Ping Lummox and anyone else knowledgable:

1993/4 Polo, 1043 cc injection. Leaking oil all over the place, no coolant loss, coolant is clean.

Garage says head gasket, I reckon blocked breather pod- the bit the breather hose attaches to at the back of the block.

1). Am I right?

2). Is the breather still a nightmare to change? A mate did one on a 1093 Golf and it was tricky as access was tight.

Does this help

may be the same sort of problem

http://briskoda.net/ask-tech/seat-ibiza-gunk-bad-news/95211/

Give it all a good clean out, then whup its *** for a while.

Them old polos like a good thrash now and again.

I had a falling in bits one, with over 100k on the clock, and it ran like a good 'un. until the bodywork decided to become allergic to the rest of the car..

Does this help

may be the same sort of problem

http://briskoda.net/ask-tech/seat-ibiza-gunk-bad-news/95211/

Yes, similar, but the breather on old VW engines is hard to get to.

It'sture this one does lots of short journeys, with no regular servicing :eek:.

[edit]

Actually, it's very similar, and like the VW engine of old. I might advise an oil change and a good thrash....

Edited 27 November, 200817 yr by cjb

Give it all a good clean out, then whup its *** for a while.

Them old polos like a good thrash now and again.

I had a falling in bits one, with over 100k on the clock, and it ran like a good 'un. until the bodywork decided to become allergic to the rest of the car..

Problem is (I think) the breather is a pod on the back of the block out of reach- it was like that years ago, for sure. A mate changed one on a Golf- took all day- this is my sister-in-laws, and she would have to pay labour. The car is practically worthless, so it's not worth paying ££££ to fix.

SWMBO had one a few years ago, and with regular oil changes and a good thrash once in a while it was no trouble. Problem is, this one does short trips, never gets warm, and gets no maintenance.

Problem is (I think) the breather is a pod on the back of the block out of reach- it was like that years ago, for sure. A mate changed one on a Golf- took all day- this is my sister-in-laws, and she would have to pay labour. The car is practically worthless, so it's not worth paying ££££ to fix.

SWMBO had one a few years ago, and with regular oil changes and a good thrash once in a while it was no trouble. Problem is, this one does short trips, never gets warm, and gets no maintenance.

How about borrowing it for a couple of hours, and giving it a blast?

If it's practically worthless, if you kill it it won't matter much, and it may do it some good?

A fairly decent shopping car can be had now for less than 500 quid.My mate has just bought a reasonably nice Ford Ka with t&t for that.

How about borrowing it for a couple of hours, and giving it a blast?

If it's practically worthless, if you kill it it won't matter much, and it may do it some good?

I have considered that. I'll ring her later.

Definitely worth suggesting - it will be worth doing regardless of whether it fixes the issue, as the whole thing will be sluggish as hell no doubt. A little oil/filter change wouldnt go amiss either, especially considering start/stop/no warmup etc

A little oil/filter change wouldnt go amiss either, especially considering start/stop/no warmup etc

Indeed, though I doubt she'll try that, unfortunately. Money is very tight for her. A few oil changes before now might have stopped it happening at all.

Even more reason to do it - if it's missed a few, allsorts can go wrong :(

I havent got any spare oil for a petrol any longer, gave it away recently as the petrol I have did not take that particular type of oil.

You can save a fair bit of money on cars by skimping a bit on maintenance, but oil/filter needs doing to keep it going. Tight on money, I can very much related to that :(

Even more reason to do it - if it's missed a few, allsorts can go wrong :(

I agree, but she's against spending any more on it as it's had a few bits lately. FWIW, I don't subscribe to that viewpoint myself, but it's not my car or money.

Give it a good long run, drain it, then put some proper flushing oil in and follow the instructions. Drain it again and leave the sump plug out for a good while to let it all drain out.

Pop the plug back in, new filter and oil.

While you're at it clean out any of the breather pipes you can easily get to.

If you can't afford the flushing oil then go and use a tin of the additive once the engine has been warmed up.

Either way it needs new oil. If it's compatible I've found the millers semi synthetic petrol oil (XSS IIRC) was very good for a semi and very well priced.

HTH