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Model specific boards => Golf mk2 => Topic started by: Mars Attacks on 14 October 2004, 21:57
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Hi, I have a problem with my MK2 and i'm fearing the worse at the moment.
Basically, a few days ago, the coolant level warning light came on. I stopped the car and saw that the level had dropped quite low in the expansion tank so i topped it up. didn't think much of it.
then the next day, i started up the car and the level light flashed up straight away, i checked the bottle and the water had dropped down again! this happened again over the next few days.
Tonight we looked at the engine to try and figure out whats wrong. it looked like the water isn't circulating through the coolant system as it wasn't returning through the top pipe back into the expansion tank. It that when you take the expansion cap off after running it for a short while, it builds up a lot of pressure and then shoots all of its load out. Plus, there appeared to be more white smoke coming from the exhaust as usual, but that may have been the cold weather.
There are no obvious signs of a leak anywhere on the car and the only things we can think of are blockage in the system, knackered oil cooler / water pump or the dreaded head gasket.
The car still runs ok and the oil and water temps stay well within good levels, but obviously i'm not going to drive it till i can think of what is wrong.
Any ideas anyone
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take the oil filler cap off and have a look for mayonaise type gunk around the cap. if your getting white smoke this would imply it was the head gasket. if you have the gnuk as well it is almost definately a head gasket! sorry dude, but you can drive a 8 valve fine with out realising the head gasket has gone. if your that bothered take it to a garage and they can put a tester in the coolant to tell if its been contaminated. that way you'll know for sure, but i'd say it is a head gasket.....
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water pump? is there any 'mayo' under the oil filler cap? or on the dip stick that will prob b the head gasket >:(
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there is no mayo under the oil cap at all and the dipstick looks as normal.
we filled the coolant back up last night (4 litres of warm water put in) then i drove home (2 miles maximum) and left the car overnight
opened her up this morning and the expansion tank was totally empty! but there were no signs of it leaking out. its very strange. i fired it up and it started and ran fine, but again, no coolant was being returned to the expansion tank. its getting very wierd.
as you'd expect, i've taken a different car to work today!
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I'm afraid that does sound like your head gasket. Probably gone between one of your bores and a water way. Oil way not effected.........yet :(
At the end of the day if the water ain't coming out anywhere obvious and you're losing it at that rate it's got to be going out the exhaust :'(
A leak down test would probably diagnose it for certain.
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i was fearing that, any idea on the potential cost. once its done is it normally plain sailing from there?
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you can buy a compression tester for about ?15 from Halfrauds or any good motor factors
compression test is the only concrete way you'll know if the head gasket has gone
also, just on the white smoke. you'll know the difference between normal exhaut condensation and proper white smoke. white smoke stinks!! and when you plant the throttle it will blow big plooms of white smoke!!
can u not fill it with water then sit with the car idling and check to see if there is any water leaks?
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yes, i'll have a go at doing that tomorrow, its strange as nothing was being returned to the expansion tank when the car was idling almost as if there was a blockage, but for it to dissapear so quickly is weird. Surely even if the headgasket was leaking, some water would circulate through the system back the expansion tank?
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Sounds like the thermostat isn't getting a chance to open to allow it to recirculate :-\
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bottom hose felt as warm as the top when it was warmed up so i'm not sure it will be that but i'm no expert.
well ive got a lot of things to check then tomorrow. i'm just praying that i've missed a leak or something like a water pump is knackered. but i won't hold my breath.
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If its going through the radiator then the thermostat is open.
Lets hope you find a big leak and a puddle on the floor :-\ Your carpets aren't wet are they........
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no, the carpets are bone dry, which is good normally, but i was kind of hoping they would be soaked!! if you know what i mean
i'll do the leak test tomorrow and give it a good flush out. cheers
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Oh well - good to rule out everything else before condeming the head.
Good luck
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Hi,
I can more or less guarantee that your cylinder head or head gasket is damaged near a cylinder bore and is blowing water into one of the cylinders. Take each spark plug out and I am sure that you will find that one of them looks as though it has been power washed, it will be cleaner than the other plugs. You will also have no heater due to loss of pressure in the cooling system. Get youself a Haynes manual and do the cylinder head job youself, it is very simple, just very time consuming. Let's know how you get on with the plug removal.
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will be checking the plugs tonight. one thing were going to try is bridging the water pipes going in and out of the oil cooler to see if that makes any difference. its just strange that the car doesn't appear to overheat and the heaters still work fine. i don't mind paying to get head gasket done, but i don't want to get it done Unnecessarily if its gonna turn out to be something else afterwards. ???
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car gone to garage today to get head gasket done, thought i'd get cam belt and valve stem oil seals done as well while head is off. will have it back later on this week hopefully.
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I'd say it's the return pipe to the header tank
the rad nipple blocks up then they chuck the water ;)
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I own a late Mk2 8v too and have recently been suffering a phantom loss of water.
I had the steel water pipe that runs near the oil filter replaced as it had corroded (quite disconcerting to look under the bonnet and see fountains of water!) I also had the flanges that attach to the cylinder head replaced as there was a leak from those. You can tell if they're leaking (so long as you have plenty of proper coolant in the system) as a residue will be visible around them. Check those too. However my car is still leaking after all this? :'(
r.e the lack of flow in the expansion tank - the top pipe is a breather i believe and not a pipe through which liquid should flow.
I am told that i may still have a leak on one of the flanges caused by a poor seal (donations welcome!) due to pitting of the cylinder head.
At the moment I am just living with the leak and filling up every 150 miles or so.
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well i think mine was giving me a clue as to it's problem on the short drive to the garage yesterday. by the time i'd got there, there were plumes of white smoke coming out of the exhaust. talk about making a big entrance. i must have been laughing stock!
getting the head skimmed and re-gasketed so hopefully all should be well when i get it back. getting new cam belt and valve stem oils seals replaced as well to get all the annoying jobs over in one. thanks for all the advice guys
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thanks for all the help guys. it was the head gasket.
got it back last night, had head gasket, new cam belt, oil & coolant change, valves reground and valve stem oil seals done while head was off and its sound as a pound again.
cheers