Originally Posted by
Ausfree
From what I can understand, the 1.8L is basically a bad design, the cooling system really doesn't hold enough coolant and the thermostat is badly positioned so that when it opens it causes Thermal Shock to the motor which over time causes the liners to slip and the sympton of that is Head Gasket Failure. I believe you can reinstall modified liners and also a special laminated head gasket as well as a redesigned thermostat, but it is all quite expensive and people don't bother, particularly as most FL1's are at least 10 years old it is not economical to repair them so most people just sell them as scrap.
The V6 (which I own) can also have the same problem but because it is a different engine it is much less likely to happen. The diesel is the only way to go and if I had my time over I would have bought the TD4 diesel motor. The big downside of the V6 is they are thirsty, as I have found out and like all European cars they use PULP which is of cause more expensive than ULP. Hope that helps.:)