VR6: Does oil look like head gaskets gone? Engine running rough

[Erallus 10]

Hi all,

 

Do you think this oil looks like it may have coolant in it?

 

Just put the oil in the car, its the Quantum silver stuff (worried I've also put too much in), been stored (sealed) in garage for about a year.

 

I've included a video of my engine running, sounds really rough, done the following:

 

Changed oil

Air filter

Ran water and coolant flush through system (hence brown colour)

 

Not touched the spark plugs.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]85111[/ATTACH]

[video=youtube_share;Tw923w1itcA]

[fla 9]

Is the header tank pressurising? If it's been standing for a year in my experience it takes a fair while for it to quieten down.

You can do this - remove the spark plugs the fuel pump relay and relay 109 and just crank the engine for about 1 minute. Leave it for a bit and do it again. You'll hear a change in the engine noise as oil circulates. Once you're happy with that pop the spark plugs back in,replace the relays. Give the spark plugs a clean with a soft wire brush and spray some contact cleaner before refitting.

Refit your relays and fire it up and see how you get on.

[Erallus 10]

Is the header tank pressurising? If it's been standing for a year in my experience it takes a fair while for it to quieten down.

You can do this - remove the spark plugs the fuel pump relay and relay 109 and just crank the engine for about 1 minute. Leave it for a bit and do it again. You'll hear a change in the engine noise as oil circulates. Once you're happy with that pop the spark plugs back in,replace the relays. Give the spark plugs a clean with a soft wire brush and spray some contact cleaner before refitting.

Refit your relays and fire it up and see how you get on.

 

Getting hissing from the tank.

 

Cheers for advice, I'll give that a go.

[VW_OwneR_85 1]

your oil leaks good/fresh, when oil mixes with water it turns to creamy mayonaise like stuff... you can sometimes see this around/under the oil filler cap on cars that get used for short journeys as the oil mixes with condensation and the engine doesnt run long enough for it to natrually burn off the moisture so it collects and builds up,

 

hissing from the tank with the cap off? or only when you first undo the cap? if its when you undo the cap then this is normal as the cooling system is under slight pressure,

 

has the battery been disconnected at all? if it has then it needs to be driven for the ecu to re learn stuff, {so might not be behaving 100%} make sure the coolant system is bled of all the air and drive it and keep checking the coolant level and top up for the next few days as it may change, after that it shouldnt drop at all and if it does then you can look further in to where its going ....

[Erallus 10]

your oil leaks good/fresh, when oil mixes with water it turns to creamy mayonaise like stuff... you can sometimes see this around/under the oil filler cap on cars that get used for short journeys as the oil mixes with condensation and the engine doesnt run long enough for it to natrually burn off the moisture so it collects and builds up,

 

Cheers, it just looked a bit thin/light to me, but never seen this oil before (first time I serviced it myself). Good to know its okay :)

 

hissing from the tank with the cap off? or only when you first undo the cap? if its when you undo the cap then this is normal as the cooling system is under slight pressure,

 

Slight hissing when i put the cap back on, after filling it up (with pure water and coolant flush)

 

has the battery been disconnected at all? if it has then it needs to be driven for the ecu to re learn stuff, {so might not be behaving 100%} make sure the coolant system is bled of all the air and drive it and keep checking the coolant level and top up for the next few days as it may change, after that it shouldnt drop at all and if it does then you can look further in to where its going ....

 

The battery has been disconnected for over a year, so that probably explains that :)

 

I'm really impressed it started up first go with the fluids and service items changed. Doesn't have tax or MOT, so I'll be driving it up and down the access road to get it to re-learn . Can probably do 5 mph tops on the .

 

Cheers for your help.

[VW_OwneR_85 1]

no worries, the hissing has to be air still escaping from the system , in other words your putting the cap back on to early, normally fill it up and squash all the rubber hoses by hand, so your kinda hand pumping the air out , carry on doing this untill the coolant level doesnt drop anymore and no more bubbles appear in the header tank , then fire up the engine to let the pump circulate for a few minutes {with the header tank cap still off} and hopefully forces more air out, make sure your heaters are set to hot aswell, as this opens up the valve that allows coolant to flow through the heater rad in the dash, if you dont then there will still be air in that section of the system... your need to go faster then 5mph to re learn ecu , there is a guide of the parameters that need to be achieved in order for the re learn, google search it , i have seen it before, normal driving speeds will sort that though..

[Erallus 10]

Great advice cheers,

 

looks like an interesting procedure to reset/re-learn ecu. Never knew you had to do this . Explains a lot:

 

http://wiki.the-corrado.net/vr6_ecu_reset_procedure.html

[VW_OwneR_85 1]

no worries, thats the page i saw, although in my experiance once you reconnect the battery it still drives and behaves ok/acceptable but obviously wont be 100%, iv never bothered with that procedure, just driven it and its been fine:)

[Erallus 10]

Indeed, I don't have VCDS so won't be able to do that . I will do once I've got it

[Erallus 10]

Update,

 

Its a bit more quiet now, however, got some thick looking mayo on the oil filler cap.

 

All I've been doing is getting it up to 70 - 80c by letting it idle to flush the cooling system.

 

I'm going to do a compression test and then a sniff check on the new coolant thats gone into it.

 

Concerned the head gasket has gone.