on a car these days!I am thinking back to the days when you could replace a head gasket for about $100. I am going back to the days of my youth and that was a long while ago :-)
morrisman1,
May 26, 6:16am
Time. I could probably have the head off a morris minor in less than 15 minutes but on a modern vehicle, some might be up to 3-4 hours
cuda.340,
May 26, 6:29am
because most cars have alloy heads so they have to be stripped before being planed & then reassembled etc.if you don't plane the alloy head, chances are you'll be doing the job again real soon
gammelvind,
May 26, 6:37am
Plus the charge out rate at that time was probably $15 an hour.
clanky,
May 26, 6:51am
Just a question for all those in the know - why do so many head gaskets fail in NZ! Only problem cars back in UK were 4.2 litre jag engines, which were notorious for overheating. Seems like every cheap(ish) car/van/ute for sale on TM has a munted head gasket. Why not everywhere else in the world!
mugenb20b,
May 26, 7:05am
V6 Ford Escape takes around 6 hours.
mugenb20b,
May 26, 7:09am
In Europe, Citroens, Fiats and VWs blow head gaskets just as frequent as Jap stuff over here. Keep in mind, that NZ has got one of if not the highest number of cars per capita in the world.
franc123,
May 26, 7:29am
Thats easy, because the average age of vehicles here is relatively old and very few people maintain them correctly. Coolant changes every 2-3 years and radiator rod outs every 4-6 would reduce it substantially.Some gaskets just die of old age but its usually the result of engines running too hot for too long,for a whole variety of reasons, or being run out of water completely due to a hose or water pump or plastic radiator tank that should have been replaced years ago letting go.
snoopy221,
May 26, 7:55am
Engine deign has changed. The cost of a head gasket on a top outlet thermostatted engine which can boil and yet retain some coolant. Compared to a bottom hose thermostatted engine which boils COMPLETELY dry causing cylnder head dissasembly and straightening- And the non resuable head bolts used nowadays adds CONSIDERABLE costing.
kazbanz,
May 26, 8:59am
Its simple -cars in NZ are still on the road10 even 15 years after they have become mouldering heaps of rust back in the uk
tonyrockyhorror,
May 26, 10:39am
Mostly lack of cooling system maintenance.
tigra,
May 26, 10:45am
Which begs the question why arent radiator/heater hoses inspected at the same time as WoF's are done! Just as important as some of the nit picking things that are on the WoF schedule.
tonyrockyhorror,
May 26, 10:47am
Not important from a safety PoV.
tigra,
May 26, 10:52am
Yes I know though if an overheated engine suddenly seized at 100km that could be. Surely just as important as some moisture in a foglight, that i got turned down for recently
richynuts,
May 26, 11:07am
Norwesters on a hot summers days in canterbury probably caused its fair share of blown headgaskets.
elect70,
May 26, 11:15am
Alloy heads & castiron blocks ,2 different metals with different expansion rates!Is itless common on all alloy motors & all iron motors !
tonyrockyhorror,
May 26, 11:28am
It's not going to suddenly seize from sudden coolant loss or even loss of oil pressure. And even if it does, the steering just gets heavy (unless it's an electric P/S pump).
Moisture in a lamp housing, however, not only affects the beam for vehicles you are following and heading toward, it can mean an instant failure of that lamp. In the case of a motorcycle, that could be fatal on a dark country road. And given how many oblivious idiots drive around with only one headlamp anyway, loss of the second could mean the same.
franc123,
May 26, 11:45am
A good inspector would point out if a cooling system component was starting to leak if it was obvious during the course of the engine bay or underbody inspections, otherwise cooling system inspections are a MAINTENANCE issue, the inspector is under no obligation to do so. WOF's are merely a snapshot of a vehicles safety compliance and nothing else. Why this is such a foreign concept to people and they pay such little attention to a complex mechanical device that they are almost totally dependent on for transport is anyones guess. Besides the compulsory replacement of cooling system parts because an inspector thought that failure was imminent would generate even more whinging from the public even though you were probably doing them a favour.
sas777,
May 26, 1:11pm
Absolutely agree. I bought a vehicle (BMW 525) in Germany in the late eighties and got with it the checksheet for the latest 2 yearly TÜV it had recently passed. The list was the size above A4 with small print detailing all the checks. Heaps of stuff. Cooling system was definitely regarded as important - if not for the car creating dangerous mechanical issues it was to stop stranded passengers walking along the Autobahn. At least some of that logic could apply in NZ
friendly_prawn,
May 26, 2:42pm
look under the bonnet of say an old xa falcon, then go look under the bonnet of a late model Honda.That should give you the answer.
Cars used to be simple to work on, any idiot could fix them. I used to do nearly all my own work on the older cars. Now days just one look under the bonnet can be frightening.
So much crap to remove before you even get near the head.
russ18,
May 26, 2:52pm
Yep, I used to be able to maintain and fix anything on my cars now I open the bonnet and just point at all this stuff"like what the hell is that thing!"
friendly_prawn,
May 26, 3:01pm
One day Im going to grab an old xa falcon sw or maybe even just an old toyota corrolla sw and keep it as my daily runner.Might not have all the mod cons but at least if I break down on the side of the road, chances are I'll be up and running again pretty quickly. with these modern cars your screwed. Only thing you can do is ring a tow truck.
movnon,
May 26, 7:46pm
yet to hear of an engine seizing at that speed without some sort of prior warning (mind you they dont call them idiot lights for no reason!)
pollymay,
May 26, 7:57pm
Can do my honda prelude headgasket in 2 hours. Would take me 1.5 if I had the autotensioner compression tool.
The thing I find funny is I moved all the vacuum hoses to make that possible. They used to string between the block and the intake like spaghetti for no reason at all so I moved all the ones I could to the intake side and bolted things to the intake rather than having the hose go to the intake then the little VSV bolted to the block. Can literally now just pull off a couple hoses, unplug the loom in 5 minutes then start undoing bolts. No idea why the factory made stuff all over the place, didn't exactly take that much thought on my part and I'm a guy in a garage.
bubbles244,
May 26, 8:02pm
Ive had an engine sieze at 100 kph.it was shortly preceded by the number 5 piston vacating the engine block and lodging itself between the chassi rail and the body work
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.