Blown Head Gasket

[Miska]

Hello everyone! It’s been a long time since my last post, but unfortunately my mk1 has gotten into a spot of bother which has seen it off the road for a while, and due to other commitments fixing it has been put on the back burner. Now I have the time and money to focus on it.

Unfortunately, the head gasket seems to have blown, turning the car into something that resembles a steam engine.

The motor in it is an 8V Audi 1.9 SD. While I’m getting it fixed I wouldn’t mind getting the head completely rebuilt so it has a few more pony’s – a valve seems to be sticking as well which is also hampering it a bit (esp on cold start).

Now what I would like to know is whether I should stick with this head, or whether another one will be more worth my while. I also wanted to get your opinion as to who in Canberra I could take it to get fixed.

Cheers

[Miska]

Any recommendations are welcomed as I have had some bad experiences trying to get things done on my car as many mechanics/suppliers for car parts just see me as a ‘dumb chick’.

[julian_s13]

Hey Miska, While the head off you should purchase a vrs kit which replaces all the valve seals and comes with all necessary gaskets / seals to put it back together. Any mechanic should be able to help you with this but maybe a specialised head place would be better in the case that the head may need machining ! I hope this helps, Julian

[mikinoz]

Sorry, are you in Sydney or Canberra?

[Miska]

I'm in Canberra, sorry I forgot to update my location in my profile - whoops!

[Miska]

Thanks everyone for writing back...

It would be really good if anyone can pass on the details of a good mk1 VW mechanic (in the ACT) as I know of two (one in Mitchell the other in Belconnen) but I'm not sure who to contact. I heard that there is one in Tuggeranong as well but I can't find their details (have tried googling but nothing comes up). Also, if anyone has had any experience with this head (out of a 8V Audi 1.9 SD) or know whether another head will give a better end product it would be great if you let me know

On a side note, I've seen some awesome looking mk1 golfs around since I've moved down here which is awesome!

[mikinoz]

Pete Shelley from Canberra VW Centre is the place to visit.