Rover 25 (1999 - 2005) - 03 1.4 possible head gasket

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Sat 22 Aug 2009 13:38
03 1.4 possible head gasket - delteach1
Came home from holiday and the engine would not turn rolled backwards in 4th and pistons turned then re tryed it flew round and came up on 2 cylinders with plent of white smoke from exhaust eventually came up onto 4 and ran even still small amount of smoke bottle was very low on water . The car was running fine before we went away however did have to refill the expansion tank recently am I correct in thinking Head Gasket if so anybody know the cost to repair these days been a while since I have had to take one in

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 22/08/2009 at 16:35

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Sat 22 Aug 2009 15:47
53 1400 possible head gasket - Peter.N.
Sounds like the problem. Nothing is cheap at a garage nowadays and head gaskets particularly because of the ammount of dismantling you need to do just to get at it. I would suggest you get some quotes, a recommended independent is best. Of course by far the cheapest way is to do it yourself.
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Sat 22 Aug 2009 17:29
53 1400 possible head gasket - polecat10
I recently paid £250 for a head gasket on a diesel renault Kangoo, included a skim.
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Sat 22 Aug 2009 20:15
53 1400 possible head gasket - Wurzel83
These engines are prone to HG failure.

Symptoms are - loss of coolant, sludge in the coolant, mayonase under the oil filler cap, poor starting, white smoke and pressure in the expansion tank.

When it happened to me, I left it a couple of months and ended up with a ticking cam shaft so best to get some quotes ASAP. I would imagine £300+.

Also check for leaks from the water pump area first.
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Sat 22 Aug 2009 23:39
53 1400 possible head gasket - davecuk
Hydraulic lock in the cylinders coupled with battery that might be lower than normal after a holiday, plus the other symptoms....definitely head gasket.
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Sun 30 Aug 2009 10:59
53 1400 possible head gasket - Dr Dave
Cheap repair - if the head is serviceable with no fire ring marks then there is no need for any expensive skimming of the face. Budget around £250-£300, depending upon your location.
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