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Head Crack?

dalostcambo

By dalostcambo,
in Engines & Forced Induction

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dalostcambo Collaborator

dalostcambo

Posted
Posted

Hey all,

I read a topic slightly like this and would like some opinions.

I had my engine oil and spark plugs changed at my mates garage and when they did a general checkup, they found that my radiator reservoir and radiator were drained almost completely.

The mechanic who was inspecting the car said that he could feel oil in the radiator and said that it's a 90% chance that the head (not sure which head) is cracked.

I called the previous owner of the car and he said that it is VERY rare for a head to crack and that my mate is trying to make a quick buck. He says that it's more possible that the head gasket is gone.

I called up a mate who works for Autobarn to see what his opinion was and he said he suspects it could be the head gasket too but told me to call a shop nearby my house to see what they say.

I called up the workshop I got suggested to call and told them what my mates workshop told me and he said that there is a possibility that it could be the head also.

The head gasket was done 6 months ago (just before I bought the car).

I've been told that if the head is to be fixed, it would cost roughly $4k.

Just labour to pull apart the engine is already expensive. Is there a way the head can be re-built?

Would it be better to change the head or re-build the engine (if this includes a new or re-built head)?

Thanks in advanced for the opinions.

Danny

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-_-StRyDeR-_- Experienced

-_-StRyDeR-_-

Posted
Posted

personally...if your head is crackd id never fix it and re-use it. it will just be prone to cracking again.

BUT, could just be ur head gasket, maybe when they put it on the first time they didnt do the job properly...?

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The Mafia Grand Master

The Mafia

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Posted

yeha I doubt its cracked, but you're going to have to pull the head off anyway to see whats going on.

A Second hand R33 RB25 head is around the $500 mark, GTRS are about the $900 mark. Why bother spending $4k to fix one??

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dalostcambo Collaborator

dalostcambo

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$4k is for the head and the labour to dis-assemble and re-assemble it.

So there is a possibility that the shop that did the head gasket didn't do a great job..? -_-"

Has anyone re-built their engine? I saw a thread earlier that someone re-built their engine for around $6k.

How much would a normal engine re-build cost? Does this cover the head part too or add $1k+ for a new head?

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craked Proficient

craked

Posted
Posted
$4k is for the head and the labour to dis-assemble and re-assemble it.

So there is a possibility that the shop that did the head gasket didn't do a great job..? -_-"

Has anyone re-built their engine? I saw a thread earlier that someone re-built their engine for around $6k.

How much would a normal engine re-build cost? Does this cover the head part too or add $1k+ for a new head?

ive got a fully recon s2 r33 rb25 head for $550 if you want it ?

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arep3 Experienced

arep3

Posted
Posted

ive read countless threads on this forum alone where rb26dett's from r32gtrs have been rebuilt. the search button is your friend.

$4k is a fair price for the head to be pulled out fixed and refitted. This involves removing the whole motor and stripping pretty much the top half of the motor. A fair amount of work involved.

I had oil in my radiator. This was from a crack inside 1 of the oil galleries in my head. It was not repairable so i needed a new head. I ended up having the whole motor rebuilt with forged pistons and rings. I did this cos i intended on using the car on racetracks and wanted a bit more security. In total, i spent around $14k on my car. This was the motor, powerfc, clutch and a few extra goodies.

If its suspected that there is either a crack in the head or the head gasket, you need to pull it down to find out., Theres no sure fire way to tell until you do pull it down. If you do this, maybe look at what you want the car for. Do you wanna have a nice clean car for road only or do you wanna go to the other end of the scale and go flat out round racetracks every opportunity you have? Then look at what to do from there.

My 2c

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Nabil Rising Star

Nabil

Posted
Posted

On a more positive note!

Since the head gasket was replaced;

most likely due to it failing, oil will of most

likely found its way into the radiator and

shown a white milky substance under the

radiator cap / oil cap!

Now, when the gasket was changed the previous owner

may of not flushed out the radiator of oil residue.

As such, I personally would not make any decisions on rebuilding or

removing the head cylinder, until a compression test shows there

is a pressure drop between two adjacent cylinders.

If your head is cracked, the motor will, in general,

run fine up until the crack experiences enough heat to

expand and flow water/coolant into the oil gallery.

So basically you would of noticed frequent over-heating

and real bad engine performance. Is that so?

Cheers,

Bill

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arep3 Experienced

arep3

Posted
Posted
On a more positive note!

Since the head gasket was replaced;

most likely due to it failing, oil will of most

likely found its way into the radiator and

shown a white milky substance under the

radiator cap / oil cap!

Now, when the gasket was changed the previous owner

may of not flushed out the radiator of oil residue.

As such, I personally would not make any decisions on rebuilding or

removing the head cylinder, until a compression test shows there

is a pressure drop between two adjacent cylinders.

