(((HELP))) Please tell me this isn't happening...
ci5ic
04-30-2004, 05:44 PM
Okay... the head gasket on my hatch is shot, my Jeep is running like shit, and now, it's looking like the head gasket in my sedan is fuxored, and I'm so broke my cash bounces.
Car runs fine at first, but once it gets driven for a while, these are the symptoms:
Burning oil (the big ol' blue cloud behind the car type of burning oil).
Won't make power below 3k RPM.
Overheating.
I yanked out the spark plugs and the threads are covered in oil... might've just been oil in the spark-plug tubes, but I don't know. There's water/coolant in the radiator. Checked the oil, and it looks kinda dirty, but can't tell if there's water in it... ????
Any ideas? I'm really hoping its not the head gasket, but is there anything else it could possibly be (and how would I go about checking)?
Car runs fine at first, but once it gets driven for a while, these are the symptoms:
Burning oil (the big ol' blue cloud behind the car type of burning oil).
Won't make power below 3k RPM.
Overheating.
I yanked out the spark plugs and the threads are covered in oil... might've just been oil in the spark-plug tubes, but I don't know. There's water/coolant in the radiator. Checked the oil, and it looks kinda dirty, but can't tell if there's water in it... ????
Any ideas? I'm really hoping its not the head gasket, but is there anything else it could possibly be (and how would I go about checking)?
amy@af
05-01-2004, 01:22 AM
i dunno if this would/could be but, it's an easy check. check your thermostat
you can probably eliminate the oil on the plugs as an issue. i could sit here and type the whole dang story, but i'll spare both of us. long story short: my old a6 had oil on plugs but ended up blowing the head gasket. had a shop replace the head gasket and it blew again within a couple of months. replaced it again and this time it held. sold the a6 in hooptie whoop. the new owner has tortured the engine. you pull out a plug and it now literally drips oil...but the car runs fine. it burns a lil oil however, it doesn't overheat or have have any power loss.
you'll know if there is water in the oil if the oil looks like chocolate milk.
the fact that it is overheating and loss of power leans me towards a head gasket. i seem to remember your sedan being on the lower side for the mileage. you probably could yank the head and replace the gasket and call it good. it's probably worth fixing
you can probably eliminate the oil on the plugs as an issue. i could sit here and type the whole dang story, but i'll spare both of us. long story short: my old a6 had oil on plugs but ended up blowing the head gasket. had a shop replace the head gasket and it blew again within a couple of months. replaced it again and this time it held. sold the a6 in hooptie whoop. the new owner has tortured the engine. you pull out a plug and it now literally drips oil...but the car runs fine. it burns a lil oil however, it doesn't overheat or have have any power loss.
you'll know if there is water in the oil if the oil looks like chocolate milk.
the fact that it is overheating and loss of power leans me towards a head gasket. i seem to remember your sedan being on the lower side for the mileage. you probably could yank the head and replace the gasket and call it good. it's probably worth fixing
ci5ic
05-01-2004, 01:31 AM
Yeah, I remember your tribulations with the a6 head gasket...
When I pull the dipstick for the oil, it looks like some weird oil residue goes half-way up the stick, and then the oil looks kinda normal at the end of the stick (except for a bit of milkyness to it).
I'm almost positive that it's the head gasket which sucks because I can't even afford the head-gasket itself right now, and so we're down to one car at this point. I'll probably try to replace the head gasket myself, and it'll be a miracle if I don't fuck it up LOL... might even fix the problem too... Wish I had a compression tester.
When I pull the dipstick for the oil, it looks like some weird oil residue goes half-way up the stick, and then the oil looks kinda normal at the end of the stick (except for a bit of milkyness to it).
I'm almost positive that it's the head gasket which sucks because I can't even afford the head-gasket itself right now, and so we're down to one car at this point. I'll probably try to replace the head gasket myself, and it'll be a miracle if I don't fuck it up LOL... might even fix the problem too... Wish I had a compression tester.
amy@af
05-01-2004, 01:39 AM
if it looks milky then it's probably the gasket :(
should you decide to change it: be sure you get the correct attachment for a drill to remove all of the old gasket. i dunno the correct name of it...it looks like a french tickler for your drill :uhoh:
when you remove the gasket, don't stay in 1 spot to long or the block will heat up and warp. just dropping a little FYI in case you had never heard that before.
i know you are a very compitent person, i know you can do this without any troubles.
i say just drop in the y8 and say screw the sedan until after may 22 :evillol:
should you decide to change it: be sure you get the correct attachment for a drill to remove all of the old gasket. i dunno the correct name of it...it looks like a french tickler for your drill :uhoh:
when you remove the gasket, don't stay in 1 spot to long or the block will heat up and warp. just dropping a little FYI in case you had never heard that before.
i know you are a very compitent person, i know you can do this without any troubles.
i say just drop in the y8 and say screw the sedan until after may 22 :evillol:
Automotive Network, Inc., Copyright ©2025