some friends have just had the headgasket replaced by a trader that recently sold them the car
i had a quick look over it and notice theyve reused the old headbolts
should the 1100 k series have new bolts fitted or is it just a reccomendation?
|
|
Always always always replace headbolts on a K series.
|
would you consider rejecting the job on the basis they used the old ones?
id not be best pleased if it was mine
|
They are stretch bolts, they only stretch once, not twice!
|
>>They are stretch bolts, they only stretch once, not twice!
That's not always the case. The terminology "stretch bolt" is a bit misleading - all bolts stretch when tensioned, the only difference in this case (and most head bolts of the last 20 years) is that they don't fully recover their original length when you take them out again.
However, as mentioned in a previous post by Screwloose, any serious garage should replace the bolts to avoid any doubt.
Usually, there's a length tolerance, beyond which, the bolts should not be re-used. If the bolt is within tolerance, it's perfectly OK to use them again. However, once the bolt is re-installed, there's no way of telling whether they were actually OK or not.
|
|
|
|
The head has been off my 214 twice and not had new bolts. Up to 140,000 now as well
|
Personally I dont give the customer the option on these. New bolts every time plus a water pump and thermostat. Also on the 1.8 version I only use the latest generation head set from Land-Rover and fit the modified ladder to the bottom end which stops the block flexing which is a major contributor to the "gasket" failing.
|
would you expect to get the car back from a garage with the rocker /head internals cleaned out and the coolant system clear like a new car?
theyve made no attempt to clean the rocker cover insides and the coolant is pure brown
i assumed they would do whatever it takes to flush the rubbish out
ive told the owner to complain
|
|
Tyical trader buying doing a very bad job just sell the car, I wouldn't be surprised if it also needed skimming. 1k down the line the owner will probably need a new HG.
|
yes rattle im thinking just the same myself
the car is pretty much worthless now as we cant trust the job thats been done and its not worth paying out again to have it done properly
glad i can do these kind of jobs myself on my own vehicles...so many cowboys out there lol
Edited by steveo3002 on 27/09/2008 at 13:25
|
I suspect that the dealer used a 'trade mechanic' to do the job.
These chaps can do a cheap job and still earn a good living. They know all the bodges and shortcuts going and aren't to keen to do work that the dealer won't pay for.
One often hears about 'round the world' motoring trips and how the resourceful local mechanic saved the day - for peanuts. It goes on here all the time.
|
|
|
|
"theyve made no attempt to clean the rocker cover insides and the coolant is pure brown"
My neighbour runs his own small garage and told me this morning he had spent several hours just flushing and cleaning a K series engine this week to get the block & cooling system clean, before starting on the head gasket..... and he only ever uses new stretch bolts.
|
I reused the headbolts on my girlfriend car as they didnt see it as worth spending alot of money on, anyway I rebuild the engine and cleaned out ALL the water galleries, new water pump, new cam belt and lots of flushing!
So far it appears to be fine, that was 5 months ago.
Head bolts are recommended to be replaced but not always a must, personally I would on my own car - hearing head bolts snap makes you feel sick
|
|
If the rockers are still covered in Gloy and the coolant is filthy I wouldn't be surprised if the HG 'repair' was actually 3 or 4 bottles of Radweld....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
