lard44 0 Posted May 6, 2013 Sad times I fear...been piecing together the information for a couple of days... Car using a lot of coolant - needing another litre every few hundred miles. Had originally put this down to air locks after replacing the thermostat, but it's persistent and it's not leaking from any hoses or expansion cap Water in exhaust fumes, even on a hot engine - been too hot to see steam but I can feel the dampness Takes quite a few turns to start - when my Mk1 Golf Gti HG went it was the same - and runs/sounds particularly rough when cold. Aaand: Not sure how well it shows up on the photo, but there's definitely a little mayonnaise in there - water in oil. Firstly, this sounds like HG failure, doesn't it? Secondly, would a GSF kit be okay Part No : 114VG0370? My timing chains etc. sound absolutely fine - previous owner told me they were done recently too. Would rather reuse if possible... Thirdly, is there a good online guide to doing it? I don't have £100 for a Bentley manual and I'm reasonably savvy - just used to cambelts not camchains for instance... Really put a dampner on the bank holiday this has... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
willmason1975 10 Posted May 6, 2013 Have you checked your dipstick? If its creamy water is definately mixing with water, if its spots on the cap may be condensation. If Head Gasket has gone it doesnt look like its between oil and water. It sounds more like cylinder and water. Timing chains are meant to last life of engine so if theyve been replaced you wont need to replace then again. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lard44 0 Posted May 6, 2013 So it could be wear on an individual cylinder? Would a compression test confirm? And, if so, what's the treatment? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
willmason1975 10 Posted May 6, 2013 Compression test will confirm. Its not wear on the cylinder its head gasket failure between bore and water channel so when your engine is on the down stroke its pulling coolant through the hole in the gasket. When your car has been running for a bit are the hoses rock solid? The only course of treatment is replace head gasket if you want to do it properly.Job is not that hard if you can do a cam belt you will be able to do this. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dil 0 Posted May 9, 2013 i had replaced a blown fuse on the electric pump, which was blown since i bought the car and it started losing water every day, i went through the panic of thinking it was BHG, but then remembered that this all started after i replaced the blown fuse, i pulled the fuse out and water level has remained constant ever since, i did spend a whole weekend looking for a leak , and couldnt find one, the car runs spot on, i did also had a a little bit of mayo on the oil cap, but the guys here said it was probably down to low daily mileage. You sad you recently replaced the thermostat, if you didnt have a water loss issue before i'd start looking for a leak round any pipes you undid. Its not always as worse as it 1st looks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lard44 0 Posted June 8, 2013 Right well through general laziness and procrastination I've only just investigated this afternoon... The worst of the spark plugs came out looking like this: The other 5 came out looking like this: I've found my oil leak - the rocker cover is clearly FUBAR and dripping oil down the back of the block. At least that looks reasonably easy to sort, and could well explain a little oil on the threads? However I tried to run a compression test and I'm pretty sure I - or the gauge - are doing something wrong. Cylinder 1 came in at 25 PSI Cylinder 2 = 50 Cylinder 3 = 20 I then really cranked it loads and - on a warmed up engine - only clocked 75 on cylinder 6. Eventually. If these were true surely the engine wouldn't even run? Now, the compression tester is this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PETROL-ENGINE-CYLINDER-AUTOMOTIVE-COMPRESSION-DUAL-TESTER-TOOL-KIT-/130760378531?pt=UK_Diagnostic_Tools_Equipment&hash=item1e71ed08a3 The cheapest one I could find on eBay. Can it be trusted? I was tempted to bite the bullet, pop to Halfrauds and get the Gunson one they sell. My other thought was that the car's not really been anywhere - could the battery use some juice? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J.C 10 Posted June 9, 2013 Now, the compression tester is this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PETROL-ENGINE-CYLINDER-AUTOMOTIVE-COMPRESSION-DUAL-TESTER-TOOL-KIT-/130760378531?pt=UK_Diagnostic_Tools_Equipment&hash=item1e71ed08a3 The cheapest one I could find on eBay. Can it be trusted? I was tempted to bite the bullet, pop to Halfrauds and get the Gunson one they sell. I had one of them, I chucked mine in the bin, regret doing that as could have used the hoses again for a leakdown tester, I got similar results to you, bought a Gunson and got figures of 190, bin the gauge and keep the hoses Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lard44 0 Posted June 9, 2013 Just borrowed a Gunson from a mate...gonna charge the battery overnight and do a cold test + add 20psi. Will update... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lard44 0 Posted June 23, 2013 The results are in...having gone through two dodgy compression testers that just weren't sealing I got my hands on a decent Gunson. These results are cold btw - I'm concerned about the discrepancy and the fact that it's all on one side that compression seems to be low... 1 = 160 psi 2 = 205 psi 3 = 160 psi 4 = 205 psi 5 = 150 psi 6 = 195 psi I double checked the figures, that's defo what they come in at. The top row of cylinders all lower than the bottom... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lard44 0 Posted June 25, 2013 Just to add, I did a wet test tonight. 1/3/5 came in at 205, 200 and 200psi respectively. Worn rings? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
