Technical Car/Motor Issues > Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head
Thread Author: slowdown avenue Replies: 17
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New Wed 15 Dec 10 18:29 
 Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head - slowdown avenue
has anyone had a succesful head gasket replacement on a 1.2 ecotec x1.2xe vauxhall
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New Wed 15 Dec 10 19:51 
 Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head - Skoda
C'mon, vauxhalls aren't that bad, they don't melt if you undo the head bolts :-)

I've never done anything on one but i'm guessing it'll need the head skimmed and maybe it's on with stretch bolts so new bolts required, probably cheap though.

There's a crowd always advertising on the back pages of Car Mechanics magazine, "Auto Vaux". I've never dealt with them, don't know anything about them, but the prices seem fairly ok for what they shill in the adverts, and there's lots of claims about OEM this and dealer that. Might be a cheaper source for a Vx branded gasket set.
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New Wed 15 Dec 10 21:48 
 Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head - Victorbox
Autovaux are pretty well regarded in Vauxhall club circles as a source of OE quality parts at cheaper prices. www.autovaux.co.uk/
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New Wed 15 Dec 10 21:57 
 Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head - RattleandSmoke
You didn't happen to buy this car in March last year did you? The head gasket went on mine (same engine as yours) but no garage really wanted to touch it stating it will need a new chain etc etc.

I was tempted to use some of that radweld type stuff (it wasn't called that) but in the end I got so sick of it I sold it to a trader.

I used autovax for a MAF and had no problems with them.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Wed 15 Dec 10 at 21:58
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New Wed 15 Dec 10 22:32 
 Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head - slowdown avenue
oh i remember it well.in fact been trawling through old posts in search of info. thats the danger when buying a seconhand engine especially an old vauxhall you dont know what your getting. so was thinking of skimming and refitting what ive got. only mechanic said to me that this engine the head has a slight curve , so its a problem when skimming .
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New Wed 15 Dec 10 22:37 
 Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head - RattleandSmoke
A Corsa site will people to give you more details. I was a member of AllCorsa and it is quite good because it dosn't really get the chavs like most corsa sites do.

HG failure is supposed to be unusual on that engine but this is now two people on this site alone who has suffered from it.
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New Fri 7 Jan 11 22:14 
 Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head - slowdown avenue
bought a scrap engine for £235 and with a little help from me my mechanic will install over the wkend .thinking this is better than replacing headgasket. keeping fingers tightly crossed
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New Fri 7 Jan 11 22:23 
 Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head - RattleandSmoke
It is a gamble though :). Lets just hope the engine is not my old engine :).
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New Sat 8 Jan 11 10:43 
 Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head - Bellboy
>> bought a scrap engine for £235 and with a little help from me my
>> mechanic will install over the wkend .thinking this is better than replacing headgasket.
>>
>>it is as the heads warp quite easily on these engines and a gasket set cost me £100 last time i bought them only to discover the heap was warped like a banana and these cannot be successfully skimmed
remember to change oil and filter as a must on this engine especially as its been stood and be aware not to snap the oil pressure switch as you fit it
good luck
im assuming clutch ok while out ,do check it as it may have nailed itself to the flywheel while been stood and its not nice having to get the box off just to do what should have been done the first time (it was a viva git me boss)
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New Sat 8 Jan 11 12:48 
 Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head - Iffy
...and these cannot be successfully skimmed...

Does anyone know why not?

It's only a lump of (bent) metal, after all.

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New Sat 8 Jan 11 14:21 
 Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head - Bellboy
if you saw the headgasket you would understand straight away as its just made out of an old duckhams tin :-)

ie theres not enough clearance twixt valves and pistons when a skim is undertaken plus the compression would be raised too high
i hear one engine conditioner does a thicker gasket to compensate for the skim but its hardly an ideal situation on an engine that runs seriously hot due to aluminium construction minimum oil in the sump and an egr system dreamt up by some idiot in a straight jacket
Last edited by: Bellboy on Sat 8 Jan 11 at 14:25
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New Sat 8 Jan 11 14:36 
 Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head - Iffy
...i hear one engine conditioner does a thicker gasket to compensate for the skim but its hardly an ideal situation...

Thanks - thought it might be something like that.

If we had a badly bent head, we would sometimes offer to fit two head gaskets, for which impecunious customers were grateful.

Not such a bad solution on a low revving cast-iron pushrod engine.

What did defeat us was engines in which the combustion chamber was in the crown of the piston.

All but the very lightest grinding of the head meant you were skimming away the valve seats.

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New Sat 8 Jan 11 14:53 
 Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head - swiss tony
>> If we had a badly bent head, we would sometimes offer to fit two head
>> gaskets, for which impecunious customers were grateful.
>>

So THAT'S where you get your nom-de-plume from!!
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New Sat 8 Jan 11 17:21 
 Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head - Iffy
...So THAT'S where you get your nom-de-plume from!!...

Now now.

Different world in those days, ST.

Customers with no money, broken down far from home, were grateful to get back on the road at minimum cost.

I once saw a Ford V4 in which one of the heads had obviously cracked in two and been repaired with Araldite.

Can't remember the exact ins and outs, but I'm sure the owner told us the car had been running like that for some time.

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New Sat 8 Jan 11 19:14 
 Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head - swiss tony
>> Now now.
>>
>> Different world in those days, ST.
>>
I know... Ive been in the motor trade well over 30years...

Totally different these days...
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New Wed 19 Jan 11 23:21 
 Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head - slowdown avenue
success . the donor engine runs ok, just a bit better than original.
probably cost me £500 all in
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New Wed 26 Jan 11 04:58 
 Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head - Kevinlvy
wow nice to see that it has been alright with your engine. it a bit hard to find donor parts today since some would like to charge them. I for my situation had to purchase a cylinder head online and have some of my friend take care of the repair.

well cheers for you!
Last edited by: Kevinlvy on Wed 26 Jan 11 at 05:00
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New Wed 26 Jan 11 19:36 
 Vauxhall Corsa B - 99 1.2 cylinder head - slowdown avenue
bad use of the word donor. it cost ""£227
still running fine . had to get a new back box this week another £50. looking forward to a good run of no costs
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