head gasket leaks

[Allan87]

What are the signs of this as my dealership is telling me I have one whereas my local garage is telling me its an oil filter leak which just needs a seal replacing?

[reduceditem]

Simple. Your local garage will be telling you the truth.

[hewhoisnotintheknow]

an oil filter leak will take minutes and a couple of quid to fix, tryy it first

[Chippy Minton]

You need to sniff test the coolant, that will tell you if the head gasket has gone.

[Keith]

You need to sniff test the coolant, that will tell you if the head gasket has gone.

It sounds like the OP has an oil leak from the head rather than a mix of water & coolant due to HGF. Like my HGF a few months back, there was no way of diagnosing it from checking the coolant

[harveybobbles]

Best way to tell is by using this method:

Does it have a "Rover" or "MG" badge on the car somewhere?

[Allan87]

Best way to tell is by using this method:

Does it have a "Rover" or "MG" badge on the car somewhere?

lol no, its a 206.

What is a sniff test?

[harveybobbles]

206? 1.4 petrols were comon for water loss.

[flang]

Oil in Water, Foam/cream substance in coolent.
Excess pressure on coolent pipes/coolent bottle.

It could just be the rocker cover has a leak.

[Bowdyjan18]

lol no, its a 206.

What is a sniff test?


just as prone then :)

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=sniffer+test&meta=&rlz=

[dieselhead]

Best way to tell is by using this method:

Does it have a "Rover" or "MG" badge on the car somewhere?

:rotfl::rotfl: I was about to ask that! The good old 'k' series hey!

To the OP a head gasket is potentially a serious problem, the common signs are dirty chocolate milkshake coolant and the engine overheating. Your garage should have a tool that should be able to detect oil in the coolant and head gasket failure. Caught early before any damage is done it is a awkward but fixable problem.

[trets77]

Best way to tell is by using this method:

Does it have a "Rover" or "MG" badge on the car somewhere?

not a case of If , just a case of when.

even now we still have Rover drivers to laugh at :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

[Chippy Minton]

Rovers are $h1te.

[djheath]

A few things to do to test.

1. With car cold - i.e the engine hasn't run for a few hours, check the oil by using the dipstick. It should be dark black, if its relatively old, or clearish like golden syrup if its new. If its creamy like melted chocolate then water has mixed with it and the head gasket is gone.

2. Check the coolant reservoir - the coolant should be green, purple, blue or reddy pink depending on what coolant has been used. If it's creamy, brown or sludgy then oil has mixed with it and the head gasket has gone.

3. With the car cold - turn on the car and let the engine run for 2 to three minutes. Switch off the engine then carefully open the coolant resevoir. It shouldn't hiss very much. If its hisses a lot and makes a sound like opening a bottle of coke too quick, then the gasket could potentially be gone.

Hope that helps.

[Allan87]

Thanks for all your replies. I took the car to nationwide autocentre and they've said they ran a head gasket test (I assume that was the sniffer) and it passed with flying colours. They've cleaned the engine down and tightened the seals, told me to come back in a week to see if oil is still leaking or not. So I've got my fingers crossed it's not a head gasket problem!

[asbokid]

Thanks for all your replies. I took the car to nationwide autocentre and they've said they ran a head gasket test (I assume that was the sniffer) and it passed with flying colours. They've cleaned the engine down and tightened the seals, told me to come back in a week to see if oil is still leaking or not. So I've got my fingers crossed it's not a head gasket problem!

Great news! Thank God you didn't trust the Peugeot dealership. No respect in some people. There wouldn't be any Peugeots if it wasn't for us liberating them in 1945. And we've never had a word of thanks for it. No wonder the BNP are doing so well. I say bring back Enock and bring back hanging. Never did me any harm.

[jb66]

Great news! Thank God you didn't trust the Peugeot dealership. No respect in some people. There wouldn't be any Peugeots if it wasn't for us liberating them in 1945. And we've never had a word of thanks for it. No wonder the BNP are doing so well. I say bring back Enock and bring back hanging. Never did me any harm.


Hanging never did you any harm?.... Strong Neck?

[Bowdyjan18]

Hanging never did you any harm?.... Strong Neck?

Or a week rope..:D