Head gasket blown after Remap
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£3600 . thats with a brand new head. three full pages of parts , And believe it or not some trade discount .
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That turned out to be a very painful lesson.....and expensive! Although I'm not convinced that the performance enhancement was in itself responsible for the ultimate demise of an otherwise, apparently sound engine, it is an area fraught with problems about responsibility, warranty on the work and parts involved plus proof required to pursue the company which performed the work in the event of catastrophic failure.
My own experience of chipping one of my own cars was satisfactory and I had several years of enhanced performance with little or no negative impact on fuel consumption. Having said that, it is unlikely that I would find the need again to uprate the performance of any car I choose to own. Essentially, the vast majority of modern cars have perfectly adequate performance and for those who demand to have a really quick car, my advice is buy one rather than tinker with mods to create a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'.
Insurance companies, by and large, tend to dislike modified cars, particularly power enhancements, and it is well known that huge numbers of such cars are on the road, technically uninsured. I'd like to think your insurer was fully aware of the performance enhancement but your recent experience should provide some deterrent to those who simply must have a car that goes really, really fast!
If only it could be proved that your performance enhancement was solely responsible!
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Ouch. My last experience of engine failure was about 12 years ago out playing on a trackday. For some reason the "O" ring on the oil filter decided it did not want to stay where it should be (genuine Ford part) and I lost the best part of 5 litres in the space of a few hundred yards. Refitted filter and refilled with oil and drove home (60 miles) but by the time I got back there was a noise that was getting worse. No's 2 & 3 big end were very blue but 1 & 4 and all the main bearings, camshafts etc were fine.All it needed was a good wash out and either a regrind of the crank or replacement plus check no's 2 & 3 rod to make sure they were still round. But I was offered a brand new, still in the crate engine for £700 which I snapped up and after selling the bits off it I did not need plus the bits off the broken engine all I was out of pocket was my own time, very lucky.
I bought a brand new Golf GTi in 1989 and compared to the 1986 GTi I traded whilst still quick (for its day) it seemed unresponsive at lowish revs. Superchips did a chip and as it happened a racing friend of mine was an agent for them. He fitted it at mates rates and whilst it only gave the car another 4 bhp on his RR (which is what they claimed) it made the car drive like the old one.
Had it for 7 1/2 years and 113,000 miles with no issues. last saw the car in 2016, it was 27 years old and it was still going strong(ish).
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That would be a perfect recipe for another disaster. Unless the correct pistons and/or head gasket are fitted skimming will raise the compression ratio and another expensive failure will follow.
Back in my youth skimming a head on a Escort (or similar) would be fine since the head was flat (chamber in the pistons) so no risk (or benefits).
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Did you have new pistons fitted? Because a few thou off a head will not make a lot of difference,but at the end of the day it’s only my opinion but it’s YOUR money . Ps how much?
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Still not happy with it bottom hose dose not seem to be getting that hot, top hose hot both sides of filler cap . No bubbles anymore in overflow tank. but this bottom hose not hot at all a 20 min drive.. It had a new thermostat and water pump when the head was done, so should not be a problem is normal don't think so, taking it back in on Monday
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One wonders if it was overheating previously which led to the engine failure? I'm just wondering about the OP's comment "bottom hose does not seem to be getting that hot".
In my experience, if a thermostat is doing its job correctly, the bottom hose would become warm but remain a little cooler than the top hose. Cooling system thermostats are designed to 'fail safe', ie, in the open position but I have known them to seize closed which leads to engine temperature above the normal parameters, possibly leading to catastrophic failure!
Just thinking and perhaps reinforcing my earlier comment,
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Air locks and blockages can also contribute to overheating but if the car is going back to the repairer on Monday, a few tests should inform whether the cooling system is operating correctly or not and whether the bottom hose temperature is ok or otherwise.
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36 Posts
No not over heating, but it didn't the first time
Agree top hose should be hotter then bottom ., But mine just slightly warm , took my other car out on the same run miles etc and the bottom hose on that colder then top but sill quite warm .. But not losing any coolant or getting hot . but still concerns me
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Bottom hose should not get that hot. That is the whole point of the radiator. To cool the water.
I agree with sad555 it should not have needed a new head, just because a gasket has failed (unless head was seriously warped.. A good indi may even have managed to lap it rather than skin & fit a oversize gasket.
Hope OP got the old head back. As could get that checked and sorted.
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Thermostat doing its job properly.
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