Impending disaster?

Author
Discussion

Fabio81

Original Poster:

23 posts

101 months

Thursday 28th April 2016
quotequote all
Hello everyone,
for quite some time I've been lusting after an S1 111S for sale near where I live. I think I may like the extra power over a standard S1 but I don't really like the poor history and maintenance of the car (which is basically sitting in a garage since 2012).
I also took some photos and by looking attentively tonight i saw this (see circled in red): could this be sign of an impending disaster? HGF?
Let me know what you think. Thanks!

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Thursday 28th April 2016
quotequote all
I don't think so. The pressurised channels are a long way from the the outside of the engine - when the head gasket goes, it's almost always between two internal channels so there is no external indication of the fault except for water in the oil and/or vice versa. The bit you have circled is a long way above the head/block interface anyway, I think that's just the cam-cover gasket.

Head gasket failure is hardly a disaster. If you can't afford the car to throw up the odd ~£400 bill, the Elise probably isn't the right car to be buying.

Edited by kambites on Thursday 28th April 08:09

itcaptainslow

3,694 posts

135 months

Thursday 28th April 2016
quotequote all
That's just the cam cover gasket leaking by the looks of it. Simple and cheap to sort.

Impasse

15,099 posts

240 months

Thursday 28th April 2016
quotequote all
You could fix that "disaster" with a sheet of kitchen roll.

Fabio81

Original Poster:

23 posts

101 months

Thursday 28th April 2016
quotequote all
Sorry everyone for my silly question, I'm just a newbie! :-)

itcaptainslow

3,694 posts

135 months

Thursday 28th April 2016
quotequote all
Coolant header tank looks a bit empty though...

Fabio81

Original Poster:

23 posts

101 months

Thursday 28th April 2016
quotequote all
itcaptainslow said:
Coolant header tank looks a bit empty though...
and also muddy (maybe it's a repost, but worth repeating). Not sure if it's oil mixed in water or just plain old coolant though.


kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Friday 29th April 2016
quotequote all
Difficult to tell from that angle. If it's oil in the coolant there will be a viscous yellowy substance stuck to the inside of the header tank (and/or oil filler cap); it has a similar consistency to mayonnaise. If the white bits are hard, it's probably lime-scale (you shouldn't really use hard water in the coolant system but people do).

If you're really worried about the gasket you can get it gas tested. If you're worried about it, given that the cam belts will need replacing anyway if it's been sitting idle for four years, get the head gasket checked at the same time because it's considerably cheaper to sort it while the belts are off anyway.

Edited by kambites on Friday 29th April 08:46

foz01

764 posts

262 months

Friday 29th April 2016
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Somehow that appears to contain vegetable soup scratchchin

Fabio81

Original Poster:

23 posts

101 months

Friday 29th April 2016
quotequote all
foz01 said:
Somehow that appears to contain vegetable soup scratchchin
I hope I won't have to pay extra for that!