head gasket gone? :(

1. Dan1992 L-plater Joined: Jul 2009 Bridgnorth Posts: 77 mk2 Clio 1.4 16v

   #1 4th June 2010, 09:38

   not sure if my head gasket has gone, pulled up yesterday after like a 20 mile drive.. and i heard a funny noise.. looked under bonnet and there was like this sludgy shit coming out of the radiator and dripping onto the cat, making loads of steam/smoke :/... when i got home i had a better look and i looked like there was oil in my radiator..
   
   firstly: why was it dripping out? (the radiator cap has small cracks on rubber seal, cud be that?)
   
   Secondly: has my head gasket gone ?
2. user_1211 Infrequent Poster Joined: Dec 2003 ashford United Kingdom (England) Posts: 104

   #2 4th June 2010, 09:53

   firstly. the rad cap has a psi rating and it will release when it gets to set psi..
   
   secondly. is there any gunk on the oil filler cap. but i would say its gone..
3. Dan1992 L-plater Joined: Jul 2009 Bridgnorth Posts: 77 mk2 Clio 1.4 16v

   #3 4th June 2010, 10:05

   nah just checked the oil cap and the dipstick and it seems all clean :/
   it doesnt seem to effect the performance at all.. oh yeah.. earlier this morning i un attached all the pipes from the radiator and put a hose running through it for about 10 minutes to clean it out. seems okayish in there now.
4. user_35312 Established Member Joined: Jun 2009 Coventry CV6 Posts: 2477 Slowda Octavia vRS SOLD - Cam'd Chip'd VTR

   #4 4th June 2010, 10:24

   it depends on what part of the actual head gasket has gone, say if the water chamber section has gone you'll find that the coolant will be contaminated with oil but the oil will have no trace of coolant what so ever. This can often be the case and usually the performance of the car will not die at all really if it is in the coolant, if you think about it a tiny amount of oil in coolant won't make a great deal of difference to performance or coolant temp as oil is manufactured to run at over 1000 degrees, you might notice a sludgey residue or if you look closely enough (which is hard on saxo rads because they are shit) you might notice a colour change between the coolant, like when petrol is spilt on the floor and you get that multicolour shine, this would also indicate oil in the coolant but is quite difficult to spot in saxo radiators. Yet another test is to smell, generally if the HG has blown the rad will smell funny, possibly a bit fishy.. this is a chemical (iirc carbon monoxide) and will also confirm HG failure. Since you have flushed your rad most of those tests are probably no good mate, however if you have used just straight water to flush and fill the radiator and not coolant it might make any contamination easier to spot.
   
   Upon flushing was there lumps of shite in the rad?
   Did you bleed the rad properly?
   Losing any coolant?
   Heaters blowing cold air on warm setting?
5. Dan1992 L-plater Joined: Jul 2009 Bridgnorth Posts: 77 mk2 Clio 1.4 16v

   #5 4th June 2010, 10:28

   nah no lumps came out, but like you said about the petrol colour, there was that all over the floor afterwards, i think i bled it properly, i get some help from my dad so not sure, and nope not losing any coolant and not sure about the last one..
   why wud the HG go? its only done 49.5k miles :/ any ideas?
   cheers for the help btw
6. user_35312 Established Member Joined: Jun 2009 Coventry CV6 Posts: 2477 Slowda Octavia vRS SOLD - Cam'd Chip'd VTR

   #6 4th June 2010, 10:35

   Quote:

   Originally Posted by Dan1992 nah no lumps came out, but like you said about the petrol colour, there was that all over the floor afterwards, i think i bled it properly, i get some help from my dad so not sure, and nope not losing any coolant and not sure about the last one.. why wud the HG go? its only done 49.5k miles :/ any ideas? cheers for the help btw

   You could blow a Head gasket like any gasket can weep, rocker cover gasket etc etc.. Lack of routine servicing could cause this, old oil and coolant can often be a catalyst of blowing the gasket. A car thats done twice the milage but serviced every year would be better off than one thats done your milage but serviced hardly ever if you get me..
   
   If you said the petrol colour was present in the coolant id probably say thats justification enough to get a sniffer test/compression test to confirm this. Although if you go for a sniffer test id leave it a while because there might not be a great deal of contaminants present in the coolant if you have just flushed the rad, a sniffer test just checks the coolant for carbon monoxide.
   
   did you fill the rad up with just water, or did you use coolant?
7. Dan1992 L-plater Joined: Jul 2009 Bridgnorth Posts: 77 mk2 Clio 1.4 16v

   #7 4th June 2010, 10:38

   in all fairness i just do the little checks every 2 weeks or so.. water, oil etc, and i completely changed the oil at 44k miles so i dunno about that :/...
   
   and i think we just filled it up with no water as we had no coolant in the garage
8. Dan1992 L-plater Joined: Jul 2009 Bridgnorth Posts: 77 mk2 Clio 1.4 16v

