how common is it for headgasket to leak oil?

[Donuts]

Hi,
I have done several searches on this, but I haven't been able able to find the answer.
I recently bought a 1990 mark 2 gti, which is in really good condition. It drives really well, no rattles or clunks and no smoke or water from exhaust.
I have noticed that its losing some oil from the head gasket. I don't get much dripped on the driveway, but i do seem to be losing about 1/2 litre over 500 miles. I think that  the reason that I don't see much on the driveway is that the oil is escaping when the engine is running and the oil is under pressure. it then seeps onto the exhaust manifold, which would also explain the occasional stink of burning oil in the cabin. I also lose a very small amount of coolant over the same period (could be a leak, haven't had time to investigate - in fact I may not have had the coolant reservoir cap screwed on tightly enough either)

The car has done 105,000. This seems to be original, as it tallys with a long list of MOT records. I just wonder how long I can expect to run the car before I will need to replace the headgasket.

Any advice appreciated.
Thank you.

[Olly_P]

I had a similar problem, turned out to be the cam cover seals, nice and cheep to fix!

http://www.clubgti.com/forum/showthread.php?t=150486&highlight=half+moon

[Diamond Hell]

It might be the rocker seal, as described above, or it might be the head gasket.  If you're losing a bit of water too then it points towards a leak somewhere on the headgasket.

If it's done 100k then it's probably up for a head gasket in due course.  It's not a very difficult job, but a bit daunting if you've not done one before.

Remember Golf2 = large Mechanno kit 

[Donuts]

Thanks to you both (Olly/Diamond) I appreciate your insight.

I got my mech to put her on the lift today so that we could get a closer look.

It seems that the sump gasket is leaking badly. When moving at speed the oil is blowing from the leaking sump gasket onto the driveshaft, which in turn sprays it all over the place! Add to that a slight leak of power steering fluid and it certainly is a bit messy down there. But the head seems ok thankfully. There is still the possibility that I am losing a bit of coolant- I'll have to keep an eye on that - although it could be as simple as not having done up the reservoir cap as tight as it should be. I do seem to have to turn this cap with a fair bit of force to get it to seal tightly, so the rubber seal in the cap may be shot.

To be honest it wouldn't be the end of the world if I had to do the head gasket, but it would be nice if I get get a few thousand miles more out of her before it comes to that. My other car is a 1995 Volvo 850, and between that and the Golf there always seems to something that needs to be done! I could do with a break!

These forums are brilliant. They make it easier to keep an old car alive