Ford Fiesta - Blown Head Gasket - Advice Needed Please!!!

[neutronixx]

Hello All,

My Sister has just blown the head gasket on her 2005 Fiesta....basically had a water leak and it ran dry and then the head gasket blew! The garage its at now reckons its a new engine job as water has got into the engine. They are quoting £2.5K to fix. The car is only worth £3K!

Can anyone offer any advice? What are the chances that it needs a new engine?

Is £2.5K a realistic price for new engine?

Does anyone know of anyone in the bristol area they can supply / fit 2nd hand engines and if so what would be the rough cost estimate?

Would it be a better idea just to sell the car as scrap / spares? if so how much would you get for it?

Thanks, any help would be most apprechiated.

Cheers

Dave

[Stoney871]

If water has entered the cylinders then you're looking at piston/rings/valves/crank/etc.

Water doesn't compress like air/fuel does so producing over-pressure in the engine and causing major problems.

Try clearing the system down and fitting a new gasket them be a pressure test on each cylinder to see if the valves and rings are shot or not.

You may be lucky.

[stef123]

Hello and welcome to the forums :)

2.5k to source and fit a new engine is ridiculous, sounds like they don't really want the job.

1k is more like it, £500-£600 for an engine and a days labour. That said, just because coolant has got into the cylinders doesn't mean it's toast! It will need stripping down and inspected.

What engine is in the car?

[neutronixx]

That's kind of the price range I was thinking! Would £600 be for a new engine or 2nd hand? It's a 1.6 petrol. Thanks for the advice!

[stef123]

That's kind of the price range I was thinking! Would £600 be for a new engine or 2nd hand? It's a 1.6 petrol. Thanks for the advice!

That would be for a second hand engine.

[andygayle83]

i blew a head gasket once a rover 218vvc. to skim and ploish head and fit new triple layer gasket cost me £300 including labour. £2.5k sounds high

[xFiestaLoverx]

how do you avoid this happening, what do you look out for?

[stef123]

i blew a head gasket once a rover 218vvc. to skim and ploish head and fit new triple layer gasket cost me £300 including labour. £2.5k sounds high

I think everyone had blown a head gasket in a rover lol.

[Stoney871]

Most cylinder heads are aluminium nowadays, nice for saving weight but more proof to warping and cracking than cast ones.

Rover heads were particularly sensitive, I know of three people who have had it happen.

If an engines cooling system is maintained add working efficiently then all's fine but as soon as they suffer overheating for a sustained time you're looking at about £1000 plus for a rebuild.

Regular servicing and coolant checks are very important.

Keep an eye on your fluid levels and pipework/radiator, if you suspect any problems get it checked asap.

[madmax111]

i have a spare engine for this car in my garage there very common and should not cost more than £200,