If your head is cracked, the motor will, in general,

run fine up until the crack experiences enough heat to

expand and flow water/coolant into the oil gallery.

So basically you would of noticed frequent over-heating

and real bad engine performance. Is that so?

Cheers,

Bill

Bill has made a good point here. Get your radiator flushed out several times. Oil is a bitch to remove from the cooling system. Talk to the previous owner and ask them why was the head gasket replaced. Was is because there was oil in the radiator? If they say yes, then most likely your motor hasn't been flushed enough to get rid of it all yet.

Some people like to change the head gasket so they can add a metal gasket to support bigger boost. Maybe thats why it was changed. If this is so, then quite possibily you could be looking at a cracked head.

Compression tests, leak down tests and any other funky tests that your mechanic can come up with will not always show up a crack in the head. My motor is a perfect example of this. Every test thinkable was done and everything was perfect. Car still drove like a dream. No loss of power at all. The only issue I had was I always needed to top up my oil and the radiator always needed flushing out to get rid of the oil.

Looking at your options 1st is the best thing to do. Rebuilds arn't cheap

Cheers, Ron

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dalostcambo Collaborator

dalostcambo

Posted
  • Author
Posted
On a more positive note!

Since the head gasket was replaced;

most likely due to it failing, oil will of most

likely found its way into the radiator and

shown a white milky substance under the

radiator cap / oil cap!

Now, when the gasket was changed the previous owner

may of not flushed out the radiator of oil residue.

As such, I personally would not make any decisions on rebuilding or

removing the head cylinder, until a compression test shows there

is a pressure drop between two adjacent cylinders.

If your head is cracked, the motor will, in general,

run fine up until the crack experiences enough heat to

expand and flow water/coolant into the oil gallery.

So basically you would of noticed frequent over-heating

and real bad engine performance. Is that so?

Cheers,

Bill

With the car, stable operating temperature is 80ºC. Lately it's been up to 84ºC so I haven't really taken much notice. There is still plenty of power, no power loss...

Bill has made a good point here. Get your radiator flushed out several times. Oil is a bitch to remove from the cooling system. Talk to the previous owner and ask them why was the head gasket replaced. Was is because there was oil in the radiator? If they say yes, then most likely your motor hasn't been flushed enough to get rid of it all yet.

Some people like to change the head gasket so they can add a metal gasket to support bigger boost. Maybe thats why it was changed. If this is so, then quite possibily you could be looking at a cracked head.

Compression tests, leak down tests and any other funky tests that your mechanic can come up with will not always show up a crack in the head. My motor is a perfect example of this. Every test thinkable was done and everything was perfect. Car still drove like a dream. No loss of power at all. The only issue I had was I always needed to top up my oil and the radiator always needed flushing out to get rid of the oil.

Looking at your options 1st is the best thing to do. Rebuilds arn't cheap

Cheers, Ron

My dads mate had a look and said the engine might need a new head gasket soon and that they weren't cheap to have done (trying to talk me out of buying the car).

The old owner was willing to have the head gasket changed before I took ownership of the car.

Maybe I should take it back to the workshop that worked on the engine? They did the head gasket, maybe it was their screw up? (except I don't want them to work on it again to screw it up again.. -_-")

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arep3 Experienced

arep3

Posted
Posted
With the car, stable operating temperature is 80ºC. Lately it's been up to 84ºC so I haven't really taken much notice. There is still plenty of power, no power loss...

My dads mate had a look and said the engine might need a new head gasket soon and that they weren't cheap to have done (trying to talk me out of buying the car).

The old owner was willing to have the head gasket changed before I took ownership of the car.

Maybe I should take it back to the workshop that worked on the engine? They did the head gasket, maybe it was their screw up? (except I don't want them to work on it again to screw it up again.. -_-")

if they stuffed it up, they should fix it without charging you a cent, but because you were not the person that owned the car when it was changed, they might not fix it for free. Unless the previous owner is nice enough to take it back there and tell em that he still owns it? choice is yours

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dalostcambo Collaborator

dalostcambo

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if they stuffed it up, they should fix it without charging you a cent, but because you were not the person that owned the car when it was changed, they might not fix it for free. Unless the previous owner is nice enough to take it back there and tell em that he still owns it? choice is yours

I got the receipt for the head gasket change.

If it is an invoice from them, they should be doing something about it.. right?

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Guilt-Toy Grand Master

Guilt-Toy

Posted
Posted

how do you know there is a problem here? if the engine is running correctly ?

I would be filling it back up again and checking it again. Maybe there is another reason why it lost water and there is still oil from the previous head gasket blow up.

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The Mafia Grand Master

The Mafia

Posted
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just remember - The previous could have went for "one last boost" and cranked the boost up and gave the car a flogging before they gave it to you, blowing the head gasket.

There are many factors in this, and I'd just be getting the head off for now and seeing what is wrong.

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