Corsa 1.0 12v Head Gasket Change

[chrisbakeruk]

Ok so I haven't been on here before but I've been told forums are the way to go so...

So my XReg Corsa 1l 12v has had a coolant leak (which I think is now fixed), which in turn has caused the car to overheat, and blown the head gasket... now I have an oil cap full with mayo, puffing out too much smoke, loss of power, and burning coolant...

I'm still very new to cars, but I'm quite good with my hands and so I'm going to give this ago on the weekend (garage quoted me £650). Any useful tips and tricks, or general advice for changing the head gasket? I've never done anything like it before!

Heres what I've ordered so far:

• Haynes Manual
  Head Gasket Set: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120917708159? ... 1497.l2649
  Timing Tools: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261364130485? ... 1497.l2649
  Coolant
  Oil
  ...I already have various jacks, spanners, screw drivers, torque wrenches, and swear words...

Also been checking this for head bolt torques: http://www.carrepairdata.com/service/re ... xe/973/40/

Thanks for the help
Chris B

[johnny]

You may change the chain aswell since your taking it off,

The head will need skimmed and pressure tested by professionals not cheap cowboys that do it wrong, New head bolts are a must, 650 isn't a bad price tbh I charge between 6-800 for a headgasket change on them ecotec engines depending on how much I'm changing, it's not cheap but can be done for a couple hundred with cheap parts, but I don't recommend buying cheap parts for the HG

[chrisbakeruk]

Thanks Johnny, do I just take the top part of the head to my local garage for skimming and pressure test?

[andy w]

the top part is normally the part that warps

[johnny]

You take the full head to an engineer workshop, you will need to look around for somewhere that does head work

[chrisbakeruk]

Thanks Guys, think I've found somewhere to get it skimmed now!

The gasket kit arrived in the post today, is it normal for them to be quite thin? seems like it's made of two layers of thin metal?

Cheers
Chris B

[johnny]

Yeah they compress together and form a weld bond, that's why the torque is so important to the HG

[chrisbakeruk]

Awesome, thanks! Will let you know how it goes...

[chrisbakeruk]

Do you guys suggest removing the valves for skimming or do you think I might get away with leaving them in?

[johnny]

Leave them in, needs to be in for pressure test

[Teastick]

This happened to me. Turned out cheaper for me to replace full engine lol

[chrisbakeruk]

Ok so 12 hours straight, managed to get down to the timing cover, will see what tomorrow brings...

[johnny]

This happened to me. Turned out cheaper for me to replace full engine lol

It normally is when dealing with common small engine's but he already had bought the kit so was to late to tell him:lol: it's good to learn anyway

[Teastick]

True. I would have rather fixed it myself if i could have done it cheaper

[chrisbakeruk]

Hey Guys, got the head off, head gasket looks fine, however the timing cover/water pump gasket looks really warped, could this be causing the problem? Any tips?