybe work to the valve guides and seals then it will be more. I guess at that mileage it would also be prudent to change the chain / tensioner and guides too.

I think it's a dangerous thing advising on costs with cars of this age and mileage. Until the heads off who knows what will be found!

Gary
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Buggs1
Newbie
[ * ]
Hiya Jeremy. . .apart from the car all is well thank you.
Yourself?
.
.I'm thinking I may just sell the car .😨
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Buggs1
Newbie
[ * ]
Thank you Gary. There is a good Mercedes guy in Buckinghamshire, not too far from me who will give the car a once over and quote for repairs. If its too high then may have to say goodbye to it.
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optimusprime
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Part of things
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Go for an engine , from a member on the forum .Then you will know if its a good one .So i would ask on here .
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Buggs
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BUGGS
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Thank you. That may be a better option than getting an engine from somebody random
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pratishk
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Buggs1
Tue Jun 7, 2016 6:36 pm
Thank you Gary. There is a good Mercedes guy in Buckinghamshire, not too far from me who will give the car a once over and quote for repairs. If its too high then may have to say goodbye to it.
how did it go ? my head gasket went on Thursday also based in harrow, not too sure who to go to and trust to know what theyre doing as it needs a fine eye for detail shims etc
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hitenb
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Addicted
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pratishk
Sun Jul 1, 2018 12:17 pm
Buggs1
Tue Jun 7, 2016 6:36 pm
Thank you Gary. There is a good Mercedes guy in Buckinghamshire, not too far from me who will give the car a once over and quote for repairs. If its too high then may have to say goodbye to it.
how did it go ? my head gasket went on Thursday also based in harrow, not too sure who to go to and trust to know what theyre doing as it needs a fine eye for detail shims etc
I recommend AutoFix London - back of Kingsbury, speak to a chap called Paresh.

He's got a wealth of experience with W124s and W201s.

Decent bloke.
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horatio
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I go to Wayne Gates round the corner from Harrow & Wealdstone station. Excellent indy. You can no doubt find someone who can do it cheaper but you def won't have any doubts about their work.

I had a cheap HG done by a mate-of-mate mechanic years back. It's lasted but I wish I had paid up for a specialist to do a quality job with skim, guides etc - I know it will have to be done again properly soon. False economy :-/
Edited by horatio, Fri Jul 6, 2018 12:26 pm.
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