The cylinder head gasket can usually be found between the engine block & the cylinder head. Its purpose is to contain the expanding gases in the combustion chamber & to keep separate these gases from the cooling system. It also seals & keeps seperate the oil & water ways between the engine block & cylinder head.

Head gasket failure can cause many symptoms i.e. gradual or sudden loss of coolant from the cooling system, gradual or sudden unexplained overheating, loss of heat from interior heaters, over pressurising of the cooling system, brief misfire on initial start up which may only last for 10-15 seconds or a constant misfire or hesitation. Depending on where/how the gasket has failed it can also cause an engine oil leak & allows a mixture of oil into the water system or water into the oil system.

There are various ways of checking for head gasket failure depending on how/where the gasket has failed, common methods of testing include: compression testing, hydrocarbon “sniff” test, pressure testing cooling systems, checking for coolant inside cylinders and in some cases the only way to check is by removing the cylinder head to expose the gasket.

Mechanical labour £58.75 inclusive.