head gasket about to blow...

skeenan89

went to get a cv joint fixed yesterday only to be told my head gasket is about to blow! need to get the car back to belfast where the guy who sold it to me says he will collect it from my house and have a look at it for me...and hopefully offer some sort of discount...haha
anyway, the mechanic yesterday said the pressure was holding ok....reckon id be able to drive to belfast if i take it slow and pull over if it shows any signs of overheating???
verrry stressed, 22 yr old girl who knows NOTHING about cars and really doesnt fancy breaking down on the motorway...:(

mike65

If you want a quick temporary fix, try a motor factors for something like this -

http://www.barsproducts.com/1111.htm

manatoo

is this your new 3-series??

kona

skeenan89 wrote: »

my head gasket is about to blow!

TAKE COVER!


Seriously get a second opinion!

skeenan89

what you mean get a second opinion? as in you think it isnt about to blow?

biko

How did the mechanic come to that conclusion, did they do any tests?
Is car smoking? Coolant/oil levels ok?

skeenan89

im not really sure...he said oil, water and collant were all fine but that there was oil leaking through a tank or something and that a hose had come away from the tank! like a round cylinder thing....im sorry i know im being retarded but have no clues about cars! he seemed to think it had just happened and wasnt to sure if i should risk the drive to belfast in case i broke down on the way....

Did he replace the hose?

skeenan89

no he said the clip holding the hose on wasnt in the right place and he moved the clip back up and secured the hose back into place...

biko

If you have the time, and the car, take it to another garage today and let them have a look?

skeenan89

skeenan89 wrote: »

anyway, the mechanic yesterday said the pressure was holding ok....reckon id be able to drive to belfast if i take it slow and pull over if it shows any signs of overheating???
verrry stressed, 22 yr old girl who knows NOTHING about cars and really doesnt fancy breaking down on the motorway...:(

skeenan89 wrote: »

im not really sure...he said oil, water and collant were all fine but that there was oil leaking through a tank or something and that a hose had come away from the tank! like a round cylinder thing....im sorry i know im being retarded but have no clues about cars! he seemed to think it had just happened and wasnt to sure if i should risk the drive to belfast in case i broke down on the way....

skeenan89 wrote: »

no he said the clip holding the hose on wasnt in the right place and he moved the clip back up and secured the hose back into place...

Fair enough if he put the hose back where it should be and secured it, to be honest no one can advise you because it's not possible to have a remote idea what if anything is wrong, sorry

mickdw

skeenan89 wrote: »

im not really sure...he said oil, water and collant were all fine but that there was oil leaking through a tank or something and that a hose had come away from the tank! like a round cylinder thing....im sorry i know im being retarded but have no clues about cars! he seemed to think it had just happened and wasnt to sure if i should risk the drive to belfast in case i broke down on the way....

If levels are ok and you have no driving problems and no obvious smoking or anything, what is he basing this on and why would he even go looking for a gasket problem?

skeenan89

because he said oil was leaking through and it shouldnt! there was oil in the engine from what i could see....
but i have no warning light or anything on? would i be best to bring it to another garage and see what they say?

skeenan89

http://www.autozine.org/gallery/peugeot/206_engine.jpg



can u see the white cyclinder tank thing with the lid....he said there was a lot of oil around this....

kona

From what youve said my first reaction is that hes havin you on. If a compression test showed up ok, just keep driving the car. If it goes it goes. If it really was on its last legs it would either have gone by now or, you would know something is wrong from driving it.

JAMM222

check the coolant to see if there is any oil in it, if there is you will see a mayonaise type texture on your coolant cap, if you can see that it means that oil is getting into your coolant tank and chances are that your head gasket will go

mike65

If there is oil in the expansion tank the gasket is going/gone

skeenan89

just had another look at the car....the oil seems to be leaking from the back left hand side....seems to be leaking from the hose connected to the big white cylinder....i think its the water tank! but there's no oil leaking onto the ground or anything!
also my dipstick seems to be very bent, would this make reading the oil level difficult??

