Got a problem with the tintop

[ed_crouch]

Hey fellas - could do with a bit o help with a suspected head gasket failure on the old Polo...

'99 Polo 1.4 8 valve.

Overheated to 130 Celsius due to thermostat failure on the motorway. Stopped. Cooled it off, and then tried to limp it to a friends house, but it overheated again, to about 120C where the recovery truck was called.

New thermostat and housing.

So then it still tried to overheat on the motorway on the way to my dads place 80 miles away, controllable by whacking the heater on.

The coolant level rises in the header tank by about an inch over the course of a long journey, and the cooling system seems to keep developing air locks which can be removed by squeezing the pipes with the cap off. Coolant level then drops.

Also, I have heard it misfire ever so slightly for a few seconds on cold start, but it soon cleared.

Me dad thought the coolant smelled slightly of combustion fumes. Its had coolant reently, and its spotless.

Did a terrible thing and put some Radweld in it at dads to get it home. This has stopped it overheating... Typical! I hate that sodding stuff, but its done its job for now...

To me this smells of head gasket failure. Any opinions?

Ta, and sorry to be a little off-topic!

Ed.

[Campbell]

Hi Ed

You can get a water tester to see if you have any hydrocarbons in the coolent from halfwits and other good motor factors.
Are you getting any back pressure in the header tank or gray smoke from the back.
start the car with header tank top off and see if coolent pi55es all over the place, head gasket..

[grahamw48]

Only had a HG go once, and the car was considerably down on power, boiled all the water off pretty much straight away, and white smoke out the back.

Company car, so no worries.

[matt-man]

Hey Ed!

Sorry to hear the cars giving you grief...

Ive only had a head gasket go once, and that was the same symptons as what Graham has described...mine wasnt a company car though! YIKES!

Thats Barrs stuff is awesome

[ed_crouch]

Hi Matt. I know, I feel dirty and used! That said if we ever sell it I could wait for the new owner to start driving away and then come running out of the house waving the remaining half bottle and suggest that its of more use to them than me?!?

Hmmmmmmm.......................

Cheers all! I reckon the symptoms are probably veeeeeery early HG failure, i.e. a mild leak.

[ed_crouch]

Well, Head gasket swapped out. Running sweetly now. Started first flick of the key.

Picture of the culprit here:



Dual layer steel head gasket. No.1 Firing ring delaminated and firing ring edge distorted causing leak to coolant system. Its not much, but its enough.