Vw polo Head gasket gone?

robclay26 · 19-12-2014 11:10AM #1

Looking for a bit of advice,

Car is using coolant, was with my mechanic and he found a leak and repaired it, car is using coolant again.
It is using a bit of oil too, I keep an eye on the dipstick and top it up of needed,
Engineer running well.
This morning checked the expansion bottle and it was foamy and a brown scum in it, the oil on the stick is not contaminated and the filler cap is the same, no contamination.
My mechanic put an additive into the coolant a few weeks ago when repairing the coolant leak.

Any ideas? Would the cylinder head gasket be gone? I'm in work and won't get it up to him until tomorrow. It's a 1.4 tdi polo 2002

Thanks

arthur daly · 19-12-2014 11:36AM

Yup sure sounds like the head is gone

arthur daly · 19-12-2014 11:37AM

Yup sure sounds like the head is gone

robclay26 · 19-12-2014 02:13PM

arthur daly wrote: »

Yup sure sounds like the head is gone

Thanks Arthur for your help.
That's going to cost a lot!

robclay26 · 12-01-2015 02:11PM

Got a pressure test done on the coolant system, no cylinder head gasket leak, system had 2 o rings perished and have been replaced and an additive put into the system, seemed to hold up fir a while but noticed today 2 weeks later, coolant level going down in the expansion tank.

Any ideas?
Car is 2002 polo 1.4tdi 110,000 miles

spiggotpaddy · 12-01-2015 02:26PM

Check the oil cooler. And the heater matrix.

robclay26 · 12-01-2015 02:33PM

spiggotpaddy wrote: »

Check the oil cooler. And the heater matrix.

Hi paddy,

Check them for leaking pipes, connection etc or physical damage? What's heater matrix?

power pants · 12-01-2015 03:23PM

heater matrix would be expensive unfortunately

jca · 12-01-2015 04:14PM

robclay26 wrote: »

Hi paddy,

Check them for leaking pipes, connection etc or physical damage? What's heater matrix?

The heater matrix is a small radiator in the heater that provides the heat for the heating system. If the matrix is leaking you normally get a smell of coolant when using the heater, it's a horrible stink. Are any of the carpets damp/smelly?

robclay26 · 12-01-2015 05:35PM

jca wrote: »

The heater matrix is a small radiator in the heater that provides the heat for the heating system. If the matrix is leaking you normally get a smell of coolant when using the heater, it's a horrible stink. Are any of the carpets damp/smelly?

Aha, I know it now, but there is no coolant smell in the car nor is there and wet/damp spots on the carpets

robclay26 · 18-01-2015 06:03PM

robclay26 wrote: »

Aha, I know it now, but there is no coolant smell in the car nor is there and wet/damp spots on the carpets

Found the leek with the coolant, are these the pipes into heater matrix

jca · 18-01-2015 11:31PM

robclay26 wrote: »

Found the leek with the coolant, are these the pipes into heater matrix

Yep that looks like the heater pipes.. Well done tracking the leak down.

robclay26 · 18-01-2015 11:56PM

jca wrote: »

Yep that looks like the heater pipes.. Well done tracking the leak down.

Happy it's not the engine, but Jeysus, this looks hard to fix!

George Dalton · 19-01-2015 12:37AM

That is a common issue on those Polos. It is not much fun to fix to put it mildly. I did one late last year and it nearly cost me my sanity.

greasepalm · 19-01-2015 12:48AM

better way of checking head gasket is by the sniffer test

spiggotpaddy · 19-01-2015 12:57AM

greasepalm wrote: »

better way of checking head gasket is by the sniffer test

Facepalm more like.

greasepalm · 19-01-2015 01:00AM

no use this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHp5E7XnbXo

Vw polo Head gasket gone?

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