Blown Head Gasket

[944Turbo]

And back to head gaskets, provided your Air fuel ratios are correct there is no disadvantage to the widefire - it is only after it is partially burnt away that a problem may occur.
I noticed in the article "my first HG lasted 15years my widefire only 1 1/2" maybe the car was on standard chips for 14 1/2 years?
Tony

 

[Guest]

Is there something going on here????
I read this forum and went out for a short journey in the car................... guess what????
My headgasket let go in a plume of steam that the red arrows would have been proud of!
No oil water mix luckily.
Looks like I am not going to make the dyno day either.
The curse strikes again.
Anybody know a good source for cometic headgaskets???
Don't say Cometic UK Ltd as they never answer their phones!

 

[Guest]

Ouch [] Sorry to hear that Tom []

It's weird, I didn't even notice mine had gone until I opened the bonnet (no steam/overheating), is it possible that the head gasket is not the problem and the oil has leaked in from somewhere else???

Also, is it possible that having oil in the coolant has damaged my radiator/aircon/hoses etc

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: tommo951

Is there something going on here????
I read this forum and went out for a short journey in the car................... guess what????
My headgasket let go in a plume of steam that the red arrows would have been proud of!
No oil water mix luckily.
Looks like I am not going to make the dyno day either.
The curse strikes again.
Anybody know a good source for cometic headgaskets???
Don't say Cometic UK Ltd as they never answer their phones!

I shall repeat myself from another thread.
Have you seen 'The Ring', don't open a problem thread 'cos once you have.....[]

 

[Guest]

Also that does't count for me, ii ty ped wif me eeyes shi t

 

[944Turbo]

Well it could be a cracked head - IIRC Martyn C kept getting oil in the coolant on his S2 and that was a cracked head. Or on normally aspirated 2.5's there is a water/oil cooler that fails causes mixing - I have heard it is possible for the turbo version with air/oil cooler to also have a mixing leak - the take off is in the same area but I don't have any facts or experience to back that up, might be worth asking a specialist.

I have seen 2 HG's fail Andrew S and Gareth on Titanic both went with big clouds of steam but both were on track at the time. I also had a scare - a big cloud of steam in the rear view, but it was the heater hose at the back of the cylinder head.

Tony

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: tommo951

My headgasket let go in a plume of steam that the red arrows would have been proud of!

Extremely sorry to hear this Tommo [] I hope you get a new one and get it up and running quickly. Feel free to come along in the Lambo on Saturday [8D]

Will all attendees of the Dyno Day stop looking at the forum until Monday or I'll lock it down. My delete key is getting worn out on the Dyno Day list [&:]

 

[Fen]

ORIGINAL: tommo951

Is there something going on here????
I read this forum and went out for a short journey in the car................... guess what????
My headgasket let go in a plume of steam that the red arrows would have been proud of!
No oil water mix luckily.
Looks like I am not going to make the dyno day either.
The curse strikes again.
Anybody know a good source for cometic headgaskets???
Don't say Cometic UK Ltd as they never answer their phones!

I emailed Cometic and they responded, eventually selling me a gasket. They don't actually deal direct with the public as a rule but as I had got their info from them at the Autosport show that was different.

Remember you spoke to them at the Autosport show 2004 too []

 

[sawood12]

How much does it cost (roughly - i realise there is bound to be variation) to get your head gasket replaced? It's a job i'm not confident in tackling myself and i'm sure mine could do with replacement sooner rather than later after 17yrs and 105k miles. I would rather it be a preventative replacement.

I've got my car booked in for a front cam/crank/balance shaft seal replacement at the end of this month and am tempted to get the head gasket replaced then but as always cashflow dictates.

 

[eastendr]

JZ Machtec have a pricing schedule HERE Just select your car and what you want. As a guide, they charge £895 for a Turbo headgasket job.

Motorpreparation would be cheeper but are in London.

 

[carlmthompson]

£295 + VAT for a 12k service?

My local OPC quoted me £230 all in! And that was without the extra 10% PCGB Discount!

 

[sawood12]

So what's the verdict on the widefire gasket? Has anyone here actually had a bad experience with the Widefire gasket? I have read the Rennlist experiances but most of the guys on there seem to be running very heavily modified cars therefore I am still unable to draw any real conclusions from their experiances. For a standard or lightly modified car is Widefire the way to go or is standard perfectly good for the job?

 

[Fen]

Based on the post that Hotblack linked I'd steer well clear of them. They are the same as a standard gasket except that they have a fire ring that is wider on one side, however that fire ring is only a C-shaped section whereas the OEM gasket has a fire ring with a flattened O-shaped section. I think it's obvious to everyone that an O is stronger than a C.

If a widefire costs £70 that's pretty much what my Cometic cost from Cometic - I think I paid about £66 for it so a proper upgrade is the same price as a Mickey Mouse one. My guess is an OEM is cheaper if you aren't looking for the upgrade so again a better bet than a Widefire.

