Head gasket gone. Maybe :mad:

rebel rebel · 23 Dec 2011 at 16:12

Hello, just a quick question for any mechanics here. I have a Saab 900 2.0i S N reg. Last night it overheated on the way home so I had to leave it in the petrol station overnight. Went to pick it up today and the aa guy said he thinks the head gasket has gone. There was no coolant in it, even though I had just added some yesterday evening. Also there may have been some oil residue in there.

The cars home now, so I'll leave it till after Christmas. How much do you reckon it will cost? Im guessing if there's engine damage it won't be worth paying out to get it fixed.

Thanks for reading.

[TW]Fox · 23 Dec 2011 at 16:15

Surely the head gasket doesnt just go, it has gone as a result of the car overheating perhaps? Therefore something else is wrong that caused it to happen in the first place.

It's an enormously expensive job unfortunately on most cars.

Slumberbox · 23 Dec 2011 at 16:26

£400 - £600 I reckon maybe more as that's what I was looking at 3 years ago on my 318, the car was only worth about £600 at the time with an expired mot ( naughty I know) and damaged wing mirror, I decided to scrap it and got £200 from a BMW breaker who collected, not a bad deal.

rebel rebel · 23 Dec 2011 at 16:32

Yes it overheated and it said it needed coolant, I put some in, let it cool down for a few hours then went to drive home. About 3 miles later it overheated again and the engine warning light came on so I stopped immediately. There is no coolant left today.

It will be a shame if its dead, I've had it 7 years and have had no trouble with it at all.

Dogbreath · 23 Dec 2011 at 16:52

Where is the coolant going, have you checked the oil? If it's like mayonaise the coolant is in the sump. It's more likely that you have an external leak somewhere though, water pump, hoses or radiators all being potential candidates.

[TW]Fox · 23 Dec 2011 at 16:53

rebel rebel said:
Yes it overheated and it said it needed coolant, I put some in, let it cool down for a few hours then went to drive home. About 3 miles later it overheated again and the engine warning light came on so I stopped immediately. There is no coolant left today.

It will be a shame if its dead, I've had it 7 years and have had no trouble with it at all.

If you've had it 7 years, then fix it. Who cares what its worth? You like it and won't get the same thing that you know so well for the cost of a repair.

Locky · 23 Dec 2011 at 16:56

Not worth repairing imo, its over heated twice I reckon that head is going to as warped as a spoon, get rid.

[TW]Fox · 23 Dec 2011 at 17:01

Locky said:
Not worth repairing imo, its over heated twice I reckon that head is going to as warped as a spoon, get rid.

Better to repair it than buy another similar car of unknown history for undoubtledly similar price to the cost of repair surely? Note repair doesn't neccesarily mean a new head gasket, it might be as well to replace the engine with a used one.

4T5 · 23 Dec 2011 at 17:03

Did you put anti freeze in it recently as that has a habit of perishing knackered/old/brittle hoses. Hose splits, leaks coolant, engine cooks & head warps, You've cooked it twice so it'll be knackered, You've had it 7 year & the cost of repair isn't worth it.
Don't take my/our word for it though as it may be summit simple like a split hose & there's no damage to the head/engine.

Locky · 23 Dec 2011 at 17:07

[TW]Fox;20865688 said:
Better to repair it than buy another similar car of unknown history for undoubtledly similar price to the cost of repair surely? Note repair doesn't neccesarily mean a new head gasket, it might be as well to replace the engine with a used one.

It's an N reg saab, is it really worth a repair? well it's up to the op.. I wouldn't repair it though.

rebel rebel · 23 Dec 2011 at 17:08

Dogbreath said:
Where is the coolant going, have you checked the oil? If it's like mayonaise the coolant is in the sump. It's more likely that you have an external leak somewhere though, water pump, hoses or radiators all being potential candidates.

The coolant wasn't leaking out the bottom, the oil was black and did look a bit runny. Just before it overheated yesterday the engine was stuttering as I pulled away from the traffic lights.

[TW]Fox;20865619 said:
If you've had it 7 years, then fix it. Who cares what its worth? You like it and won't get the same thing that you know so well for the cost of a repair.

I do like the car and its only done 64k, but the bodywork has a lot of scratches on because its been keyed all the way down both sides.

The last few years I've been thinking of replacing it but its always sailed through its MOT so I've kept it.

[TW]Fox · 23 Dec 2011 at 17:23

Locky said:
It's an N reg saab, is it really worth a repair? well it's up to the op.. I wouldn't repair it though.

How much is a used engine for an N reg Saab? Not an awful lot I wouldn't imagine.

rebel rebel · 23 Dec 2011 at 17:28

[TW]Fox;20865688 said:
Better to repair it than buy another similar car of unknown history for undoubtledly similar price to the cost of repair surely? Note repair doesn't neccesarily mean a new head gasket, it might be as well to replace the engine with a used one.

If its going to cost more than £400 I don't think I'll get it fixed, im guessing a used engine would cost quite a bit.

4T5 said:
Did you put anti freeze in it recently as that has a habit of perishing knackered/old/brittle hoses. Hose splits, leaks coolant, engine cooks & head warps, You've cooked it twice so it'll be knackered, You've had it 7 year & the cost of repair isn't worth it.
Don't take my/our word for it though as it may be summit simple like a split hose & there's no damage to the head/engine.

I topped up the anti freeze in on Thursday and then some more after it over heated yesterday.

Locky said:
It's an N reg saab, is it really worth a repair? well it's up to the op.. I wouldn't repair it though.

It has served me well up until now, I think I paid £2200 for it in June 2004.

Thanks for all the comments, the advice is very much appreciated.

[TW]Fox · 23 Dec 2011 at 17:28

rebel rebel said:
If its going to cost more than £400 I don't think I'll get it fixed, im guessing a used engine would cost quite a bit.

What can you buy for £400 thats a better option?

Lopéz · 23 Dec 2011 at 17:30

Locky said:
It's an N reg saab, is it really worth a repair? well it's up to the op.. I wouldn't repair it though.

It depends how much the bill is and if he wants to keep the car. I like my Manta. If it needed a grand's worth of work, I'd do it, because I like it and have no intention of changing it. Plus I could never replace it for that.

4T5 · 23 Dec 2011 at 17:32

[TW]Fox;20865905 said:
What can you buy for £400 thats a better option?

My Mk3 VW Golf Estate with 84k up it cost 324 quid, I did a 300 mile round trip in it Wednesday, Drives faultless.
There are actually quite a lot of decent cars about cheap this time of the year especially when you don't mind running a 2 litre.

rebel rebel · 23 Dec 2011 at 17:33

For £400 nothing, but maybe I should put it towards getting something else. For £1000 - £1200 I could get something better. I won't decide anything until I get a quote from a garage.

realscot · 23 Dec 2011 at 17:36

[TW]Fox;20865905 said:
What can you buy for £400 thats a better option?

Couldnt that same argument be use for any car? Why would anyone buy a new car at all?
There's got to be a point in every cars life where they are beyond economical repair or else very little cars would come off the road each year. If it needs an engine it'll be more than £400 fitted, and while £500 to £1000 won't buy you a good car spending perhaps £2000-£3000 wisely will get a car that will last another 7 years. You'd really have to love the Saab to keep spending money on it.

[TW]Fox · 23 Dec 2011 at 17:43

realscot said:
Couldnt that same argument be use for any car? Why would anyone buy a new car at all?

It could. Numerous people scrap cars and then spend a fortune on another because they are too obsessed with the ratio between repair bill and book value of the car they own. I appreciate this is a bit of an extreme example given the car is worth just £400, but it's a valid point generally.

There's got to be a point in every cars life where they are beyond economical repair or else very little cars would come off the road each year.

But this is a largely uniquely British thing. We have the lowest used car values of perhaps anywhere in the world - and as a result often quite trivial faults make otherwise perfectly excellent cars which would be worth many thousands elsewhere technically 'beyond economical repair'.

So we waste them. We throw them in the bin and we rush out and buy a new car which, unless we buy brand new or with a warranty, has no guarantee of not producing similar if not bigger bills anyway!

If it needs an engine it'll be more than £400 fitted, and while £500 to £1000 won't buy you a good car spending perhaps £2000-£3000 wisely will get a car that will last another 7 years. You'd really have to love the Saab to keep spending money on it.

You'd have to be more than lucky to spend £2000 on a car which then lasts 7 years without dropping a bill of more than £400!

'Oh, my car that has provided reliable sterling service for X years has just dropped a £800 bill on me. I had better sell it for scrap at £200 and rush out and buy a car of unknown provenence for £3000 instead'

It's illogical, yet everyone does it.

It's why you hardly see any 200k mile or 15+ year old cars. It isn't because cars die at 200k or 10 years old, its simply because in our market they are worth half a packet of cheesy wotsits so everyone rushes out and buys somebody elses 6 year old castoff for a few grand every time a bill appears thats slightly bigger than you'd hope.

If the head gasket went on your 4 year old Audi and the bill was £1500 you'd whinge and pay up. Yet when the same thing happens on a 10 year old Audi you'd cry that it's old and crap, throw it in the bin and buy something else.

Bizarre.

DRZ · 23 Dec 2011 at 18:11

[TW]Fox;20866006 said:
If the head gasket went on your 4 year old Audi and the bill was £1500 you'd whinge and pay up. Yet when the same thing happens on a 10 year old Audi you'd cry that it's old and crap, throw it in the bin and buy something else.

Bizarre.

Not that bizarre when you consider the likely incomes of the people in those cars relative to the bill.