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Leaking Head Gasket? - Non Mini


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#1 pusb

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 03:14 PM

Hope someone on here can offer some advice on this. Its on my other car, a Fiat Punto. The Fiat Forum is not as busy as the Mini one so I know I have a better chance of getting a reply on here!

 

As I have said, the car is a 2000 Fiat Punto with a 1.2 8v engine.

 

I was just doing a few routine checks today, and noticed the coolant level was well down towards the Min line. About 4 weeks ago it has also been low (but I didn't think much of it then as I hadn't checked for ages before that) and I had topped it back up to Max at that time. So it has gone from Max to nearly Min in a month (about 500 miles).

Worrying its the head gasket, I took the oil cap off and found this:

 

Attached File  DSC_0002.JPG   45.98K   10 downloads

 

Looks like oil and water mixing to me.

I know sometimes it can be condensation from short journeys, but the car had been on a 50 mile round trip yesterday, so surely that would had dried out any condensation in the engine?

Also, I have noticed that the engine is quite rough when first starting up. The best way to describe it, is like on an old car when you left the choke out for too long. The car will kangaroo and feel down on power for the first few hundred yards. After that it will drive fine.

Does it sound likely that the head gasket is the problem?

 



#2 nicklouse

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 03:26 PM

I would be getting a compression test done.

 

but first I would be going for a drive and then pulling the plugs and leave the engine to cool then spin it over and see what comes out of the plug holes.


Edited by nicklouse, 29 August 2016 - 03:26 PM.


#3 pusb

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 03:33 PM

I would be getting a compression test done.

 

but first I would be going for a drive and then pulling the plugs and leave the engine to cool then spin it over and see what comes out of the plug holes.

 

Thanks for the reply. Second bit is easier said than done on these! Spark plugs are a complete PITA to get at! Luckily I have small girly hands so I will give it a try though!



#4 Ethel

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 03:51 PM

Squeezing a rad hose as it runs up to temperature can show if it's pressurising before the water gets hot enough to boil.



#5 pusb

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 03:58 PM

Squeezing a rad hose as it runs up to temperature can show if it's pressurising before the water gets hot enough to boil.

 

Should the hose be hard or soft?



#6 Ethel

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 04:05 PM

As soft as it is after being parked up. With a leaky gasket they can blow up like bike tyres before they've got anything like warm. The pressure can also be bled off without the water boiling over. Provided you haven't let it get that hot - localised heat in the head can boil water especially if the circulation is poor, as it can be with a blowing gasket. You also sometimes get what looks like fog above the water in expansion tank if exhaust fumes are percolating through the coolant.



#7 Alex_B

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 04:49 PM

My HG went on my mini in a way that let coolant into one of the cylinders and was rough on a cold start however until the coolant was burnt off / left the chamber. In your case a compression test or better a leak down test. The latter will show if the cooling system is being pressurised and thus where your coolant is going. 



#8 pusb

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 05:11 PM

Cool, I will see if there is somewhere local that can test it for me.

 

I tried squeezing the hoses after just starting it up. They didn't really feel hard, but they felt harder than they did with the engine switched off.



#9 Wise Old Elf

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 05:18 PM

You need a garage with a sniffer or you could invest in one? http://www.frost.co....ck-testers.html

#10 sonikk4

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 05:47 PM

It does sound like the hg is on its way out.
A friend of mine had a 1ltr Panda and a 1.2 Punto, both low mileage both had the hg go. I did the usual checks that I could at the time, new stat etc etc but both overheated still.

Both had theirs heads off, skimmed and new hg fitted. No more issues. The Punto also had a slight weep from the hg at the back of the engine.

#11 pusb

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 06:27 PM

It does sound like the hg is on its way out.
A friend of mine had a 1ltr Panda and a 1.2 Punto, both low mileage both had the hg go. I did the usual checks that I could at the time, new stat etc etc but both overheated still.

Both had theirs heads off, skimmed and new hg fitted. No more issues. The Punto also had a slight weep from the hg at the back of the engine.

 

Mine is also a low mileage one, only 28k.

 

Reading the Fiat forums, the problem that can cause it is its very easy for air locks to get stuck in the heater system. The air can move into the head and momentarily cause part of the head to overheat, which then warps it.

 

Added in the fact that these cars have no temp gauge, it could've been running hot on me quite often and I wouldn't even know.



#12 sonikk4

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 07:23 PM

It does sound like the hg is on its way out.
A friend of mine had a 1ltr Panda and a 1.2 Punto, both low mileage both had the hg go. I did the usual checks that I could at the time, new stat etc etc but both overheated still.
Both had theirs heads off, skimmed and new hg fitted. No more issues. The Punto also had a slight weep from the hg at the back of the engine.

 
Mine is also a low mileage one, only 28k.
 
Reading the Fiat forums, the problem that can cause it is its very easy for air locks to get stuck in the heater system. The air can move into the head and momentarily cause part of the head to overheat, which then warps it.
 
Added in the fact that these cars have no temp gauge, it could've been running hot on me quite often and I wouldn't even know.

Didn't have access to forums then so it was literally doing it on the fly. Both times right though. 34k on the Panda and 30k on the Punto.

#13 Jordie

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 07:27 PM

My brother had puntos for his first cars. Head gasket is easy on these. Id think about changing it anyway if in doubt. I was doing his at the roadside infront of my parents house.

#14 pusb

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Posted 03 September 2016 - 03:00 PM

Well I'm struggling to find a garage that will do a,leak down test.
I cleaned the gunk off the cap last week, and have been driving it all this week. That included a 120 mile round motorway trip.
Checked it again this morning and coolant has dropped a tiny bit, and there was a small amount of mayo back under the cap. Small amount of steam was coming out of the oil cap as well.

#15 pusb

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Posted 03 September 2016 - 03:01 PM

Well I'm struggling to find a garage that will do a,leak down test.
I cleaned the gunk off the cap last week, and have been driving it all this week. That included a 120 mile round motorway trip.
Checked it again this morning and coolant has dropped a tiny bit, and there was a small amount of mayo back under the cap. Small amount of steam was coming out of the oil cap as well.




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