Louie Lungbubble

Just had THE phonecall from the mot garage my car's in at. Quite a list, and after all that work rebuilding the head after the gasket went I'm feeling like throwing my hand in. Give us a few pointers, please kids. Need to decide what to do. :( Subframe: Gone! (His technical term) To what degree I dunno, but he seemed hesitant to offer his services to weld it. What's the script with this? Can it be replaced, or is that a Biggie? Suspension top mounts & bearings: Both front, and one rear. Idea on price anyone? Emissions: Co2 low, but hydrocarbons "Off the scale". Hoping this is a hangover from the gasket change. Crypton tune to sort?? Off the top of his head, the bloke was shouting ITRO £400- 500. Any thoughts (especially on that subframe) very much appreciated.

Didn't Scott go from a VR to a 200?

I'd always thought of starting this very thread, but the Google Earth pic of my house reveals a dark and sinister skeleton in my automotive cupboard, so I never bothered.Mk3Cavalier :oops:

Trouser press

Quality reply (as ever) David. But having recently priced up all these bits, you'll not see much change out of a ton for a VAG HG & head bolts. :|

I'd have to agree, and I am unbiased :)

:scratch: Didn't he offer any possible explination for the smoke you saw then? Something somewhere's not quite right.

All checked with a steel rule and looks straight. Gonna go for it. What are ARP's anyway? Thought the bolts had to be of the stretch persuasion. Getting newuns anyway (Not gonna push my luck that far)

Gazza - Yes, that price included belts & tensioner etc. Still a lot of $$ though. Stripped it down myself. Sod them. Reckon I'll be screaming for help when I start the rebuild this weekend though :lol:

Bad enough if it's the head gasket. Dread to think what problems lower down would cost. (cue viagra gag)

Was quoted ITRO £500 for my valvers HG last week. Certainly not gonna be any cheaper for a VR :(

My rear tyres wear out as almost as quick as the fronts! I live in the roundabout centre of the universe though, so shedloads of sideways action when it rains.

Pulled the head off mine (ooer) on Saturday to find much cheesy lovliness. New gasket, sir? :wink:

Think even with the car stopped, the needle sits at about 10 doesn't it?

Car looks lovley mate, and those wheels look like they've never done a mile! Mk1 looks like it's had a lot of love too. Is it a proper Mex or GT?

Cheers mate. I'll bear it in mind. Is it easier if you get canned up while doing it??

Head bolts are defo going in the bin. Shocked at that head set price though. Think I'll have to go pattern part. Need a shopping list now. Found this on another thread courtesy of Henny. They were talking about g60's so it's probably different for valvers. Can anyone confirm? Would the head set take care of most of the above?

Just picked myself up off the floor after talking to the stealers. Head gasket set for an early valver... £167.47!! :shock: Head gasket alone £30.54 (fair enough) And head bolts @ £5.11 each (whatever) Parts monkey said the gasket kit came with the H G itself, cam seal, inlet manifold seal... I'm sure there were more, but I was busy throwing a Barry and sliding off my chair! Read a few threads on this and no-one's shouting those kinda figures for a Head set. Am I missing something? From what others have said, oem is the way forward with most things gasket, but the difference between a GSF set @ £39.60 and a VW set at the above, is hard to ignore. Any thoughts? And is that price right??

TSW Venoms??

Well then yes, I agree. If you're only ever going to do 80-90 then H rated tyres *will* have enough safety margin to justify their purchase. Thing is though if the car can do 140, isn't there an issue with MOT's? Edit ^^^ beat me to it!

Isn't it a case of err on the side of caution though? I'm just shy of 16 stone, but I wouldn't want to trust my life to (say) a climbing rope that's only rated to take 17!

My H G's gone too (along with the valve seals) :x Someone else has said this to me, but I asked an engine rebuild garage about it when I went for a quote for the gasket, and he said there's quite a bit of tolerance on the guides, so chances are just doing the seals should sort it. He talking crap?? Going to replace the gasket myself. If the head's not warped or pitted, is it still worth sending it off to get the valve guides done?

Sorry to hear this mate. Hopefully it'll work out in your favour after the initial shoite. :?

Dadum dadum dadum dadum dadum dam dum de deaerner der na de de derrr!! Sir Digby Chicken Ceaser: Genius. Nearly p!ssed meself!

Pop the cover off the pull handles and remove the 2 big screws, there's also a couple of little screws in the 'front' edge near the hinges. (fiddly to get at) and in the 'rear' edge by the locks. Unscrew the pop up button, slide the door pull surround off.... err.... pull the mirror control button off and carefully lift the card up to remove off the clips that hold it on at the bottom. Not sure about the leccy window switches, mine's an early windy handle version. have I missed anything?? :scratch: Edit: Or, you could just look at that thread. :lol: