Head Gasket

[elsey197]

help, think my head gasket has gone as i have noticed a slight power drop although the car still runs fine.
i have the white sludge under my oil cap and crap in my header tank. :evil:

what damage will be done to the engine if i continue to drive it for a month or so? :?:

I need a month cos then i cos then i can fit my b+ head and piper cam inplace of the standard stuff :wink:

[Dicko]

long as you take it easy it should last that long. but i wouldnt go TOO far in it just incase!!

[elsey197]

cheers mate, no long journeys planned at the mo.

would a failed head gasket affect the fuel consumption :?:

[Dicko]

only slightly, unless your using LOTS of water aswel!!

[elsey197]

No its not using loads of water, but a bit more than normal

[Dicko]

well jus dont push it too hard and dont go too far. :)

[elsey197]

cheers mate, have to take it easy in this weather anyway so hopefully it should last :?

any tips when changing it?

[Dicko]

make sure you clean the block face up and degrease it with something like thinners. use a genuine vuax head gasket+bolts. follow the haynes torqe settings and order EXACTLY.
make sure the cam pulley and bottom pulley are in the correct position before fitting the head or when u tighten it down it might bend some valves!!

[m.d.]

change your water and oil. it may seem a waste as its only for a month but it will ensure that it will last a month

[Ste_Nova]

water in oil will shag the engine

[elsey197]

:o hope it lasts then, will it fuck the bottom end aswell as not too bothered about the top as am replacing the head and cam with new ones

[Ste_Nova]

shags all metal metal contact areas...

change the oil.... lock the fan on... and pray.. if u have to change the oil once a week it's not too bad only ?4 a can

[elsey197]

How do you lock the fan on?

Also i dunno if its getting hot as the temp gauge stoped working a few weeks ago too, for this do i change the yellow sender in the head?

[Aragorn]

dash sender operates off a little nipple on the rear of the inlet manifold (blue lead) - maybe the lead has come off??

are you SURE its actually dumping oil into the coolant?

its winter - most novas get white crud under the filler cap due to condensation in the oil - do u do lots of short journeys? ie less than 10miles? if so then that crap aint a bad sign - clean it off and take it a LONG (20-30miles) drive and see if it reappears

is it actually oil in the header (ie oil floating around and NOT mixing) or just rust (entire header contents browny colour no oil slick on top etc)

might just be your imagination and paranoia - check these things out first before dooming everything :P

if it IS oil/water contamination then it will shag the bores and bearings etc which u dont want

maybe u should change the oil and coolant anyway just in case... its not expensive in real terms (ie new engine)

[epo]

i was told 2 change me thermo stat 2 as mine was boilin over and was told cud do damage
i thought if u continued 2 run it u would warp the head and have 2 have it skimmed

its a fairly easy job i just did it a couple of months back but stupidly i put the tappits in wrong way round lucky a mate of mine noticed and told me before it was 2 late