If the hose was after falling off the clip that holds it on may be needing replacement, was this the hose the mechanic lad was at? May need a new clip or a bit of new hose over it to squeeze it properly to stop it leaking and coming off again.

ottostreet

If you turn on the heater, is there heat?

skeenan89

yeah that was the hose the machanic was talking about. he said the clip had been moved and wasnt in the right position at the top to hold the hose in place, but he moved the clip back up with pliers....

im not sure where to put the coolant....but i know i havent put any in since i got the car in october...where abouts is it to check??

skeenan89

ottostreet wrote: »

If you turn on the heater, is there heat?

yes, there's heat when i turn on the heater...

skeenan89

mike65 wrote: »

If there is oil in the expansion tank the gasket is going/gone

is the expansion tank the big white thing which says F O on the black lid? it has oil in it....

skeenan89

ok doubled checked...there is oil in the coolant reservoir.... i doesnt look like mayonaise...pure black oil! would this mean the gasket is gone?

kona

skeenan89 wrote: »

ok doubled checked...there is oil in the coolant reservoir.... i doesnt look like mayonaise...pure black oil! would this mean the gasket is gone?

Oil and water wont mix, the oil will sit on top and it wont be pure black, it will be a nasty creamy colour like a bad guinness head.

All seems abit odd to me, there is the possibility the gasket has leaked between a oil gallery and the water jacket, which is quite rare and would explain why the car runs normally and has no smoke out the back.

If you have water in the Oil get it sorte asap as the internals of the engine will be getting destroyed, Is there steam coming out of the cap where you put oil when the engine is running?

Put your hand over this and see if you can feel any pressure? If there is pressure the engine is worn in one place or another and all expensive to sort.

skeenan89

kona wrote: »

Oil and water wont mix, the oil will sit on top and it wont be pure black, it will be a nasty creamy colour like a bad guinness head.

All seems abit odd to me, there is the possibility the gasket has leaked between a oil gallery and the water jacket, which is quite rare and would explain why the car runs normally and has no smoke out the back.

If you have water in the Oil get it sorte asap as the internals of the engine will be getting destroyed, Is there steam coming out of the cap where you put oil when the engine is running?

Put your hand over this and see if you can feel any pressure? If there is pressure the engine is worn in one place or another and all expensive to sort.

just went out and turned the engine on with the bonnet up....now steam or pressure anywhere... and def no "guiness head" scum, completely black oil!

skeenan89

meant to say no* steam or pressure anywhere...

EPM

Oil filler cap, is there a mayonnaise like gunk on the underside of it?

skeenan89

EPM wrote: »

Oil filler cap, is there a mayonnaise like gunk on the underside of it?

no....its just brown as well!

pheelay

skeenan89 wrote: »

ok doubled checked...there is oil in the coolant reservoir.... i doesnt look like mayonaise...pure black oil! would this mean the gasket is gone?

There should never be oil in the coolant reservoir/bottle. It should contain only coolant which would have the consistency of water and be green, red, yellow...but not black. If there it really is full of oil then it's a definite sign of something wrong!

But what would surprise me with that though is that a mechanic would let you drive away with engine in that condition, unless it happened in the meantime of course.

Have you managed to check the oil level with the oil dipstick? If that much oil really has found its way into the coolant, then the engine would now be very low on oil, or the oil would be a brown emulsion.

skeenan89

pheelay wrote: »

There should never be oil in the coolant reservoir/bottle. It should contain only coolant which would have the consistency of water and be green, red, yellow...but not black. If there it really is full of oil then it's a definite sign of something wrong!

But what would surprise me with that though is that a mechanic would let you drive away with engine in that condition, unless it happened in the meantime of course.

