95 Vw Golf

[Anto7]

How much would it cost to have the gasket replaced?

[Mass_Hysteria]

If you've got the tools, about £30 DIY, if not add labour at a garage, 1 hour £40ish

[Mass_Hysteria]

link to DIY

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-GOLF-Mk3-POLO-CADDY-1-4-1-6-8V-94-01-HEAD-GASKET-SET-/130353294828

[Anto7]

Really Mass-H? I was told it would cost about £1000 to replace.

[ChuckFickens]

it might help to give a decent answer if you said which of the hundred or so gaskets on a car you are asking about....

[Mass_Hysteria]

What exactly is wrong with it that £1000 will fix?!!

[Anto7]

How much will it cost to replace the gasket? If there is more than one I didn;t know that.

[ChuckFickens]

There are hundreds of gaskets on a car... but assuming you are asking about the head gasket, you also need to say exactly what engine the golf has in it as replacing the head gasket on a basic 4 cylinder engine is going to be a lot lot cheaper than replacing the head gasket on a VR6 engine.

Also, MH suggestion of DIY isn't really a practical one, if you don't know there is more than one gasket on a car then replacing the head gasket is way beyond your skills.

[Mass_Hysteria]

Chuck, my suggestion was for the main head gasket, I know there are others and probably the OP won't have the expertise to DIY.

Anto, I think you need to tell us which gasket, there are many, and maybe then we could possibly advise.
I would also say that for a '95 Golf, £1000 for a gasket change would maybe make me look for another car!

[Anto7]

I didn't know there was so many gaskets, Thanks

[Anto7]

Just to say the car passed the MOT test, would the tester not spot that a gasket would need replacement?

[Anto7]

I don't know if the mechanic is trying to rip me off?

[Mass_Hysteria]

That's not part of the MOT test Anto.
MOT is to make sure the car is fit to drive and not a danger to you or anybody else, not whether it has a leak or 2?

[Anto7]

but don't they check for things like that M_H?

[Mass_Hysteria]

No Anto, that would be covered in a service by the garage.

The garage should have given you a list of what they check for in the MOT, anything else is not checked.

I will check in tomorrow evening for an update, now I need sleep.
Goodnight

[Anto7]

From what I understand an MOT is to check out everything that is wrong with the car and to inform the owner of the work that needs doing.

The 95 golf was passed, but they didn't see a leaking gasket, how come?

[gingejbee]

NO. You've been told....an MOT does NOT tell you everything that is wrong with a car.....

[jake-the-peg]

Anto,

You have a gasket wherever one part of an engine is bolted to another, the gasket forms a good seal and makes sure there are no leaks.

Of all these gaskets the biggest is the head gasket. The engine is in two halves the bottom half or 'block' that the pistons go up and down in hast the top half or 'head' bolted to it.

This is a very important join, coolant , oil gasses all are kept in place and seperate by this gasket. If it fails coolant and oil can mix, and get into the combustion chambers.

Often when the head gasket fails the car will overheat and unless that's spotted quickly and you stop driving it the head can warp and will no longer fit the block properly.

You've seen that the gasket itself is cheap - the problem is that fitting it is a big job. The oil and water need to be drained, the timing belt will be removed (and almost certainly replaced), exhaust, fuel injection and other ancillaries disconnected and the head removed. Chances are the head will be slightly warped and have to be sent to an engineering shop to be skimmed (a thin layer of steel removed to make it flat again) and the whole thing put back together again with a new head gasket.

Shop around for quotes though - my nephew recently neede a head gasket replacement on a 16v Astra and most quotes were £8-1200 but a local garage quoted £4-600 and they did a brilliant job - you may not be that lucky but it pays to shop around.

When you ask - ask them whether the quote includes having the head skimmed if it's warped to avoid someone quoting you a low figure and then saying - oh sorry the head needed to be sent away

Best of luck

[Graham-W]

Just had the head gasket done on 1.9 tdi Skoda.
The head needed skimming and to skim the head you need to remove the valves. Therefore the valves needed reseating and grinding in.
Total cost for labour, cambelt and pulleys, new cylinder head bolts, head refurbishment and the dreaded VAT: £987.
You could cut corners and not have the head refurbished but the gasket could go again next week!

[BlueToffee]

May I suggest that you avoid a Main Dealer and use a VW specialist.

I have driven VWs for a long time, always used the specialist over the franchised dealer and saved myself £££££'s

[jake-the-peg]

Oh you didn't say how you know the head gasket needed replacement.

People will tell you 'mayonaise in the oil' this means that coolant is getting into the oil and producing a white creamy deposit you can see in the oil filler - it's not the only sign.

Commonly the car will overheat badly and lose coolant. as it leaks into the cylinders when running. if you start the car *FROM COLD* and remove the coolant bottle top (do not do this when it's hot you will get burnt) and start the car, when it starts to warm up the radiator will start to get warm afer a few minutes and then you may be able to smell exhaust gasses in the coolant bottle or see bubbles - that's a dead give away.

The best way to be sure is for a garage to pressure test it but if you've exaust gasses in the coolant bottle that's pretty sure