Club 80-90 Forums

Hi all, a bit of advice for a newbie would be most appreciated.

I have a 1989 1.6TD JX that has a knackered head gasket. I had blown three header tanks (thanks to pressure build up) before getting to this diagnosis. Never had an overheating warning, temp gauge never gone beyond half way.

I've been told by the mechanic that it's not worth replacing just the gasket as it's 50/50 that damage has been done to the engine block, and it's not worth the money and hassle to do if things are just gonna fail again in the near future.

I am open to a like-for-like replacement, but the fellow has said that the injectors and turbo would need to be done at the same time, and that the last one he did totalled £8k in the end (recon engine, other parts, and labour included).

That was a painful phone call, and i'd like to know if this sounds right, in terms of the need to replace other bits at the same time, and the the £8k ballpark figure. If not, anyone else can help out? I am Southampton based.

Cheers all.

I'd suggest getting in touch with A W Engineering (Darwen) Ltd. - they're the acknowledged VW diesel engine specialist in the UK, and have a chat with them about your options - 01254 773250 - http://vwenginerecon.co.uk

If you get a fully remanufactured JX engine from AW, i.e., the closest thing to a new engine, and get it fitted with all new ancilliaries then you could well be talking as much as the £8K quoted, although I wouldn't move forward with anything like that until you've obtained at least two other comparative prices from reputable VW garages.

HOWEVER... I'd be surprised if most of your ancilliaries couldn't be re-used including your turbo and injectors ... that's assuming of course that your current mechanic hasn't spotted issues with them. It may be that the best thing initially would be to fit a new head gasket and get the cylinders pressure tested - there are known issues with JX engines overheating and this leading to cracking in the head around the valves, and sometimes also in the main block. In any case, a chat with AW would be able to give you a sense of how you might be able to go about determining that, and what might be the most cost effective way of proceeding.

In the end, the cheapest route may end up being to get a decent used engine that's come out a van that's being scrapped for other reasons such as corrosion, or a collision. It would be worth contacting Mick at NWVW to see what he has in stock, or posting a wanted ad on here.

Good luck with it.

nice one, thanks for the info and suggestions, much appreciated