51 Renault Clio 1.2 8V engine question.

[TonyRPH]

My son's Clio has just been in for a service, and at the same time he asked the garage to diagnose a smell of fumes coming through the air vents.

This smell can only be described as crank case fumes, so I was thinking a blocked breather or something similar.

However, it has been diagnosed as head gasket failure.

The car doesn't use any oil or water, and there is no evidence of the two mixing.

Can the head gasket fail this way on these?

It's the 1.2 8v engine.

TIA.

[ADEuk]

More likely to be the heater motor resistor burning out.
Get a second opinion from another garage first

[HustleRussell]

A head gasket failure (from combustion chamber) can be diagnosed positively and cheaply using a compression tester. I would seek out a second opinion, but first remove the dip stick with the engine running and check for excessive breathing. Check the oil isn't over-filled. Check also for any blows from the exhaust manifold gasket or manifold/down-pipe union.

[TonyRPH]

ADEuk said:

More likely to be the heater motor resistor burning out.
Get a second opinion from another garage first

It's not an electrical smell - definitely smells like old oil or the smell that you get when running the engine with the oil cap off.