Hi

Last week my 2003 Octavia 1.6 (BFQ engine) flashed on the coolant level warning. On checking, the level had dropped significantly, so I filled it up again. Prior to this, the level had dropped a little a couple of months back, but nowhere near as much.

I can not see any obvious leaks right off, but when I opened the oil filler cap, I noticed some gunk in there that I don't remember seeing before. Are the two related, and should I be getting worried?

Cheers

Sorry to say it but that looks like headgasket failure to me.

i would say that it maybe moisture on the cap from short trips, my old car used ti have it often but thats alot :( id say headgasket too.

Deffo looks like head gasket!

^^^ yup... unlucky fella.. Welcome to the forum.

head gasket from me too....is too much to justify short trips/oil quality

and the colour is pinky ,this is antifreeze in the oil

Edited 16 May, 201214 yr by IulianE

Thanks for the replies, even though they appear to be bad news! Can probably rule out short trips, as I do very few trips where the engine does not have a chance to get fully up to temperature...

Since I topped the coolant up a few days ago the level does not appear to have dropped, but I guess I had best get it checked out.

Can anyone recommend a reputable place to take it to around Enfield (North London) or Hertford area, newish into the area so don't know anywhere myself yet!

headgasket from me too.. :( or someother way that the coolant/oil is going to mix.. any reputable garage would test and see if there was an underlaying fault that caused the headgasket to go.. also good practice to get the head skimmed before reassembly to rule out warpage from overheating etc..

cant really recommend anywhere- as im not based in the area.. sorry

It will probably be cheaper to break the car and sell it for parts or just scrap it rather than get it fixed. As said above you need to get a garage to test for hydrocarbons in the coolant to confirm it definitely is a headgasket failure then they'd need to send the head to an engineer to check if its warped or damaged, then there's the cost of fitting the new headgasket etc, you could easily be looking at the best part of a grand at the end of the day...1.6 Octys can be had for less than that.

I would probably go as far as getting HG failure confirmed and see how much a garage would want to check the head and see if its economically repairable then you can make a decision either way.

I would hope there has not been any warping, as there has been no sign of it overheating, the needle has not gone past 90 where it sits all the time once up to temperature.

You might be lucky then, I would get it to a garage sooner rather than later though.

Will get it checked as soon as I can.

Is there anything else that is worth getting done at the same time while the engine is in bits? It's coming up due for a cam belt change soon anyway.

Edited 17 May, 201214 yr by jonnyboy93

Yep cambelt and waterpump can be done too as they will need to take the head off. They would also flush and replace the oil and coolant as part of the HG change.

+1 for above diagnosis.

Years ago I had a Rover 214sei with the dreaded K series engine. I had same symtoms, but chose to

ignore it, result = the engine seized solid and had to fork out £1600 to have exchange engine fitted. I went to the garage after they had taken the old engine out and had removed the head.

All the oil galleries were blocked with gunk and both cams could not be turned by hand.

Bottom line is if you plan to keep it get it fixed ASAP.

Years ago I had a Rover 214sei with the dreaded K series engine.

Same here, I had a Rover 400 about 5 years ago with the 1.4 K Series engine and the headgasket went, not very noticeable on mine though - it just failed the MOT on emissions and then the garage phoned to tell me the bad news. They quoted me £500 if I wanted to have the head removed and fully checked plus a new HG fitted, or over a grand if the head turned out to be damaged and needed to be replaced :(

I'd only paid £900 for the car a year previously so without an MOT I ended up selling it for £250 spares or repairs :(

Have arranged to have it looked at. Is the water pump a standard thing to change when they do the cam belt, or will I need to make sure to specify to change that too. I also recall there being some discussion about what type of water pump is best to get?

Have arranged to have it looked at. Is the water pump a standard thing to change when they do the cam belt, or will I need to make sure to specify to change that too. I also recall there being some discussion about what type of water pump is best to get?

I had my cam belt done at 60k and paid a little extra for the independent VAG "specialist" to do the water pump too. Funny thing is that I started to get the crappy yellow mayo in the oil filler cap afterwards...

Can a coolant pump leak into the oil system?? :wonder:

Have arranged to have it looked at. Is the water pump a standard thing to change when they do the cam belt, or will I need to make sure to specify to change that too. I also recall there being some discussion about what type of water pump is best to get?

its good practice to change the waterpump when doing a cambelt, but not everyone does. Also fit one with a metal impeller rather than the plastic oe one.

I would say headgasket too, check for leaks on all rad hoses, around the waterpump/and thermostat area, plus on any flanges on the block as well as from the rad and header tank. However it looks like there has been mixing of oil/water

Does the header tank smell of petrol at all?

Unit 18 site sponsers on here are not far from north london iirc and are vag specialists, rather than general mechanics.

system should be flushed too if you have this much contamination btw

Unit 18 are in Milton Keynes, have used them before when I used to live up that way. Unfortunately now a bit far away for convinience

Have now taken the car to a local garage who have quoted £540 to replace the head gasket, skim the head, new bolts, replace thermostat, flush the system through and new oil, oil filter and coolant, replace the cam belt (tensioners, water pump etc), and at the same time give it an MOT as thats due soon anyway.

well thats not far for a specialist to be honest, i would always take my cars to a vag specialist if i wasnt doing the work.

whats the car worth out of interest?

thats including parts? thats not bad if they are decent parts and do the work properly, thats always the gamble though with mechanics, do they use good parts, and do they do it properly.

If the cylinder head has warped and needs a skim, whats the limit for these engines?

Is it an alloy head but a cast iron block?

skimming of a head is £30 at your local engineering firm

depends if its out but if its not bad they will prob take 3 or 4 thou off wich is feck all and nothing to worry about spec wise

Well its an hour up the motorway to get to unit 18, so convinience of a local place that can supply a loan car wins out here. That price includes all parts and labour, and the garage has a good reputation locally.

Car is probably not worth much over about 1300 (03 reg, 85k miles) but is in good condition, New clutch, brakes and tyres all round a year or so ago, so don't really want to get rid of it for something that could still end up costing me!

540 is a pretty reasonable price. had my a3 tdi done recently- hg, skim, stems and seals, cambelt, tensioners, water pump, 2 glow plugs, came in at £490, but the mechanic i use only charges me £22.50 an hour