Technical Has my Seicento blown its head gasket?

[danishfiatdriver]

Hi there!

I've got my self a 2001 Fiat Seicento sporting which I am worried about having a blown head gasket.

The following symptoms are present:

- Coolant disappears from the overflow without any visible leaks (very little though, like a cup worth for every 800 km's)
- Idling very badly with occasional misifires (though this might be an electrical issue, at high loads there's a blinking CHK engine light - plugs and leads are fresh)
- Engine radiates quite a lot of heat inside bonnet and fan kicks in quite often (though we're having a spectacular heat wave here in Denmark at the moment, so I'm unsure).

Here's whats causing my to think there might be another reason for the disappearing coolant:

- There is A LOT of condensation on the inside of the radiator expansion reservoir. Looks like when you're boiling something in a pot with a lid on.

- The car is not OVERheating (no red lights, unfortunately no temp gauge though)

- The car has driven just fine from Copenhagen to Amsterdam and back (1.600 km trip) and a 500 km Sweden trip without letting me down, and/or worsening of the symptoms in the last couple of days.

-No "mayonaise" in the oil cap

-No seeming oil in the coolant


I will be getting an OBD scan tool in the mail soon that will tell me the cause of the engine light and the accurate coolant temp but until then I want to ask:

What else could be causing coolant to disappear and condensation to form in the reservoir? Seems to me like coolant is somehow evaporating.

I've checked the coolant with those turkey-baster things and it's fine both in freezing and boiling points, so it's not to blame. Lots of black grainy material in the coolant though, maybe gasket material?

Oh, and one last thing, there is this faint smell of coolant in the car, not only when the heater is on (which works), but also when completely off. Carpets are bone-dry and so is the underside of the dash.

Please help me guys!

 

[Mr Pickle]

Sounds just like mine tbh, uses a little coolant and seems to run hot but has never overheated in 10k miles.
The check engine light and dodgy running could be the coilpack, Or lambda sensor?

 

[Michael Dranfield]

I have a 2003 seicento and every thing seems to be running ok but I took it for the MOT on Wednesday and it passed with no advisories and when I looked at the emissions sheet the CO was Zero and the hydrocarbons the limit has to be less than 200 parts per million and mine was only 1 PPM , I assumed this was the sign of an engine that is like brand new but talking to a guy in the pub he recons this unusually low reading is caused by a faulty head gasket and its burning water. Can anyone else add to this or confirm this is indeed correct ?????

 

[Ralf S.]

Hi there!

I've got my self a 2001 Fiat Seicento sporting which I am worried about having a blown head gasket.

The following symptoms are present:

- Coolant disappears from the overflow without any visible leaks (very little though, like a cup worth for every 800 km's)
- Idling very badly with occasional misifires (though this might be an electrical issue, at high loads there's a blinking CHK engine light - plugs and leads are fresh)
- Engine radiates quite a lot of heat inside bonnet and fan kicks in quite often (though we're having a spectacular heat wave here in Denmark at the moment, so I'm unsure).

Here's whats causing my to think there might be another reason for the disappearing coolant:

- There is A LOT of condensation on the inside of the radiator expansion reservoir. Looks like when you're boiling something in a pot with a lid on.

- The car is not OVERheating (no red lights, unfortunately no temp gauge though)

- The car has driven just fine from Copenhagen to Amsterdam and back (1.600 km trip) and a 500 km Sweden trip without letting me down, and/or worsening of the symptoms in the last couple of days.

-No "mayonaise" in the oil cap

-No seeming oil in the coolant


I will be getting an OBD scan tool in the mail soon that will tell me the cause of the engine light and the accurate coolant temp but until then I want to ask:

What else could be causing coolant to disappear and condensation to form in the reservoir? Seems to me like coolant is somehow evaporating.

I've checked the coolant with those turkey-baster things and it's fine both in freezing and boiling points, so it's not to blame. Lots of black grainy material in the coolant though, maybe gasket material?

Oh, and one last thing, there is this faint smell of coolant in the car, not only when the heater is on (which works), but also when completely off. Carpets are bone-dry and so is the underside of the dash.

Please help me guys!

Check for air in the radiator when the system is cold.

There's a bleed screw on the back of the radiator (next to the right hand side headlamp). Just unscrew it slowly until air or coolant comes out. Be careful not to unscrew it so far that it falls out.. otherwise coolant will spurt out and you won't be able to put the screw back in without getting coolant all over the place...

If air comes out, let it bleed until coolant emerges, then tighten up the screw and top up the coolant reservoir, since the level will have dropped.

Drive the car a few days/week and do this test again. If you keep finding air, then your head gasket is gone. Gas is getting into the cooling system and it will collect in the radiator. The extra pressure will force coolant out of the reservoir (you might notice a wet bonnet liner, or coolant marks, above the cap).

If you only get coolant coming out, then sounds like the gasket is fine. You might have another kind of leak.

Check around the thermostat, underneath the airbox and the heater hoses on the bulkhead (next to the battery). Also under the car, check the radiator, hoses and the metal pipe in front of the engine.

Look for coolant residue (pink or green crystals). Could be a clip or gasket that allows a minor leak, especially if the ambient temperature is very higher than normal. The system will be under greater pressure, so if it's going to leak anytime, it'll leak now.


Ralf S.

 

[Ralf S.]

I have a 2003 seicento and every thing seems to be running ok but I took it for the MOT on Wednesday and it passed with no advisories and when I looked at the emissions sheet the CO was Zero and the hydrocarbons the limit has to be less than 200 parts per million and mine was only 1 PPM , I assumed this was the sign of an engine that is like brand new but talking to a guy in the pub he recons this unusually low reading is caused by a faulty head gasket and its burning water. Can anyone else add to this or confirm this is indeed correct ?????

No. Extra water in the cylinder will affect combustion and lower the temperature in the affected cylinder(s), which would lead to incomplete burning ... so emissions would be higher with a duff gasket, not lower.


Ralf S.