Have you managed to check the oil level with the oil dipstick? If that much oil really has found its way into the coolant, then the engine would now be very low on oil, or the oil would be a brown emulsion.

there seems to be oil when i use the dipstick...however, the dipstick is a bit bent, not too sure if this is giving me an accurate reading??

kona

Bring it to a mechanic tomorrow, a different one for a opinion, IMO if the gasket was that far gone you would know that there was definately something up as the engine would be harder to start, and would struggle to idle properly.

The water in the coolant can go black if there is some sort of snake oil like radweld or any other potion sold in motor factors for a quick fix.

When oil and water mix, it isnt pure black.

red sean

Hi Guys, I have the same problem as Skeenan89 withy a Peugeot Expert 1.9D. Is'nt burning oil, has no sludge on the oil filler cap or "mayonaise" on the coolant cap. Yet coolant looks like black oil. Mechanic cleaned out the reservoir in case somebody had inadvertantly put oil in the wrong place as the oil filler cap is at the very front where you would normally expect to find the coolant cap. He said he has seen that happen a few times. However a few days later it was back again. I'm completely baffled as the van is driving perfectly apart from that.
Saw this product on the 'net. Does anybody know anything about it? Was wondering would it solve my problem.
http://www.barsproducts.com/barsleaks_products.htm

Edit: Meant the engine oil leak product.

skeenan89

red sean wrote: »

Hi Guys, I have the same problem as Skeenan89 withy a Peugeot Expert 1.9D. Is'nt burning oil, has no sludge on the oil filler cap or "mayonaise" on the coolant cap. Yet coolant looks like black oil. Mechanic cleaned out the reservoir in case somebody had inadvertantly put oil in the wrong place as the oil filler cap is at the very front where you would normally expect to find the coolant cap. He said he has seen that happen a few times. However a few days later it was back again. I'm completely baffled as the van is driving perfectly apart from that.
Saw this product on the 'net. Does anybody know anything about it? Was wondering would it solve my problem.
http://www.barsproducts.com/barsleaks_products.htm

Edit: Meant the engine oil leak product.

where you think the oil is coming from red sean? you reckon it would be okay for me to drive from dub to belfast to get it looked at up there??
my first car, feel like its my wee baby!

red sean

Completely baffled Skeenan, but the van is on the road every day for six weeks or so since I noticed it and no problem. However, it's up to you. Can only assume we both have a Peugeot problem. Nearest dealer is 40miles from me so have'nt got their opinion yet. Can't afford to take mine off the road for a day right now, so if it blows it blows! and vans are quite cheap now due to the obvious. Would love to know what the problem is though. Let us know please when you find out. Thanks and good luck. Doubt if you'll have a problem though driving to Belfast, as long as you do'nt go in Formula 1 mode!!!

skeenan89

red sean wrote: »

Completely baffled Skeenan, but the van is on the road every day for six weeks or so since I noticed it and no problem. However, it's up to you. Can only assume we both have a Peugeot problem. Nearest dealer is 40miles from me so have'nt got their opinion yet. Can't afford to take mine off the road for a day right now, so if it blows it blows! and vans are quite cheap now due to the obvious. Would love to know what the problem is though. Let us know please when you find out. Thanks and good luck. Doubt if you'll have a problem though driving to Belfast, as long as you do'nt go in Formula 1 mode!!!

same....need to get it to belfast....havent got the car too long and the garage who sold it to me are going to have a look at it! i've been having an internet look and it seems it could be something to do with the oil cooler having a crack in it (whatever that actually is) and not the head gasket at all!!
getting it looked at on monday so i will let you know!!

skeenan89

well i managed the drive to belfast fine...dropped the car into the garage this morning to be fixed....now just gotta wait for the hefty fee :(

cianclarke

Hope it works out not-so-hefty!
Reading through this thread though, have to say - great to see so many helpful heads still around

skeenan89

finally got my car back!! turns out it was in fact the head gasket! also turned out that the driving shaft needed replaced also! all in all came to £450,....not too awful! but hoping it'l run smooth for a few years now!:D

thanks for all ur help with the thread guys!!:D