Forum:
My 2002 Hijet (52000 miles) suddenly lost power. The engine sounded fine, but I was clearly going nowhere and had to be recovered. I got towed to safety, then the RAC came. RAC said engine was misfiring (it did sound like that when the RAC started it). My local garage now says it is the head gasket and seems to think the vehicle should be scrapped. I had not had any problems before this except that it seemed to be using oil. Does this sound like head gasket? If it is head gasket, surely the vehicle (MPV in average condition) is worth repairing? I need advice, urgently, please, since I know NOTHING!
Head gasket troubles are far
Head gasket troubles are far from unknown on Hijets! I've never done the job myself, though other have on here. I'm sure it's worth doing rather than scrapping the van, but shop around for quotes (as always. Any competant mechanic can do a pressure test on the cylinders to confirm if the HG is the problem.
1995 & 1998 Hijet vans and 2003 Extol
Thanks for reply PFM
I would rather have it repaired than scrap it. However, I'm told it will cost more than the van is worth. Garage mechanic says pressure is down, and reckons it is a day's work (£300 labour) just to get to the head gasket, let alone fix the problem. This sounds to me as if the cost of the repair will then just escalate. My difficulty is that I am totally ignorant of engines, so I have to trust someone. I am trying to get quotes from dealers - I am presuming that they will charge a higher price than an idependent. I was wondering if anyone had recent independent garage experience with head gasket and could give me some idea of what they had to pay.