Replace head gasket or new engine?

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kassdee

New Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2016
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2
Car
mercedes
Hi all

Im new here. I have a CLC 1.8 Kompressor. W203. There was a message saying top up coolant which i kept doing but when i took it to mecahnics he said it was probably an air lock. Turns out that the coolant/water has been leaking into cylinder 3 because the engine management light kept coming on over the year and now the head gasket has gone. :(

Anyhow, my mechanic said it would cost approx 1k to fix but he didnt check the whole thing properly. My dads mechanic said it would cost 1.5k but he also said it would be best to get a recon engine as the CHG would be new and the rest of the engine is rusting so will probably cause more (smoke?) problems down the line.

1. What is the approx correct price for head gasket replacement?
2. Should i just change the CHG or get another engine.

This is my first car and i love her. Even if i got the gasket and sold it for nearly same price i paid, i would still lose out on some money and may end up with a different problem

Any help greatly appreciated. Ive learnt so much on this forum already!!http://www.mbclub.co.uk//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/
 
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try steel seal first inside water tank run for 1 hour is should seal small leaks cost £30 from eurocarparts follow instructions, friends tried it n it works;-0)
 
try steel seal first inside water tank run for 1 hour is should seal small leaks cost £30 from eurocarparts follow instructions, friends tried it n it works;-0)

Agree, sorted my FIL Mgtf which had hgf.
 
Well if the Steel Seal does not work,then I would think a recon engine may be the way to go,these engines are not that expensive,and so you might find it a cheaper option to the repair,best of luck.
 
Makes you wonder why they bother changing head gaskets if steel seal is so good doesn't it ?
For what it's worth using that snake oil is a bodgers trick for chancers wanting to flog a car on with a problem or for folks who can't afford to run the car in the first thing.
Steel seal has a nasty habit of blocking water galleries in the engine and any sort of build up of sludge in the radiator will get a lot worse a lot quicker.
It then blocks the heater matrix and then your into stripping the interior to swap the matrix.
 
Makes you wonder why they bother changing head gaskets if steel seal is so good doesn't it ?
For what it's worth using that snake oil is a bodgers trick for chancers wanting to flog a car on with a problem or for folks who can't afford to run the car in the first thing.
Steel seal has a nasty habit of blocking water galleries in the engine and any sort of build up of sludge in the radiator will get a lot worse a lot quicker.
It then blocks the heater matrix and then your into stripping the interior to swap the matrix.

Funny my FIL car must be a fluke then? As three years later and 35k miles it's still not exploded!
 
It sometimes works with hairline cracks before it gets to bad. It won't work on old cracks though as it struggles to adhere to corroded surfaces. I had a old Peugeot 405 and had full on boiling header tank water and sludge cream in the oil. At 140000 miles I gave it a try and it worked for a year but came back gradually. Stuffed more in to plug it and then sold it on
 
dinoy said:
try steel seal first inside water tank run for 1 hour is should seal small leaks cost £30 from eurocarparts follow instructions, friends tried it n it works;-0)

Fix it properly or don't.

Get it diagnosed correctly first.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Im sure steel seal will not fix a head gasket. Correct me if im wrong but It may have worked for the coolant leak but putting it on now would be like bolting the stable door after the horse has bolted!

I still have not received any info on head gasket replacement price but i think im going to just get a reconditioned engine or get this one rebuilt. The mechanic knows more than me and i dont want any more trouble down the line as i plan to keep the car for another year.

Was even thinking to change the CHG and part Xch for another car but the valuation is only 3.5k and i bougt it for 5.5 so no point.

My dad did say a car was a luxury and me and my high chest decided on a Mercedes as my first so now i have to pay Mercedes prices lol. But my cars will only be bigger and better in the future so id better get used to it!
 
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