K-Series Headgasket

[nicky.mattsson]

Hi all.

I have a 1.4 Rover 100 with a K-series engine. I think my headgasket has gone. I have the usual sludge buildup on the oil filler cap, a bit is appearing on the dip stick and it seems to be using a lot of water.


My question is two-fold:
1. Do you guys think my diagnosis is correct.
2. If it is correct how difficult is it to change. I have limited spannering experience, just oil changes, spark plugs and i changed an altenator a while ago. Is someone like me going to be able to do it or is it worth getting a garage to do it?

Cheers in advance for any help.

[convert]

This time of year it could be condensation in the oil causing the 'mayo'.

Only real ways to check are a compression test, or a 'sniff' test of the coolant.

Lots of local garages can test the coolant to see if there is any combustion gas in it. Usually costs about £10.

[phumy]

If you have "heavy" mayo in the oil and as you say you are losing large amounts of water, and nothing is appearing under the car, then i think you can fairly well assume that the water is going internal.

As i am lead to believe the K series is very prone the gasket trouble, i would hazard a guess at yes it has gone.

[wildoliver]

Are you certain it isn't dropping the water? The waterpump/inlet gasket is a common fault and both are pretty easy to do.

[fatjon]

Its a bit of a ball ache to do but if I recall correctly there are a couple of chaps on ebay who come out and do a fixed price repair on K series head gaskets for about £300.00. Quite a bargain unless you are really skint and determined. NB the head may well need skimming, in fact it's a must really with the K series or odds on it will fail again very soon.

[That Daddy]

fatjon said:

Its a bit of a ball ache to do but if I recall correctly there are a couple of chaps on ebay who come out and do a fixed price repair on K series head gaskets for about £300.00. Quite a bargain unless you are really skint and determined. NB the head may well need skimming, in fact it's a must really with the K series or odds on it will fail again very soon.

Especially as the headgasket fire rings leave deep grooved impressions in the head mating face

[Justin S]

short journeys can build up white sludge and a leaking water pump can cause the water loss.You need to get a sniff test done.

[Mr2Mike]

fatjon said:

NB the head may well need skimming, in fact it's a must really with the K series or odds on it will fail again very soon.

Not so, it should only be skimmed if it is no longer flat. If the liners have left impressions in the head then it's a sure sign the engine has been severely overheated at some stage, and the alloy has softened. Sometimes these can be recovered with a "head saver" shim, but without this such heads are unlikely to ever hold a gasket again for any length of time.

[nicky.mattsson]

Cheers for the advice guys! I read about the sniff test and went outside and started to sniff the coolant. I soon realised that i did not know what coolant smelt like, let alone what contaminated coolant smells like!

What is it im smelling for? I think i may just take it to a garage and get a compression test.

[convert]

The 'sniff test' is actually a test that a garage will perform on the coolant from your car to detect hydrocarbons in the liquid.

[motorwise]

nicky.mattsson said:

Cheers for the advice guys! I read about the sniff test and went outside and started to sniff the coolant. I soon realised that i did not know what coolant smelt like, let alone what contaminated coolant smells like!

What is it im smelling for? I think i may just take it to a garage and get a compression test.

;)

[nicky.mattsson]

convert said:

The 'sniff test' is actually a test that a garage will perform on the coolant from your car to detect hydrocarbons in the liquid.

Whoops!