General Head gasket blown?

[Andi1985]

Hi there guys its been a while right down to business, my little cinq might be dying.... I dont know if the head gasket has blown... ive recently changed the rad(aliuminiun core) and fan which are doing a spot on job hardly gets over 90 only when in traffic which is common. but today ive just had a look in my oil filler cap and there is a little bit or white stuff well not so white just grey white so i dont know... if the head is naffed what are the long term problems if i kept running the car as it is? and what are the effects of a blown head gasket????

Cheers andi

 

[bandido41]

How much is a litlle bit of white/grey stuff? could just be a little water that has gathered in the cap, any other symptons that may lead to signs of HG failure, eg losing water or smoking etc?

 

[lescombes]

does it feel like it's misfiring?, sludge could be condensation, sometimes an oil change cures that part.
boiling up, mechanical misfiring are normally the most common signs apart from white smoke (difficult to detect in the cold weather but is "heavier" than normal "steam" like exhaust in this weather..........

 

[Andi1985]

does it feel like it's misfiring?, sludge could be condensation, sometimes an oil change cures that part.
boiling up, mechanical misfiring are normally the most common signs apart from white smoke (difficult to detect in the cold weather but is "heavier" than normal "steam" like exhaust in this weather..........

Nope it does not feel like its miss firing , it pulls away fine very nippy alittle bit tappety but that was there when i brougt the beast!!!

 

[rallycinq]

OK, stop panicking.

Have you lost any water from the expansion bottle.

If no, then the water in your filler cap is condensation, and quite normal at this time of year.

If water is missing from your expansion bottle, then top it up, bleed it, and check it again in 3 days time.

Cheers

D

 

[tony811976]

it sounds like its been used for short trips if a car is only used to say take kids to school in the morning and used for short journies the engine never has a chance to warm up and can produce a little sludge in the cap.
clean it out and check it in a week after some good runs it may just be that its been topped up with a funnel with some water in it.
if it comes back change the oil and give it a good flushing out if it returns again it does look like the hg is starting to go. not done one on a fiat but does seem very straight forward.
or you could use this stuff.http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Steel-Seal-Head-Gasket-Fix-NEW-TO-UK_W0QQitemZ330192015128QQihZ014QQcategoryZ9895QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem do read the write up and see the video demonstration.
i have used this and it does work permantantly.

 

[Andi1985]

thanks for all the answers guys but i think the head gasket is gone cuz my friend next door had a looked and saw some water in the rocker cover part and with regards to to loosing water do you think that maybe due to the new rad??? it was full bled by a AA man its not loosing water on to the road so it might be the head gasket

Cuz a month ago the rad dropped the water all over the road and i did not realise it till i saw my temp gauge in the red so me and my mate had to wee in a bottle and top up it up with that it got us to the next petrol station, i brought some rad weld it got me to my mates house thats wen i brought a new rad and mr aaman came out to fit it.

Ill have to take a few pics tomorrow and ill let you guys decided, how much is it to have this problem fixed if there is a problem lol

 

[rallycinq]

Try and get your head round the fact that for water and oil to mix due to a head gasket problem, the water has to come from somewhere.

The only source of water within the engine is the cooling water.

If that water is not dropping, you do not have water in your oil.

While you may trust your AA man, check the bleeding yourself. There might have been some air trapped that has now worked its way round the system.

That is why I suggested refilling, bleeding and rechecking in 3 days time.

But hey, if you want to take the top off your engine, feel free. Its not like a woman, it won't change its mind once you've taken its top off!!

Cheers

D

 

[Andi1985]

HAHHAAHA love that last part lol Ill do as you have said and ill see what happens if the water level does drop ive got a failed head gasket? iev just had a look at the ebay item, that steel seal head gasket, do you think that might work? instead of having the head off???

 

[Pandarus]

I agree with D, particularly as the car is running well. 899 engine by the way?

Check for loss of coolant before you buy something you don't need!

<M>

 

[Andi1985]

hi guys just noticed today that the car is making a sqeakin noise from one of the belts it only happens when i put the acclater on. sounds kinda like the pressure is building up lol ITS GONNA BLOW LOL!!!! nope its a 1.1

 

[arc]

squeak is irrelevant... but you filled your rad with ****? :nutter:

 

[Andi1985]

lol that was on the old rad the new one has 50% water and 50% anti freeze lol

 

[rallycinq]

Tighten or change the alternator belt. It will skweel worse at this time of year as you have lots of electrical items switch on.

FFS relax, man, you'll give yourself a heart attack.

Cheers

D

 

[Andi1985]

right im back just had a problem today was in traffic my car fan came on like usaul then went off but the temp carried on rising lol to around 95-100 lol then the fan came on and off????? it did not stay on??? i thought it wud stay on untill it got to its normal temp of 90-85 or somthing. could this be a sign of over heating????? i seem to be loosing coolent now but ive been told about this steel seal stuff anyone know about it??? sounds promising.

 

[fingers99]

right im back just had a problem today was in traffic my car fan came on like usaul then went off but the temp carried on rising lol to around 95-100 lol then the fan came on and off????? it did not stay on??? i thought it wud stay on untill it got to its normal temp of 90-85 or somthing. could this be a sign of over heating????? i seem to be loosing coolent now but ive been told about this steel seal stuff anyone know about it??? sounds promising.

Forget the seal stuff -- it's a bodge. Put the car on axle stands at the front, run it up to where the fan cuts in, and see if you can spot where the water is coming from (if any).

 

[Andi1985]

its not leaking... from the out side it looks internal thing is i dont mind if its a bodge job as long as it lasts me till feb next year cuz im gettin a new car then lol

 

[Andi1985]

its either a £300-£400 job or a £25 job and im not having the car any longer so whats point in wastin money???

 

[fingers99]

Point is that, so far, while I see evidence of overheating and you say there's water loss, there's no evidence of head gasket failure. The seal stuff will sometimes fix (temporarily) a head gasket. But often at the expenses of gumming up the radiator (which will cause overheating and eventual head gasket failure). It won't fix any other water leak.

As Rallycinq has said many times, don't automatically assume it's the head gasket -- eliminate all the cheaper possibilities first. Don't rule out a leak from the water pump bearing seal which may only occur once the engine is up to temp and is otherwise invisible from the top of the bonnet.

Usually a permanent fix is cheaper -- let alone more effective -- than a bodge.

 

[Andi1985]

im going to take the rocker cover off tonight and have a look to see if i can see anything in there to surgest that the head gasket has gone *poof* ill take pics tonight and post them *WATCH THIS SPACE*