Head Gaskets

The head gasket is a vital component of the engine, sealing the top (cylinder head) and bottom (cylinder block) halves tightly together as the engine expands and contracts under constantly changing running conditions. If your head gasket breaks up or splits, coolant water and engine oil can mix together. If left long enough this will cause the vehicle to overheat resulting in major engine damage.

Unless the engine has run for a period of time at extreme temperature, it is not normally necessary to replace the cylinder head. A cheaper alternative is for us to send the unit away to a specialist engineer to be crack tested and, if ok, face skimmed before we fit the correct gasket. These jobs are usually turned around inside 3 working days, from start to finish.

If in any doubt, bring your vehicle in to us and we’ll carry out a simple pressure test to check it out for you.