Technical Leaking Head Gasket?

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Technical Leaking Head Gasket?

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Jan 4, 2015
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I'm a bit concerned that my head gasket might be leaking. Its a 1.2 8v 2000 Punto.

I was just doing a few routine checks today, and noticed the coolant level was well down towards the Min line. About 4 weeks ago it has also been low (but I didn't think much of it then as I hadn't checked for ages before that) and I had topped it back up to Max at that time. So it has gone from Max to nearly Min in a month (about 500 miles).

Worrying its the head gasket, I took the oil cap off and found this:

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Looks like oil and water mixing to me.

I know sometimes it can be condensation from short journeys, but the car had been on a 50 mile round trip yesterday, so surely that would had dried out any condensation in the engine?

Also, I have noticed that the engine is quite rough when first starting up. The best way to describe it, is like on an old car when you left the choke out for too long. The car will kangaroo and feel down on power for the first few hundred yards. After that it will drive fine.

Does it sound likely that the head gasket is the problem?
 
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Either get a sniff test done of the coolant
That will tell u if the exhaust gases are getting in

Or get a compression test done
If hg has gone it'll show possibly where

Keep an eye on it
Ensure no leaks present
Little mayo is expected, it takes 1 cold night and the hot air inside cools = water
1 long run wont clear it, several are


Ziggy
 
Do a pressure test after bleeding system, engine still cold, remove spark plugs and check for any differences in colour between plugs. Headgasket normally goes on cylinder no.1 on these. (Timing belt end of engine)
A small amount of emulsified oil on oil filler cap doesn't always indicate headgasket. The older the design of engine the more likely you are to get this.
 
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