A friend has just given me a Peugeot 106 which i'm fairly sure has a knackered head gasket - the cooling system is pressurised, there's mayonaise on the oil filler cap and a fair bit of smoke out of the exhaust, even when the car is warmed up. So HGF a fair assumption, yes?
So I'm wondering whether it's worth having a go at replacing it myself. I've not done a head gasket before, but the engine is simple (it's a 1.1 carb engine) and the job itself doesn't look to bad. So my thinking is remove cam belt, lock camshaft in place with a bolt through the pulley into the head, unbolt exhaust manifold, unbolt inlet manifold, take of head cover, undo head bolts, lift off head. Replace head gasket. Then follow the old Haynes advice, "reassembly is the reverse of removal"? Obviously replacing all gaskets on the way.
Just wondering if i'm way off the mark here, any help would be gratefully appreciated!
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While it is in bits its a good idea to fit a new timing belt to it.
The cam & crank will have holes in them to lock them with pins, bolts or drill bits that fit.
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Probably a good idea to fit new head bolts while your at it. Not sure if the PUG has Stretch bolts if so once untightened they are pretty much useless and need to be thrown.
Also make sure when you remove the head bolts you do it in the correct sequence usually diagonally from the centre (Haynes Manuel will tell you correct sequence) otherwise you could warp the cylinder head.
And when tightening new head bolts up ensure correct torque settings very important otherwise job could be a waste of time.
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Cam belt was changed only 2000 miles ago, so probably will refit that. I know it's not a big expense, but the whole point of the car is that it was free, if i start spending lots on it t defeats the point.
Will use new bolts though. When you buy a head gasket, do you usually get the bolts with it? Seems pointless not to. Have a haynes manual for a Pug 306, the engine looks identical to a 1.4 306 on which i changed the cam belt a couple of weeks ago, so i'll try and cut costs further by using the 306 haynes manual!
Thanks for all your help, any more suggestions always welcome.
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It's never a good idea to re-fit a cambelt because much of the initial yield will have been taken up on the original fitting, but there is no way of knowing how much.
It's therefore good practice to renew a belt whenever the tension is taken off. Also considering the damage that may be caused by belt failure it's always better to be safe than sorry.
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It's an aluminium head.
Check! It almost certainly will be warped = skimming required.
Otherwise new head gasket = waste of time.
Check with a steel straight edge: or get local engineering shop to do so.
madf
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Is it possible to see if a head is warped just with a steel rule? And what sort of cost am I looking at to get the head skimmed?
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Is it possible to see if a head is warped just with a steel rule? And what sort of cost am I looking at to get the head skimmed?
I suppose so, but they can be a bit flimsy. What about a metal spirit-level? I used one when flattening the surface of a sill when I filled a dent.
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head skimming: I would estimate £40-£75.
madf
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I can't help thinking that we are all on the wrong track. "Mayonnaise" on the filler cap does not automatically mean that the head gasket has gone. Before you go to possibly unnecessary expense and considerable trouble, it might be that the car has not had much use. Are you losing coolant? If no, then the gasket is probably ok. I'm surprised that our highly experienced and capable backroomers haven't picked up on this. Mayonnaise and grey smoke may not have anything to do with the head gasket. IF oil and coolant quality is reasonable you could try giving the car a long run. The Mayonnise which we all get so hysterical about may be just a result of condensation. HTH. Mikey.
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Judging by the recent number of these gaskets that we've been changing in our workshop over the last few months (mostly on early 1.1 litre 106's), it seems a fairly common problem. We always have the head skimmed by a local specialist (cost £30) and use a good quality head gasket (such as Unipart or Payen) and never have any further trouble. The head bolts are normally OK to re-use too. Just take care to clean everything really thoroughly, and to not dsturb the cylinder liners. Oh yes, and change the thermostat too - always a shame for you to go to all the trouble of changing the head gasket, only for the thermostat to fail closed afterwards and 'cook' the engine!
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I can't believe how much some people are paying to have heads skimmed. The garage I worked in until recently used to do head gaskets from time to time and we only ever used to pay £20 to have a head skimmed. It only cost a tenner if it was for our own use (the mechanics that is).
And also I had my head gasket done on my Rover Metro, 1.4 gta, K-series engine. Dropped it at the local engine specialist, he did the complete job, picked it up a few days later and it only cost about £170 quid or so. It makes me wonder when I see people quoted prices of £500-£600 to have a head gasket done on a Rover K-series engine exactly how much they are being ripped off.
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Yeah ^ I totally agree Simon ref the K Series engine repair jobs!
We only pay £40+VAT for a skim and pressure test.
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
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Make sure you bleed the system carefully as a lot of hgf,s are caused by this. There are plenty of links to this on this forum see also Citroen for bleeding advise.
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