Hi all, just found this site and hoping someone here can help us out..
I took my g/f's Corsa to a garage to get it MOT'd last weds, passed no probs so I asked them to change the engine oil while it was there.
On saturday the car stalled and there was oily water spilling out from a hole in the rad and smoke coming out from under the bonnet. I lifted the bonnet and thought it was engine oil everywhere, so after checking the oil level I found there was way too much oil in it. I tried to drive it back to the garage this morning but it died completely on the way. The AA recovered me to the garage where they had a look and told me it needed a new rad costing £209. I pointed out the oil level which he agreed was too high but denied it was related to the engine failure.
I said ok go ahead only to get a call a few hours later to say the head gasket was gone and it would cost another £450 +vat to fix. Haven't given the go ahead to fix this yet.
Question is, can too much oil in the engine cause the head gasket to fail? Also, is £450 plus vat realistic to fix it? Seems high..
The car has a few dents and isn't really worth much but now we have to pay £209 to get a non running car back!
Any help much appreciated.. :-)
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 19/08/2008 at 01:17
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Nick,
Was this an independant garage or a dealer?
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It was an independant garage, just one guy with an apprentice.. Guess which one did the oil change!
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Hi,
To be fair to the garage, the probable cause of the blown head gasket would have been caused by overheating, which would have been caused by the hole in the radiator.
Does the car have a temp gauge on the dash cluster? If not, the car would probably have been driven without coolant, which has cooked the cyl head and gasket.
I know it's a coincidence that the oil had just been changed AND that the oil level was higher than it should have been, but in this case, i do not think it is related.
With regards to cost, about 4-5 hours labour at whatever the garage rate is, plus the cost of parts and a cyl head skim and pressure test.
Without knowing the garage labour rate I could,nt say but £450 + vat is a bit on the high side.
Don't you know any mechanics who could do it as a home job? Would be much cheaper
James
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Hi,
I forgot to add that as the oil and water have mixed due to the blown head gasket, it IS possible that this is the cause of the oil level being too high and not overfilled at the garage.
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>>I forgot to add that as the oil and water have mixed due to the blown head gasket, it IS possible that this is the cause of the oil level being too high and not overfilled at the garage.
I was just about to post that you level may be higher due to water getting into the oil. Do you know how much water has been lost or how creamy the oil was.
I doubt that an overfill of oil would have anything to do with the headgasket anyway - it would more likely damage seals/bearings/piston rings etc due to increased resistance and pressure.
Its also possible the headgasket has just worn and blown (K series owner here so it does happen!!) and then the added pressure in the cooling system has popped an ageing rad.
Why would you have to pay the garage for the rad if they havent fitted it? Surely they havent spent £209 worth of labour by draining the water and checking the oil?
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Why would you have to pay the garage for the rad if they havent fitted it? Surely they havent spent £209 worth of labour by draining the water and checking the oil?
He said he has already fitted the new rad and he had to do this to test the system..
Thanks to all for the replies.
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Why would you have to pay the garage for the rad if they havent fitted it? Surely they havent spent £209 worth of labour by draining the water and checking the oil?
He said he has already fitted the rad because he needed to test everything. There wasn't any water left in the system as it had all come out.
Thanks to you and everyone else for the replies.
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