GTI_Lee 0 Posted May 20, 2007 hi well overs 2 days i have filled my header tank up 3 times. and it just keeps dissapering. i cant see/find a leak anywhere. i think that it must be the head gasket. what can i do to check this? thanks lee Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gti-si 0 Posted May 20, 2007 White smoke (steam) coming from the exhaust in excess, mayo in the oil filler and check your oil for water too. If its using that much water and you can't see it leaking from anywhere i'd suspect there'd be plenty of white smoke and you'll probably find water in your oil Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GTI_Lee 0 Posted May 20, 2007 theres no smoke at all. there is abit of mayo on filler cap. but my dad seems to think that maybe because of a breather blocked. lee Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gti-si 0 Posted May 20, 2007 Strange that it's oosing so much water....The mayo could well just be a blocked breather. Have you checked the oil for water? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beastie 1 Posted May 21, 2007 Common signs at the very beginning of a wet - linered head gasket faliure (before the dreaded white smoke becomes apparent): Excess coolant pressure - once the car has been driven up to working temperature and then allowed to cool down to ambient temperature there may still be a big "whoosh" of pressure when you take the expansion bottle cap off. Gurgling sounds when you first start the engine from cold Bubbles in the coolant: Take the cap off the expansion bottle when cold and top up the coolant way above the max mark. Run the engine until it gets reasonably warm and keep the level of the coolant near the filler neck of the bottle. Then check for occasional streams of bubbles coming through the coolant. Heater leaks: The joint between the heater matrix and the pipes inside the car can't cope with the excess pressure of a head gasket blowing into the cooling system - look for signs of wetness on the drivers carpet below the heater pipes. If you really have a healthy budget you could run a pre mix coolant such as Forlife which changes colour as soon as a head gasket starts to fail. Hope this helps! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TEKNOPUG 3 Posted May 21, 2007 A few of these symptoms will be evident if you have a faulty expansion cap too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beastie 1 Posted May 21, 2007 A few of these symptoms will be evident if you have a faulty expansion cap too. Other than heater leaks (although I've never seen them caused by a faulty cap) which ones? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TEKNOPUG 3 Posted May 21, 2007 All of them apart from the heat leaks!!! Mine displayed all of the aformentioned characteristics. I was bracing myself for a head gasket change when one afternoon I was topping up the water level (about 2 litres) when I mistakenly fitted an expansion cap from my spare GTi. All was fixed! The spring had gone loose on the original cap. I've had no more problems whatsoever in the 9 months since I swapped the caps over. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beastie 1 Posted May 21, 2007 I've had no more problems whatsoever in the 9 months since I swapped the caps over. Jammy git Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pug_ham 245 3 Cars Posted May 22, 2007 Heater matrix, are the carpets in the front footwells wet? Graham. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
taylorspug 7 Posted May 22, 2007 Expansion cap is worth checking, both me and Maxi have had them go wrong recently, resulting in both my MI and his GTI-6 taking ages to cool down after sitting in traffic and pumping water out of the breather in the expansion tank in a very head gasket gone-esque way. Ive yet to get a new cap fitted, but he reckons a new one has cured his. Heater matrix is worth a check aswell, this is also knackered in mine and was losing a fair bit of coolant through it. If it does turn out to be this take your stereo out sharpish, as it will get covered in coolant and break, just like mine did... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leitoo 0 Posted May 22, 2007 Things that come to mind.... Oil colour on the dipstick: check that the colour of your oil is normal and not looking like coffee with milk. Oil in the expansion tank or radiator cap High pressure in the coolant system: once the car has been run to working temperature try to squeeze the coolant hoses to see if there is high pressure in them The guys already mentioned this but check for high pressure on the expansion bottle when removing the level meter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Owain1602 0 Posted May 22, 2007 Best way is to check coolant for any traces of CO on a gas analyzer, definite test. Also you run it till its warm and the system is pressurised, then let the pressure out of the system and put the cap back on. You then drive it and see how pressure builds up and how quick. Its easiest done with a pressure gauge on the system. careful letting the pressure out when its warm. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
