Possible head gasket failure, engine people please read!

[Lucky Luke!]

Getting really ****ed off with my car now, after everything that has gone wrong with it since being back on the road i thought everything was going okay for a change, 30 mins later i think the head gasket is gone! These are my symptoms

- Mayo on the oil cap
- Excess water being used
- Lots of white smoke
- Generally running like ****e!

Is this the head gasket? what do i need to get to change it? Should i get the head skimmed? (bearing in mind my dad is a presicion engineer so can get it done for free) If it is the gasket how do i clear my engine of all the mayo stuff? And finally can i run my car till the end of the week as i live on a farm in the middle of nowhere but i have three days off (sat - mon)

Any help/guidance/instructions desperatlely needed!

Cheers guys!

[hightower]

sounds very much like head gasket? will need new gasket,head bolts for a start oil and filter change and fresh coolant after flushing out the resevoir bottle. i wouldnt run your car if can help it or you might end up frying the engine beyond repair. youll need the tools and any other parts you might brake on the way

[Matt2107]

Definately sounds like a head gasket.

[dannyb]

Once you've had the head skimmed and the engine is running again, you'll need to flush the radiator and the rest of the cooling system. The mayo stuff is hard to get rid of and usually finds its way into the heater matrix where it stays, making this winter a slightly colder one.
Alos, find out what caused the head gasket failure, possibly a faulty thermostat/rad which allows the engine to get too hot?
You should not drive the car at all (save for maybe moving it about outside your house for 1 minute)

[Adam]

Running it will just cause more damage, warp the head etc.

If its burning water you could cause a lot of damage if say overnight enough water seeps into the cylinders, and you start it the next morning, water aint compressable, so somethings got to give(i.e. con rod)

[Lucky Luke!]

thanks for the tips guys, i got the head gasket kit today and i'm gonna tackle it at the weekend.

My engine is a 16sv can anyone tell me what this is from so i can get the correct manual?

Anyone wanna give advice on the basic procedure?

Could this have been caused by overfilling the expansion bottle?

Can the valves stay in for the head skimming?

Whats the best way of flushng the cooling system and cleaning the inside of the engine?

Any tips or hints to make my life easier?

cheers guys!

[Stuart]

itsfrom a cav. but you can get by with a nova manual as the engine is 90% the same as the 1.4 carb engine.

overfilling the expansion bottle wouldnt ahve done it.

gaskets can just go.. sounds like its gone all over so head warping is minimal unless you ran it very hot.

[staggy_gsi]

it might not be such a bad idea to do an engine flush once its running again, should help to get rid of the 'mayo' stuff lol

[Lucky Luke!]

Cool, the engine went into the red for a very brief seconbd but not for long, had to wee in the tank to get some water back in it!

[Stuart]

it warped

[Lucky Luke!]

So to solve that get it skimmed?

[Adam]

Yea.

OR get another head..

[Lucky Luke!]

Cool! the engine is now apart, the head is being skimmed tommorrow, i think things are going okay, nothing major to report anyways! will let you know how it goes when i put it back together!