guess the fault.

[french riggy]

I'm bored so fancied a gameof guess the fault...

X16xe engine, runs with a missfire, engine oil found on cylinder 4 plug, also no. 4 piston is wet with oil. As you can imagine white smokey smokey from exhaust header tank is also oily.

So, do we think its

a. Headgasket
b. Valve bent
c. piston ring

Car will drive, granted it is down on power will not not overheat and once warm will blow both hot and cold.

I personally think the head gasket between the oil channel and cylinder bore on no. 4 has gone.

Any other ideas before the head comes off?

[draper]

probably head gasket id say

[Mike]

Head gasket and/or valve stem seal.

[Adam]

Compression test it

[french riggy]

ive no compression testing stuff matey, head needs comming off which ever way. So i'm going to take the engine out the tigra and then store it until i can afford to get the head rebuild.

the engine is only 59k so i cant imagine it being piston rings just yet.

[Clean 2.0 nova]

headgasket as the other two wouldn't put oil in the coolant?

[Rexy]

ta very Muchio :D Just as i thought.... Nice and easy cheap fix wooo.

[ck]

a compression tester s very cheap (around £15-£20) or easily borrowed and very simple to use, so worth trying to grab one to help rule anything else out.

[meritlover]

a compression test is a lot cheaper/easier than taking the head off, if the gasket has failed like you say, the cylinder pressure will be higher than the oil pressure so you would expect there to be excessive blow by gasses in the breathers.
regardless, whether its headgasket, rings or valve guide, the head will need to come off anyway.

[Will F]

No pint in getting a tester though. Head will need to come off any way.. I will go for valve!

If it were h/g it would show different symptoms...

[meritlover]

If it were h/g it would show different symptoms...

it really depends where its failed

[craig green]

Fluctuating temp points at HG in my opinionata.

[Rexy]

thats if the water one of the water channels has split, Its hard to tell without getting the head off and there is no point spending money on compression testing stuff as it has to come off whichever way we go.

If it is a valve stemseal thats ok as the head will be rebuilt before fitment and if it is a Headgasket again a new one will be fitted. so whichever way it goes It will be pretty simply sorted.

[mikey14sr]

White smoke is HG, fairly simple.

Saw an MG ZR yesterday with a fairly obvious HG fail, well only just saw it through the cloud of white smoke billowing out of it, the traffic cops a few cars behind me soon turned off to have a word with the driver!