Vauxhall Corsa C - Blown head gasket

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Mon 23 Jun 2014 23:40
Vauxhall Corsa C - Blown head gasket - ppelsb

The head gasket on my 54 reg, 53k miles 1.2 Vauxhall Corsa has 'blown' after the engine overheating due to a water pipe coming loose.

I have the car under a third party warranty company, which came with the car from the dealership I bought it from. The initial quote I received from my local garage was around £100 for new spark plugs, oil filters etc, as warranty will cover the head gasket and all of the labour. They did not start the work as they needed to agree a price with the warranty company.

After not hearing from the garage for 4 days, I phoned up, and now they are quoting me over a thousand pounds for a new water pump, timing belt, skimming, spark plugs, oil change etc, aswell as £200 for a 'pressure check'?!

I'm a 17 year old boy with a good part time job, so £1000 isn't completely out of my price range, however would be a significant set back!

Essentially, my question to the forum is, is it worth paying an extra thousand pounds to get this job done, or are the garage trying to get me to pay for work that doesn't need doing?

Also, is there any merit in pursuing the dealership that I bought it from only 3 months ago?

Thanks for reading
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 Jun 2014 00:21
Vauxhall Corsa C - Blown head gasket - Manatee

If the head is coming off then it probably makes sense to change the water pump and timing belt. But that list of parts and the bit of extra labour don't add up to anywhere near £1000, so are they saying that the HGF is not covered by the warranty?

If by pressure check they mean a cooling system pressure test I can't see why that would cost anywhere near £200 either, or even why you would want one unless you still had coolant loss after the HG has been done. But then I'm not a real mechanic, maybe somebody else can explain it.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 Jun 2014 01:03
Vauxhall Corsa C - Blown head gasket - ppelsb
Yes, warranty are paying for head gasket and the labour of fitting the head gasket, fortunately :)
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 Jun 2014 10:11
Vauxhall Corsa C - Blown head gasket - scotmech

"Pressure Check" will be cylinder head pressure test ...

If the car has been driven far whilst it was short of water the head will have "Roasted" ...

This will warp and crack the head and a Pressure Test would be required ...

I have been retired quite a few years now and I am out of touch with prices but £1000 plus seems expensive ...

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 Jun 2014 11:14
Vauxhall Corsa C - Blown head gasket - Manatee

"Pressure Check" will be cylinder head pressure test ...

OK, didn't think of that (slaps forehead). But that's part of the HGF repair then, so should be down to the warranty claim?

I had the cylinder head done on my MX5 a couple of years ago. None of the valves sealed at all, compression was virtually nil. It was rebuilt by a local specialist on a "do what needs doing but don't bother beyond that" basis and came back with a bill for £250 IIRC so I was well pleased with that (they only did the head work, not the removal and refitting).

www.corrycylinderheads.co.uk/

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 25 Jun 2014 14:26
Vauxhall Corsa C - Blown head gasket - Robin the Technician

Hi,

I thought the Corsa C 1.2 engine had a timing chain like the 1.4? If that's the case then there would be no need to change it. Clarification with the garage is needed. Also, if it is a chain driven engine and the water pump was not leaking I wouldn't change it. To change it in the future is far easier with a chain driven engine than driven via the timing belt.

Hope this helps

Robin the Technician - I fix, therefore I am

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 26 Jun 2014 14:13
Vauxhall Corsa C - Blown head gasket - brumex1

1.2 defo has a timing chain not belt

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

10 warranty myths exposed

Here’s how to sort the fact from the fiction when it comes to car warranties.

Cheap Car Warranties