buying gti with dodgy headgasket

[andyQ]

hi all, new round here,  i'm lookin for a bit of help, i'm going to have a look at a '90 mk2 8v tomorrow, story goes that its had the headgasket done including skim, but still getting oil in water and the mechanic says he's not sure what the problem is. the owners had enough though so might be able to get it for a good price, apparently its in good nick otherwise.
what could cause water/oil mix?
worst case the heads cracked ?
also any pointers on what else to look out for....never bought a vw gti before

any help really appreciated
cheers
andy

[FBF]

for starters welcome.  these are really good cars.  and i say that as an owner of 10 diffrent cars and hundreds in the past.

as foor a car with an iffy HG i would want it for less than 150 quid if it were me.  especially as you know someones had a go at repairing it and its still not right.

[andyQ]

seems hes had the engine 'overhauled' whatever that means and a new exhaust system and a few other bits, its 2 owners and hes had it for six years so reckon its a genuine enough motor, 3 door aswell, worth saving depending on the price, will know more when i see it

[Uku]

hmmm , id rip the head off agian tbh , theres only one place that oil and water can mix tbh , id suspect either the job hasnt been done properly or as you said theres a crack between the oil and water channels. only other place i can think theres a problem is the oilcooler has a crack internally. eitherway its gonna be expensive to repair , so the cars not worth alot as said above. its a good base for an engine conversion though

[rubjonny]

oil in water is usually the oil cooler not the HG, sounds like you'll get a bargain

[samw]

hello mate, I'm new here too and i have a mk2 8 valve with exactly the same problem and can tell you that the first thing i would check is for cracks, (if possible get it pressure tested). mine has a crack (between exhaust and inlet valves on cylinder #1, but only small, not even down to the valve seats) but have slapped it back together for the mean time as I'm skint and hardly do any miles. i have fired it up since putting it back together and runs ok,fan kicks in etc.

heads aren't too expensive and if you don't mind rolling up your sleeves isn't impossible to do yourself just time consuming 

I'm not a mechanic and has taken me bloody ages so far but its worth, i have two 8v before this one and when you get them running right they are superb cars.  good luck mate, hope this helps.

[NewStu]

Listen to rubjonny! Your all thinking its way more serious than it is!

[Uku]

aye i mentioned the oil cooler in my post , but its not 100% guaranteed thats the source thats all im saying. could get lucky and find thats it or unlucky and its internal engine wise , take ya chance and make your choice is all i can suggest