Blown Head Gasket

[slowgti]

Im guessing that water bubbling out of the reservoir cap when the engine starts warming up is a sign of head gasket failure? are there any more obvious signs? is over heating one of them? i dont want to rip the head off for no reason, i just got it running good..

[Neaty]

is there yellow gunk under the oil filler cap? thats usually a sign of a head gasket going?

[slowgti]

na its just got a spot of oil on it. ill fully drain it soon and inspect it properly then. is it possible to have a blown head gasket without water in the oil?

[Neaty]

to be honest mate, i am not sure. Another one to check is on the block, where the head meets the bottom end, is there water weeping from the join?

[slowgti]

na mate the only sign i have is water randomly bubbling out of the radiator cap, and the water temp is known to raise at the drop of a hat. is it possible is has only cracked between the cylinder and the water jacket?

thanks

[paultownsend]

get a new expansion cap from vw

this was happening to mine as it wasnt venting properly

[filthy]

Do a compression test- that will give you a definate answer

[Village Idiots]

Garages can do a test on the coolant to see if it's contaminated. Takes a couple of minutes so not expensive.

[Tristan 2.0 8v]

na its just got a spot of oil on it. ill fully drain it soon and inspect it properly then. is it possible to have a blown head gasket without water in the oil?

Yup. Try a new cap, but I expect it's the gasket. Look on the bright side though, at the same time you can do the stem seals, decoke the head lap the valves in etc. Cost of parts is only about £150 and that would include a skim and cambelt change!! It's an easy enough job to do yourself (minus the skim of course) or pay someone else to do it for about £300 ish.

[Conker]

get a new expansion cap from vw

this was happening to mine as it wasnt venting properly

I'd agree with that.

Unless you've got other signs of HG failure don't worry, e.g. loss of coolant, oil in water, mayo in oil, overheating, white smoke or black smoke, or any of the above!