Head Gasket

HI there, my 993cc 1995 hijet is not well at all. It was overheating very quickly. i was told it was the head gasket. i put a new gasket in and gave it all a good clean. but it's still doing the same thing. i think the head may be warped or cracked. so i'm going to try to have it re-skimmed.

I had a lot of help from a friend before but now its all down to me. I'd be greatful of any tips or hints. Or maybe even a new head if anyone's got one spare! Cheers

Neil

Hi, I'd send it off to a proper cylinder head repairer, they will tell you if it's warped, they might be able to pressure test it too then you'd know if it has cracked, mine cracked due to overheating, as soon as I had stripped down it I could see the crack straight away across the top from the water channel into the chamber just behind the exhaust valve, took me months to find a replacement, rocking horse s**t, couldn't find one anywhere, car breakers in kent only seemed to have 1.3 versions and they wouldn't have sold me just the head anyway, only the complete engine, eventually managed to find a complete 993 engine on ebay.

this happened a year ago to mine.
head skimming & pressure test £70-80
Head gasket set as you will need a new one- £35
new oil
new plugs

TIPS:
use the manual to tell you what sequence the bolts come out/go in
mark the rotor arm inside the housing BEFORE you remove it when engine is Top dead centre TDC, then mark on the slide bar its position for when you re-fit.
you will need to remove the hand brake & the plate between the seats for better access.
use a clothes peg for the head bolt nearest the back of van, lift it up a bit then peg it.

One of my 993's has been losing water for a while and there's been pressure in the rad next day when re-filling. Supected the head gasket was leaking and over-pressurizing the cooling system and just had that confirmed by a chemical test at local garage.

Am thinking might have to tackle this myself to save pennies, and am grateful to LP for the tips - any more on offer? Is it a certainty that the head will need a skim? I am a reasonably competant but un-qualified engineer (commercial laundry kit mainly) and have swopped engines & gearboxes in the (distant) past but never had to do a HG.

BTW my 1995 993 had this done under warranty and is still going strong (touch wood) 88,500 miles later.

Take your time, make notes and take pictures and keep everything well marked and you'll be fine, it was a pretty straight forward job on the 1300. If you save a couple of cardboard boxes you can push bolts through the card in the same order they come out of things like the headbolts.