Is my head gasket on its way out :'(?

  1. Established Member Joined: Sep 2008 Cornwall Posts: 1594 Mk 1 Red VTR
    #1
    Recently noticed my vts has been sitting a little hotter than normal (normal would be below half) now it sits at half or just above half.

    So today i checked the coolant level and its fine (i only did a full coolant change about 2-3 month ago) but noticed at the top of the expansion tank theres some mayo appearing . I checked under the oil cap and around it and its clean.

    Is this the early stages of head gasket failure? help and adivce would be great cheers.
  2. Saxperience Hardcore! Joined: May 2006 Bristol Posts: 16575 JP4urio, 306 DTurbo SportShed
    #2
    Mayo doesnt normally show up i the expansion tank mate as theres much more water than oil, to get that mayo shite you have to have a large amount of oil with lesser amounts of water.

    The temp thing is a bit concerning though, and the white shit still neds looking into, so thge best thing to do would be to get a compression test done at a garage. Or buy the kit yourself, theyre reasonably priced. And then just go from there
  3. Established Member Joined: Sep 2008 Cornwall Posts: 1594 Mk 1 Red VTR
    #3
    Is that the best way to find out if my head gasket is failing then? How do these kits work? And where should i buy one from any ideas guys cheers
  4. Frequent Poster Joined: Dec 2008 Maidenhead Posts: 683 Saxo VtR '52
    #4
    Go to a garage, they can do a test with some liquid over the expansion tank which will tell if yours is failing
  5. Infrequent Poster Joined: Jul 2009 countesthorpe,Leicester Posts: 216
    #5
    on a bike this can mean ring wear or as you said head gasket leaking a little bit. if i was you i would probably get it changed sooner rather than later. as it`llbe cheaper to fix it now rather than fixing it later and it costig more mate.
  6. Regular Poster Joined: Sep 2008 milton keynes Posts: 334 saxo mk1 vtr in posssiiiii blue
    #6
    think they call it the sniffer test if it turns a certain colour it will tell you if the headgasket is fooked
  7. Established Member Joined: Nov 2008 Bridgy,somerset Posts: 1127 saxo vts 16v
    #7
    just keep watchin the water level m8 make it on the bottle and see if it drops,or start it up and see if u get loads of bubbles cumin up there the water and watch the temp light if it gets that hot the fans kick in but the temp guage keeps goin up u know ur head gasket goin lol happened 2 me on the motorway lol,my head gasket went in my vts 3 weeks ago lol,hope this helps alil bit.
  8. Established Member Joined: Apr 2009 Redcar Posts: 1971 2000 Posi Blue vtr
    #8
    Listen for the gurgling sound behind the dash just after start up - it is air in the cooling system (introduced through the failing gasket). I got one week of this happening as my only clue gasket was about to die. It went on start up from work, was on 3 cylinders so I thought coil pack/plug but after a few revs it cleared all the water from the cylinder, ran on four and just pissed steam from the exhaust. I limped home with a big bottle of water to top it up (remembering to bleed system again), it kept under 3/4 temp somehow. Head skim, service kit and gasket kit later was sorted. Cost less than £100 to fix it and 2 days of work. I took my time and cleaned the engine bay, head and did mild porting on the manifold while I was there. Good luck with yours