Peugeot 505 Overheat

Hi!

OK Driving home last night my 1984 Peugeot 505 overheated. The
mechanic who arrived filled it with water and said the head gasket had
probably gone.

Its mis-firing and the water in the radiator was all frothy. Water /
Steam coming out of the exhaust too.

Questions :-

Head Gasket Replacement - Big Job? Worth attmepting as a Complete
amateur?

What parts am I likely to need?

I have the Haynes manual and it doesn't look too difficult.

Mechanic seemed to think it wouls cost between 300-700 to get done at
a garage.

Many Thanks,

Chris

 

I'd say worth attempting. Big job...yes, as in time consuming.

Head gasket set. It's possible the head will need skimming/reworking
once removed.

Does the 505 have a cam belt? If so I'd replace that at the same time
along with the spark plugs.

Not difficult just time consuming and messy.

Mostly labour.

sPoNiX

 

People at work seem to think this isn't worth trying.

I'm assuming the Engine wont have to come out? After the heads off I
could get someone else to do the required work on it?

What else can go wrong?

If there's any possibilty of having to remove the engine its a non
starter. I'll have to get someone else to do it.

 

Once you've got the head off, replacing the head gasket is dead easy!
Honestly, the procedure is pretty simple - it just takes time and can be a
bit of a nightmare. It depends a lot on your engine, really. How much space
do you have in the engine bay? If you're considering junking the car rather
than pay a garage to do the work, then you might as well give it a go.

Things to consider:

1. Change the cambelt at the same time (as mentioned by someone else)
2. Will you have to remove an engine mount to get the head off? You might
need to support the engine underneath with a jack.
3. Lock the crank and camshaft in position (usually with a drill bit or
something similar through the top and bottom pulley wheels) so that the
engine and head can't turn independantly whilst they are apart.
4. Cylinder head bolts. It's often recommended that you get new ones - this
depends on your engine, so find out!
5. You'll need to tighten the bolts back up again to a specific torque and
then you might need to tighten them further by a particular angle. So, make
sure you have the required tools.

HTH,

Chris.

 

It's not a massively complicated or difficult job, but you do have to
follow all the instructions. It's also worth ringing round & finding out
how much your local scrappys want for a head just in case it's dead when
you remove it.

 

I agree, it's not complicated - but you do really need to know what you're
doing beforehand. If you didn't have a clue, you could have the whole thing
in bits and not enough tools/components to properly put it all back together
again.

Chris.

 

Jesus. That's a hell of a lot of money for a head gasket.

Last one I had done (Alfa 33) cost me £240 incl. skimming the head.