Head Gasket Failure?
Discussion
Thanks for the advice guys
My symptons are as follows....
on starting the car I always leave it to warm up for a couple of minutes just to get some heat in the engine. At about 50-60 degrees C there is always steam exiting the exhaust and to such an extent that water forms on the tail pipes.
At normal temperature (ie:80-85) this stops happening. I thought the problem might be the HG because when the engine is cold the gasket will contract away from the block and head causing a small hole/crack in the gasket to be more exposed hence water through the cylinder and into the system and out the exhaust. But obviously when the block and head are up to normal temperatue this possible crack in the gasket will be sandwiched hence no leaks.
The other thing that really made me think the gasket was going was that when the engine is warming up the tick over is quite lumpy and I thought that water was causing the ignition to be watered down and missing the spark.
There is no Mayo under the filler cap and no other signs that I can see. The coolant is nice and green as it was changed 2 months ago but the reason it was changed was because the temp went off the scale and popped the coolant bottle pressure cap and popped the hose of the radiator, could this have been an early warning sign?
do all K16 engines make a some steam on warm up? My mates does so i'm still none the wiser.
Just one thing to add, i could understand the steam if the car has been in the garage unused for a few days or longer but it happens even if i run it up to full temp let it cool for an hour then warm it up again.
confusion - oh yes!
Best regards
Paul
My symptons are as follows....
on starting the car I always leave it to warm up for a couple of minutes just to get some heat in the engine. At about 50-60 degrees C there is always steam exiting the exhaust and to such an extent that water forms on the tail pipes.
At normal temperature (ie:80-85) this stops happening. I thought the problem might be the HG because when the engine is cold the gasket will contract away from the block and head causing a small hole/crack in the gasket to be more exposed hence water through the cylinder and into the system and out the exhaust. But obviously when the block and head are up to normal temperatue this possible crack in the gasket will be sandwiched hence no leaks.
The other thing that really made me think the gasket was going was that when the engine is warming up the tick over is quite lumpy and I thought that water was causing the ignition to be watered down and missing the spark.
There is no Mayo under the filler cap and no other signs that I can see. The coolant is nice and green as it was changed 2 months ago but the reason it was changed was because the temp went off the scale and popped the coolant bottle pressure cap and popped the hose of the radiator, could this have been an early warning sign?
do all K16 engines make a some steam on warm up? My mates does so i'm still none the wiser.
Just one thing to add, i could understand the steam if the car has been in the garage unused for a few days or longer but it happens even if i run it up to full temp let it cool for an hour then warm it up again.
confusion - oh yes!
Best regards
Paul
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