I have a 91 Volkswagen Golf as my daily Driver. Three weeks ago it started blowing coolant out the expansion tank. The head gasket gone. I had it replaced. The mileage was quite low, 128K miles so it was quite a shock that it was gone and Volkswagen's aren't prone to early gasket failure. It turns out corrosion was the problem (cast Iron Head). Had to get the head skimmed and narrowly missed having the other side of the engine skimmed as there was a channel cut between two water ports with corrosion. The guy was able to use special sealant to patch the channel.

I also have an 82 Firebird and am wondering should I have the head gasket done on that also. It is running fine at the moment but if I wait for it to go is that going to cost me more and do more damage. I don't know how prone the 2.8 V6 engine is for head gasket failure. The thing is the car was outside for ten years before I got it and driven very little. It is still not used much. If a car is used very little does that mean the car is more prone to early head gasket failure. Will corrosion be more likely to eat through the cast Iron head if the car is idle for long periods. The car, an 82 has only 83K on it which shows how little mileage it has done.

Any advise appreciated.

 

I'd say, pass on it. Head gaskets go when they go - might get 300,000 miles out of it.

 

Okay, will hope for the best. I think I will order a head gasket kit all the same as I presume they will be getting scarce from now on for the 2.8 engine. If I get a head gasket kit and head bolts, is that all I should need to do the head gasket.

Thanks.