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Author Topic: Head Gasket :(  (Read 2450 times)

Offline MoshiMoshi

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Head Gasket :(
« on: 22 January 2013, 02:31 »
Edit: The car is a mk4 golf 1.8t AUM

Hi all, after a recent coolant change/top up my car has been emitting a slight burning/hot/candle smell. Today the smell got increasingly worse as I was idling outside my house and I opened the bonnet to see what could have been a light mist of steam. Further to this my oil filler cap has a light coating of moyo on it. Now I guess the head gasket has gone/is going? This may be due to a slight overfill of coolant which I aim to correct tomorrow.

Do you all reckon its the head gasket? If so how much can I expect to pay in repairs? I might have caught it early as the engine still runs perfectly.

Some further research has revealed a possible problem with the heater core?

If anybody wants to earn a bit of money and lives near Bath let me know. I can't afford to have a garage do it (I'm only a shift manager in Pizza Hut)


Thanks!
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I thought Volkswagens were supposed to be reliable?

Offline Dalo Harkin

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Re: Head Gasket :(
« Reply #1 on: 22 January 2013, 08:04 »
when you say you overfilled the coolant by how much?
remember the coolant expansion tank has an overflow to stop over filling, have you checked the block to see if there are any leaks?
steam from under the bonnet could be the excess dropping onto the downpipe
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Offline MoshiMoshi

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Re: Head Gasket :(
« Reply #2 on: 22 January 2013, 10:11 »
Only a little too much, I suppose the excess dripping onto the downpipe could explain the burning coolant smell?

I'm just off to get rid of some coolant and check for more moyo and any oil/petrol in the expansion tank.
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Offline xtetx

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Re: Head Gasket :(
« Reply #3 on: 22 January 2013, 10:20 »
The smell of oil could be a breather pipe on your crank case, it is a common fault on these engines! check that too

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Offline MoshiMoshi

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Re: Head Gasket :(
« Reply #4 on: 22 January 2013, 11:43 »
Okay, well. Today there is absolutely no emulsified oil. None. I also took the car to my local garage and the damn thing wouldn't make the smell I was talking about.

The coolant level has dropped back to exactly where it used to be, and the coolant although quite murky and brown doesn't seem to be contaminated with oil or anything.

It's booked in for its ARB drop links on friday, so they said they'll have a look and see what they can do about the burning smell.
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Offline Dalo Harkin

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Re: Head Gasket :(
« Reply #5 on: 22 January 2013, 12:16 »
mayo on the rocker cap is usually from lots of short runs, check the pipes in the breather system arent covered in it on the inside.
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ARZ K03s, Oettinger Side Skirts, R32 front, Carbon stage 2, Forge 007p (yellow spring), Forge Actuator (yellow spring), Pipercross panel filter with DSG parts, N249 and N112 deleted, SAI deleted, Carbon canister deleted, Rear wiper deleted, Long Life turbo back custom exhaust with 200 cell sports cat, VR6/G60 clutch kit, Creation Motorsport TIP, Catch can, 'Wellycooler', K04 charge pipe, S3 ported inlet manifold - looks pretty standard on the outside though :)

Offline Kelvin1977

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Re: Head Gasket :(
« Reply #6 on: 22 January 2013, 13:55 »
Short runs combined with split coolant ? Mayo I have found is common on all the VW I have owned I find its worse in the snow etc as never gets to spread it legs. But someone else might say different
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Offline harlemex

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Re: Head Gasket :(
« Reply #7 on: 22 January 2013, 21:13 »
I dont think you have a problem headgasket, you seem to be jumping to conclusions. How does the car run?
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Offline MoshiMoshi

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Re: Head Gasket :(
« Reply #8 on: 22 January 2013, 23:15 »
Yeah, the car starts first time every time. It also runs perfectly and pulls extremely well even on full boost.

Could the smell be a result of an AC problem? I didn't use it today and didn't get the smell.

What could cause my G13 to be brown?
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Offline barrym381

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Re: Head Gasket :(
« Reply #9 on: 22 January 2013, 23:18 »
did you drain all the water or just top it up  :smiley:
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