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[Pete-Mac]

Hi all .. adviced respectfully requested please!!
Last might my "check oil level" light illuminated and within minutes water temp had gone off the scale. AA called and on opening bonnet a horrible yellowy goo was seeping from the radiator bottle and (I think) from an overflow pipe. Diagnosis was blown head gasket but reading other messages another reason could be oil cooler prob. Its a 2.6 V estate with 137k clocked.
All advice gratefully received !
Cheers,
Pete

[Elite Pete]

Its the oil cooler and not the head gaskets 

[Pete-Mac]

Thanks Pete ... thats a £1000 load off me small brain !!
Just walked round to our local garage who quoted that amount but has said he,ll check with some okeycokey2000 machine thing !!!
Can I ask what make you sure its the oil cooler ?
Cheers,
Pete

[Andy B]

Thanks Pete ... thats a £1000 load off me small brain !!
Just walked round to our local garage who quoted that amount but has said he,ll check with some okeycokey2000 machine thing !!!
Can I ask what make you sure its the oil cooler ?
Cheers,
Pete

Your next post should include phrases such as ....
How much Elite Pete? and when could you do it for me? 

[cem_devecioglu]

one thing is sure, if you continue to drive sure you will have HG problem

do you have misfires , engine not pulling properly ? (before you finish the oil)

if yes, have a compression test..

[Pete-Mac]

The proper question would be therefore .. Elite Pete .. are you VAT registered, because my warranty dictates this !!
Thats one for you to answer ;0)
The car hasnt and wont be driven til this is sorted out , but was driving perfectly well until last night.
My warranty covers up to £500 so if it it definately the oli cooler then its within finances..if its the head gaskets then even the £500 difference means a tough decision !!

[Andy B]

The proper question would be therefore .. Elite Pete .. are you VAT registered, because my warranty dictates this !!
Thats one for you to answer ;0) ......

You've not had the car long then?
What has the supplying dealer/garage had to say?

[Pete-Mac]

Its not a garage warranty !
Its an AA add-on for vehicles over 100k mileage .. only @ £5 a month but pays out £500 max BUT for up to 6 claims a year ( sound like an AA slaesman !!)

[RobG]

Let`s hope they don`t use the old get out  adage "fair wear and tear"

[Andy B]

Its not a garage warranty !
Its an AA add-on for vehicles over 100k mileage .. only @ £5 a month but pays out £500 max BUT for up to 6 claims a year ( sound like an AA slaesman !!)

I've very little experience of warrenties, but those I've read or heard about seem to be worth very little. There's often loads of get out clauses. Obviously up to you but I'd put the £5 a month in the bank and fix it myself or pay some one that knows what they're doing to fix it.       

[Danny]

where do you stand with the warranty with regards to the forum suggesting oil cooler, and AA (who the warranty is with) diagnosing headgasket?

if they use this diagnosis, will they allow you to say "i want the oil cooler changing under the warranty please?"

will they allow that?

[Ken T]

I would be surprised if they could fit an oil cooler for under £500. I was taken by the AA to halfrauds autocentre where they relieved me of £170 for an exchange alternator, which took all of 15 mins to fit (3 bolts ) 

See how much over £500 the garage want, and see how much Pete will charge to do the job complete. You might be surprised. 

Don't forget he actually knows how to do the job, some garages ............

Ken

[Marks DTM Calib]

They should do it for 500 quid easily.

200 for bits and 4 hours work including flushing

As for diagnosis of head gasket, if it was the AA that said that then they need to go back to school and learn engine basics....or maybe it explains why they are not fixing cars!

[Andy B]

They should do it for 500 quid easily.

200 for bits and 4 hours work including flushing

As for diagnosis of head gasket, if it was the AA that said that then they need to go back to school and learn engine basics....or maybe it explains why they are not fixing cars!

4 hours at Merc is over £400 on its own. I'm not sure what my local Vauxhall charge but IIRC it's around £80/90 so that's going to be over £500 

[Marks DTM Calib]

My local Vx is 65 an hour (+Vat).

And a decent indy should not be much over 50 (+Vat) an hour.

So, should do it for 500.