NOVA 1.2 carb dead

[thisgroove]

Drove to norwich to see my uni mate yesterday got two miles outside norwich from london had to come back on an AA truck never got in till 4 this morning. My poor car! reckon a new gaskett is going to cost about £250 :cry:. She only had 54k on the clock from new.

[General Baxter]

£25 max for a gasket or £50 with cambelt and water pump lol

[brainsnova]

£250 lol xe it

[thisgroove]

the head needs skimming

[LEWI007]

You can get a full set of top end gaskets for 15 quid off ebay ?

As for £250 redtop..

Then theres insurance, and money to run it, maintain it with new gaskets and parts, it cost alot more.

[thisgroove]

any one local who can repair it for cheaper let me know lol, i d like a bigger engine in it but the insurance is bad enough as it is. I will have to see mechanics verdict tomorrow.


You can get a full set of top end gaskets for 15 quid off ebay ?

As for £250 redtop..

Then theres insurance, and money to run it, maintain it with new gaskets and parts, it cost alot more.

[chimp007_uk]

It's a doddle on the small blocks!

As said, £16 for gaskets, £5-10 for belts and £15-20 to ge tthe head skimmed!

I'm sure there's someone on here near by who'd help. Where abouts are you?

Plus, you'd learn for the future!

[thisgroove]

im in Finsbury park north London,so the mechanic really is making alot of £!

[thisgroove]

omg! mechanic has just qouted £350 to re do the head!

[mk1nova_rich]

take the head to a local machine shop, mechanics can't skim heads

[vauxluva]

omg! mechanic has just qouted £350 to re do the head!
Wow i got quoted £180,i thought that was steep lol

[vauxluva]

£22 head gasket set+strech bolts,£10 new cam belt £15 skimmed.

[thisgroove]

Just started calling round from yellow pages, just called a place in finchley they said £550 - i put down the phone! Is there a how to guide on here. I do have a haynes manual as well but it would be good to read how someone else has done it. I have done a search on here but could nt see anything, if any one knows of one could you please send me the link.

This is exactly what i did not need after christmas :cry:.

cheers

Al

[mowgli]

take the head to a local machine shop, mechanics can't skim heads

s&y motors in earl shilton, leics, skim heads on their own machine.....

a relative works there.

[mowgli]

and now folks, to incur the wrath of people who like to weld up old russian fighter jets.......cough cough

how do you know the head needs skimming if you haven't taken the head off???

cos an 8v nova engine is hardly formula 1 technology.. a good clean up & a new gasket/cambelt/thermostat/water pump £100 & 2 hours work for a decent bloke

[mk1nova_rich]

I'll rephrase that Mowgli...most mechanics do not have the facilities or skills to skim heads so will get it done by a machinist then add a percentage on for themselves, so in most cases works out cheaper to go directly to the machinist lol

[mowgli]

buy a torque wrench & an angle gauge & a tube of decent sealant, and the above parts..... and read the haynes, then get it done. its easy, nothing to be scared of.....

[chimp007_uk]

Got your PM. Unfortunately I'm in Coventry these days... Get a Haynes manual and it's a straight forward process. As said above, the parts are peanuts.

Try here (http://www.yell.com/ucs/UcsSearchAction.do?scrambleSeed=20500945&keywords=engine+reconditioning&companyName=&location=Finchley&layout=&searchType=advance&broaderLocation=NORTH+LONDON%7CLONDON%7CSOUTH+EAST +ENGLAND%7CENGLAND%7CUNITED+KINGDOM&ooa=&M=&lCOption23=Finchley_+North+London&searchall=&clarifyIndex=&clarifyOptions=) for machine shops near you.

[bmw156]

pm alexW he might do it for a blowy as he isnt massivly far away i dont think.

he likes a good suck also.

[General Lee]

Then at least you're get your suck bang blow back!

[General Lee]

As mowgli said nothing to be scared of it's bu**ered anyway! And if your not exactly a mechanic how do you know it's the head hasket! Was it the AA mans opinion! Never know might just be the belt! What are the symptoms?

[thisgroove]

because the car turned into a fog machine - white smoke steaming out of exhaust and the when i opened the water tank it was like a chocolate milkshake has exploaded - but AA man confirmed it was Head Gasket as well lol. sat at work sulking lol this ruined my weekend :cry:

[mowgli]

in about 1990, my only vehicle was my trusty 1.2 nova merit.. on more than one occasion i'd be coming home at closing time (11pm for you youngsters) and blew the head gasket.. so i'd watch telly for an hour while it cooled down, then go & swap it so i could drive to work.
i then finally found out the original torque figures published by gm (and copied by haynes) were wrong so it stopped blowing gaskets... i'd done 10 in a year.

but on your car, age, the last cold snap & probably a need to flush the cooling system & fit a new thermostat caused yours to go..

[thisgroove]

yeah the werid thing is the temp gauge or oil light never came on throughout the journey does anyone have the head gasket set code number to hand that i need by any chance? scrap that think i found it http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VAUXHALL-ASTRA-NOVA-1200cc-HEAD-GASKET-SET-/140419486490?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item20b1a7531a

[mowgli]

if your car is a carb model, then that is the right one.

[thisgroove]

yeah she is carbed, have an appointment at the spray shop in 2 weeks so really could have done without this. Getting towed to garage £250 but it means i will have it for the weekend. I am going to take out that new AA cover for reapirs up to £500 so this never happens again!