Hi all, firstly I'm new to these forums, so please excuse me if I get things muddled.

 

I have a 2002  fabia 1.4MPI that was loosing water and the oil filler cap had the light brown gunge associated with what I thought was a blown head gasket. Having spoken to a local head skimming company, he suggested I have the head skimmed as one of his biggest customers were the local skoda dealership. Head skimmed and replaced with new gaskets etc. Some 2 months down the road The car is still loosing water and there is again water in the oil. Also the EML light came on intermittently then permanently.  I naturally thought that I had messed up on the reassembly.

 

I removed the head yesterday and I have attached a few photos of the gasket. Any help with diagnosis/remedies would be appreciated. One mechanic I know said it could be the liners have moved or a cracked block/head. (at no point has the car overheated). I live on the Isle of Wight and there isn't anyone that can pressure test the head. Would I be better off getting a low mileage second hand engine??

 

MackyD

HI the people who skimmed your head should be able to help with pressure testing .You should be able to detect leaks if you have the pink coolant in your system you should have a sticker by the radiater telling you how to do this I have one on my octy  you might need a  certain type of light  .The other thing to check is put the pistons half way down the cylinders and check the cylinder walls for cracks  .My wife has a Renault clio and because she only does short journeys the gunk (cheese) as we used to call it builds up if the oil is a creamy colour then the water is mixing with the oil (head gasket or cylinder head probs ) as a last resort you can buy leak detecter put it in your cooling system and look for the leaks good luck

Bad luck, it does seem as though you may have a cracked or failed liner seal, since these engines are plentiful and cheap your best option may be simply to change the engine rather than try and find the fault with yours.

HI hows the water leak problem any luck  if you decide to buy another engine then make sure you can hear and see it running that way you know you wont have any problems when it is fitted good luck