   #8 4th June 2010, 10:39

   filled up with water***^^
9. user_1211 Infrequent Poster Joined: Dec 2003 ashford United Kingdom (England) Posts: 104

   #9 4th June 2010, 10:46

   check that the oil level dont go up...
10. user_35312 Established Member Joined: Jun 2009 Coventry CV6 Posts: 2477 Slowda Octavia vRS SOLD - Cam'd Chip'd VTR

    #10 4th June 2010, 10:47

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Dan1992 in all fairness i just do the little checks every 2 weeks or so.. water, oil etc, and i completely changed the oil at 44k miles so i dunno about that :/... and i think we just filled it up with no water as we had no coolant in the garage

    Dont use water as a long term solution.. what happens to water after 100 degrees? considering the normal running temps are fairly near this.. its well worth it
11. Dan1992 L-plater Joined: Jul 2009 Bridgnorth Posts: 77 mk2 Clio 1.4 16v

    #11 4th June 2010, 10:59

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sprint_gti check that the oil level dont go up...

    nah the oil didnt go up ..
    
    
    And any special coolant you'd suggest? or just bog standard stuff?
12. user_35312 Established Member Joined: Jun 2009 Coventry CV6 Posts: 2477 Slowda Octavia vRS SOLD - Cam'd Chip'd VTR

    #12 4th June 2010, 11:27

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Dan1992 nah the oil didnt go up .. And any special coolant you'd suggest? or just bog standard stuff?

    halfords stuff is pretty good.. very similair though
13. Dan1992 L-plater Joined: Jul 2009 Bridgnorth Posts: 77 mk2 Clio 1.4 16v

    #13 5th June 2010, 14:34

    Cheers for the advice mate, went out today, picked up a new radiator cap from scrappy for like 50p, got some radiator cleaner stuff, and got some coolant.. hopefully that should be the end of that!
14. user_35312 Established Member Joined: Jun 2009 Coventry CV6 Posts: 2477 Slowda Octavia vRS SOLD - Cam'd Chip'd VTR

    #14 5th June 2010, 16:56

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Dan1992 Cheers for the advice mate, went out today, picked up a new radiator cap from scrappy for like 50p, got some radiator cleaner stuff, and got some coolant.. hopefully that should be the end of that!

    Lets hope so too!
    Let us know how it goes
15. Dan1992 L-plater Joined: Jul 2009 Bridgnorth Posts: 77 mk2 Clio 1.4 16v

    #15 5th June 2010, 17:36

    Will do will do
16. Dan1992 L-plater Joined: Jul 2009 Bridgnorth Posts: 77 mk2 Clio 1.4 16v

    #16 6th June 2010, 10:16

    Just spoke to my Uncle, and he said its defo the head gasket, so today trying to get parts for it and fixing it.. unfortunatly im working so i asked my dad very kindly to have a go.. ill let you know how it goes as soon as its done
17. user_35312 Established Member Joined: Jun 2009 Coventry CV6 Posts: 2477 Slowda Octavia vRS SOLD - Cam'd Chip'd VTR

    #17 6th June 2010, 10:44

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Dan1992 Just spoke to my Uncle, and he said its defo the head gasket, so today trying to get parts for it and fixing it.. unfortunatly im working so i asked my dad very kindly to have a go.. ill let you know how it goes as soon as its done

    Ah thats a bit shit mate! never mind
    best of luck sorting it.
18. user_10473 Saxperience Forum Bum Joined: Jun 2006 Swansea Posts: 4946 Bianca White Peugeot 106 S2 Rallye, Saxo VTS

    #18 6th June 2010, 11:53

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lew_C (iirc carbon monoxide)

    
    Definitely won't be carbon monoxide. That's odourless.
    
    
    

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lew_C Dont use water as a long term solution.. what happens to water after 100 degrees? considering the normal running temps are fairly near this.. its well worth it

    What happens to water at 100 degrees in a sealed container...
19. user_35312 Established Member Joined: Jun 2009 Coventry CV6 Posts: 2477 Slowda Octavia vRS SOLD - Cam'd Chip'd VTR

    #19 6th June 2010, 11:58

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mr_P Definitely won't be carbon monoxide. That's odourless. What happens to water at 100 degrees in a sealed container...

    Does boil though don't it?
20. user_10473 Saxperience Forum Bum Joined: Jun 2006 Swansea Posts: 4946 Bianca White Peugeot 106 S2 Rallye, Saxo VTS

    #20 6th June 2010, 12:02

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lew_C Does boil though don't it?

    Nope.
    
    If it does get above it's normal boiling point. It will remain a liquid. Until the container is opened.........

    1 user thanked this post: user_35312
21. user_35312 Established Member Joined: Jun 2009 Coventry CV6 Posts: 2477 Slowda Octavia vRS SOLD - Cam'd Chip'd VTR

    #21 6th June 2010, 12:08

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mr_P Nope. If it does get above it's normal boiling point. It will remain a liquid. Until the container is opened.........

    Well i never knew that!