16xe coolant leak. Head gasket failed?

[SimonTW]

This morning I noticed a few drops of coolant on the drive way so I popped the bonnet and firstly noticed this on the front of the gearbox...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7318/9078846532_2c2047375d_c.jpg

Then after a bit more investigating I found this...

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5487/9078844190_777740a0e8_c.jpg

It's definitely coolant but all the hoses in that area are dry. The header tank still has plenty in so I don't think it is using much. There is only a few drops on the drive way and maybe a table spoon full in the cavity in the gearbox.

Could it be a head gasket failure? There doesn't seem to be any milkiness on the dip stick or oil cap or oily smell to the coolant.

Also as I've never attempted a head gasket change before. Is it pretty straightforward? Anyone know what I'd be paying roughly for a none main dealer to sort it (just looking for a very rough guide price).

[deneil_gsi2000]

Whats the level in header tank.? Could just of been an air lock which has pushed some coolant out the lid. Can you see any signs around the joining face of the block and head?

But looking at the marks on front of gearbox it could possibly be that the gasket has failed on the outer waterway which will leak out the block and not into cylinder or oil

[kent14sr]

Do the usual checks - run upto temperature and see if hoses are rock solid and even bulging - if its over pressurising then it may push it out of the head gasket.

Equally, it could be a hose connection that not quite tight enough and leaking under normal pressure.

[chrisd1986]

Best way to do it i find is to pop the bonnet sit down with a cup of tea and watxh the engine till somthi g happens because the majority of the time you wont be able to spot the leak if the engine is cool somtimes as it needs to be hot to expose it if you know what i mean or if you cant be bothered doing that go to a garage and get them to do a sniffer test which is cheep as chips and only takes a couole of mins

[SimonTW]

Whats the level in header tank.? Could just of been an air lock which has pushed some coolant out the lid. Can you see any signs around the joining face of the block and head?

But looking at the marks on front of gearbox it could possibly be that the gasket has failed on the outer waterway which will leak out the block and not into cylinder or oil

Pretty much what I thought might have happened, it's difficult to see the head gasket area on the side of the block without taking a few bits off like the coilpack etc. The header tank level was a little above the line but I did top it up before making the trip to PVS. I didn't notice the coolant when I was doing the oil and water before the show. The header tank doesn't have any coolant marks and the body work around that area is dry too.


Do the usual checks - run upto temperature and see if hoses are rock solid and even bulging - if its over pressurising then it may push it out of the head gasket.

Equally, it could be a hose connection that not quite tight enough and leaking under normal pressure.

All the hoses ends etc are dry around that area. The car was up to temp when I noticed it as I'd just got home from work. Hoses could be compressed easily by hand. When I took the header cap off it didn't seem overly pressurised. There was a slight hiss momentarily.