All IMHO but I have put my money where my mouth is.

 

[Guest]

Hi Andrew,

Would you consider swapping the widefire for a Cometic???

Dan

 

[sawood12]

So by my logic then it appears that it is questionable that the Widefire will give you any benefit over standard although it is unlikely to be detremental if you do fit one. For people into heavily modifying their car or just want the added security of a beefed up gasket Cometic seems to be the way to go.

I now have the dilemma of deciding whether to do a surgical strike on my head gasket or wait for it to let go and get stranded on the roadside somewhere. It seems to me that the main mechanism for failure given the recent spate is likely to be age related rather than mileage related.

 

[Guest]

Cheers Andrew, as I have decided to stick with the standard spec it shouldn't be an issue anyway. Cheers everyone for your help []

 

[Fen]

Dan,

In case you're still worried and because I don't think you subscribe to Titanic I have posted in the below thread. I have done so merely to highlight that head gaskets can fail without Superchips and Andrew's response below to what, on the information available at least, is identical to your experience is perhaps less likely to alarm you. I'm sure the fact that the owner on Titanic has the chips ProMax sell is purely coinicidence and in no way coloured the response []

Enjoy.

Hi Kurt,

Many are using the Widefire gasket as this better dissipates heat with a tuned car. The OE gasket on your car has obviously lasted a long time and may have just corroded as it is letting go gently (from your description).

It's always worth just checking the head surface to make sure it is absolutely flat prior to refitting - although if you are confident the car has not overheated - it is probably safe to replace it as is. The head can sometimes have become pitted or very slightly distorted - but this usually only happens if the engine has seriously overheated.

I would suggest getting it repaired prior to the Nurburgring. It leaves you with little time, but you can get the job done in about 6-10 hours (some on this forum have done it much faster). Widefire & all top end gaskets are in stock here if you need them.

Regards,
Andrew


Andrew Sweetenham
ProMAX Motorsport
Porsche Performance Specialists
Tel: +44 (0)1908 524468
Mbl: +44 (0)7831 393633
email: andrew@promaxmotorsport.com
web: www.promaxmotorsport.com





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: porsche944-bounces@titanic.co.uk [mailtoorsche944-bounces@titanic.co.uk] On Behalf Of Kurt Ramsden
Sent: 08 May 2005 10:08
To: Porsche 944 discussion
Subject: [Porsche944] Head Gasket Issues


Hello,

My 250bhp 1989 944T (level 1 ProMax) is using coolant and is showing hydrocarbons in the expansion tank. Prime suspect is headgasket of course, so I'd appreciate any advice or experience you guys have of different gaskets. My guess is I'm currently running OE - is this normally sufficient for 1.2 bar boost or should I upgrade?

The car stills runs absolutely fine and hasn't overheated at any stage - how likely is it that the head might be warped and/or porous? Are these common problems with the 944 engine?

Just to make things more interesting, I'm due to take the car to the Nurburgring next weekend so a busy and expensive week awaits me....

Thanks in advance

Kurt Ramsden

 

[Guest]

I am such a prat!!!!! []

I had a friend look over the car at the weekend (not a mechanic, but a lot more knowledgeable than I) and he seems to think that there is nothing wrong with the car. [] at least not with the head gasket

Let me explain;

Firstly, what looked like oil (to me)in the expansion tank was just the green dye that was added to the coolant when the new A/C condenser was fitted with the CFC free gas, this through the off colour expansion tank looks black. Coolant must have been on minimum because I have not noticed before [>:] (Did you not take the top off to check you prat!!! I hear you all shout []), well I did, but obviously with it being hot all the coolant started to rush out, so top went straight back on [>:]

Oil level when he rechecked was a little lower, but nowhere near when I checked (when panic attack set in []) guess I didn't leave it long enough to drain DOH!!!

His diagnosis was that I am paranoid and need help []

Anyway chaps, thanks for all of your help and advice and I promise next time I post a thread it will not be from an imaginary problem []

Actually, this does lead onto a question, does anyone know of a specialist (in the london area preferably) that could check over the car to give me peace of mind and to set the car up as it should be???

 

[Diver944]

Great news Dan []

Don't worry about the paranoia, you wait until winter when we suddenly get loads of posts about mayonaise on the dipstick and filler tube (another sign of HG failure, but totally normal as the weather cools with our cars)

One thing, The dye put in to the AC refrigerant will go nowhere near the coolant in your expansion tank, they are seperate systems. You probably mean the green colour of your particular antifreeze in the coolant.

I would recommend JZ Machtech by J21 of the M25 to give your car a once over, but they will probably be just as booked up as Ken Tolfree so he may well be quicker in the long run.

Happy Boosting [8D]

 

[Guest]

Oops! once again I show my complete lack of understanding of the contents of my engine bay []

The one thing I am really annoyed with myself about is that I missed the dyno day [], I can't believe the amount of info you can get from these things [8|]