Blown head gasket?
Gasket_Girl
03-02-2008, 11:50 AM
Hi there, I have an L reg Vauxhall cavalier. !.7 TDi.
The car is old but does run well, but recently I have had a few problems with the car, witch leads me to believe that I may possibly have a head gasket problem.
Firstly the car has always had an oil leak on the engine located near one of the injectors, we bought the car with this leak, at first we though tit was an injector leak, however at the same time the exhaust centre pipe had corroded and speaking to people at the time I was told that this can cause In injector leak, and that in many cases simply fixing the exhaust leakage can sort the problem. We had a new exhaust fitted and just assumed things would settle down.
However things did not, and I took the car to a Vauxhall garage who confirmed the leak was actually an oil leak and a substantial one at that.
I had an oil change at a service 2 weeks prior yet by the time the car was seen by the Vauxhall garage there was no oil left.
I topped the oil up and the oil levels actually seemed to be ok after that. I checked the oil ay least every week and I did not seem to be loosing oil going by the dipstick reading, however the oil leak on the engine did appear to be spreading.
Then I noticed the car starting to overheat, I had topped the coolant up to max, then 2 weeks or so later was going out for a drive when the temp gauge shot up to almost red!.
I checked under the bonnet and the coolant tank was empty I was shocked!.
I looke dup on the internet at the causes of the car using too much coolant up and the first thing I came across was a blown head gasket.
However checking the oil again today the levels are still up I have not had to add oil for months. Yet the oil leakage on the engine is now really bad. There is oil everywhere.
Could it be possible I have a blown head gasket and the coolant is mixing with my oil making it look like the levels are ok?
The oil is a dark dirty color, not the brown chocolaty color it said to look out for, and I can not see an apparent oil residue in the coolant bottle either.
The car is also quite bad to start and when it does start a load of white smoke is seen.
I also do hear the squeal like a slipping fan belt when the car is damp or cold. And the sound disappears when I dip the clutch!
Any ideas?
The car is old but does run well, but recently I have had a few problems with the car, witch leads me to believe that I may possibly have a head gasket problem.
Firstly the car has always had an oil leak on the engine located near one of the injectors, we bought the car with this leak, at first we though tit was an injector leak, however at the same time the exhaust centre pipe had corroded and speaking to people at the time I was told that this can cause In injector leak, and that in many cases simply fixing the exhaust leakage can sort the problem. We had a new exhaust fitted and just assumed things would settle down.
However things did not, and I took the car to a Vauxhall garage who confirmed the leak was actually an oil leak and a substantial one at that.
I had an oil change at a service 2 weeks prior yet by the time the car was seen by the Vauxhall garage there was no oil left.
I topped the oil up and the oil levels actually seemed to be ok after that. I checked the oil ay least every week and I did not seem to be loosing oil going by the dipstick reading, however the oil leak on the engine did appear to be spreading.
Then I noticed the car starting to overheat, I had topped the coolant up to max, then 2 weeks or so later was going out for a drive when the temp gauge shot up to almost red!.
I checked under the bonnet and the coolant tank was empty I was shocked!.
I looke dup on the internet at the causes of the car using too much coolant up and the first thing I came across was a blown head gasket.
However checking the oil again today the levels are still up I have not had to add oil for months. Yet the oil leakage on the engine is now really bad. There is oil everywhere.
Could it be possible I have a blown head gasket and the coolant is mixing with my oil making it look like the levels are ok?
The oil is a dark dirty color, not the brown chocolaty color it said to look out for, and I can not see an apparent oil residue in the coolant bottle either.
The car is also quite bad to start and when it does start a load of white smoke is seen.
I also do hear the squeal like a slipping fan belt when the car is damp or cold. And the sound disappears when I dip the clutch!
Any ideas?
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