Hi all, so I've been doing some searching on the forum and I've seen a few posts with people saying bin the plastic engine cover , use the only under it, which I never knew was there , it looks 100% better so thanks, I can quickly check for leaks ect inspect the engine without getting the toolbox out plus the plastic cover never seen to fit well anyway! 

 

So basically the car has been using water , not alot though, I'm possibly topping the expansion tank from low to full once every 3 weeks.. I figured the yellow cream on the oil cap was possibly from the gap between it and the engine with the plastic cover on, but upon checking with the other filler cap today, it's also yellow cream, I did order one of them has testers for the coolant did that, it was bubbling away left for ten minutes and it stayed blue, didn't change yellow so no combustion gases found .. if it's accurate .. anyone else can confirm if it's just a condensation thing on this engine, or if this could be there start of HG failure... I will say it's been like this for a couple of years and doesn't seem to be getting any worse.. although I'm sick of keep buying g30 costing me a fortune.. 

Yeah the cover is only a cosmetic thing.

 

If the water is dropping and there are no leaks it's probably the head gasket, unfortunately. They do get a bit of mayonnaise on the oil cap due to condensation but the water level shouldn't drop like that.

 

 

Also , I did take it to a garage local to me and there was all gunk in the water, but this was me putting k seal in to stop a small rad leak last year. Upon flushing the coolant system and changing the expansion tank it's stayed pink and the plastic is still nice n white/clean the old one has gone so brown you couldn't see the water level, I did explain I used k seal and that's why the water was dirty but the mechanic didn't want to know.. when u pour in k seal u can clearly see it's full of like a brass colored glitter... Surely can diagnose a HG failure just by looking at the water .. also he wanted 800 pounds to change the HG skim the head and do the water pump Lol... I'm trying to save up for a new car if this goes pop i can't get to work 

Funny this it's it only seems to be on the top of the cap, not anywhere in the water or rocker cover I changed the gasket on the rocker cover and it was all clean inside there 

 

I'll post a photo tomorrow 

Edited 8 March, 20206 yr by MinkyMike

Is it worth booking it in for a pressure guage test, would this be able to tell me if it's HG failure , also anyone got an idea of the cost of this test? 

 

Thanks 

A cooling system pressure test might be the best idea to start with to see if you have a coolant leak. No idea how much they are though.

Quite a few sniff test kits on the net. Amazon go from circa £16 to a lot more. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-VS0061-Combustion-Leak-Detector/dp/B000RO6CGA

I took my engine cover off a good while ago- the foam on the underside caused dust & dirt problems.

Edited 8 March, 20206 yr by VWD

10 hours ago, MinkyMike said:

he wanted 800 pounds to change the HG skim the head and do the water pump

Well, that's a reasonable price for the described works, if they're needed.

 

That said, mayo is often an issue with the engine never getting up to temperature, rather than with HGF. So, does the temperature gauge read 90C (or maybe more like 88C) after a couple of miles?

Actually I think that's really excessive for a pushrod MPI, all it needs is a skim and a new gasket, there's no bolts, belts or pulleys needed and the water pump can be done anytime, like when it actually goes wrong.

I would say £500 is at the top end of what's reasonable.

Yea, I did do an eBay sniffer test but it came up false, as for temps I'd say it sits around the half way mark or just slightly under.. my wife uses the car in the day alot to take the kids out, then I use it to get to work I work nights , I drive it around 15 mile to work and back 5 days a week...

I'd have a go myself at doing it but just worried about the engine timing.. also I feel it's worth just getting another car if it's gonna cost an arm n leg, there is 112k miles on her now and the timing chain is rattling like mad only at idle though..

Edited 9 March, 20206 yr by MinkyMike

The thing is since doing the throttle body it's running nicely.. not really any issues of drivability.. just this water loss

Edited 9 March, 20206 yr by MinkyMike

34 minutes ago, MinkyMike said:

I'd have a go myself at doing it but just worried about the engine timing.. also I feel it's worth just getting another car if it's gonna cost an arm n leg, there is 112k miles on her now and the timing chain is rattling like mad only at idle though..

 

You don't have to worry about timing, it's a pushrod engine so you won't be tangling with timing.

However you should check you don't have any leaks, check the radiator while the engines running for wisps of steam or any dripping onto the ground under the car, if the gasket has blown then I would expect the coolant to stay pressurized even when the engine is stone cold, unscrew the cap in the morning before the car is started and listen for a pop or hiss as pressure is released.

Oh right didn't realise that about the timing, also I do top up when it's cold and there is no hissing or pop when cold, only if the engine has just been running or hot, I will check for leaks ect.. thanks for that information

24 minutes ago, MinkyMike said:

Oh right didn't realise that about the timing, also I do top up when it's cold and there is no hissing or pop when cold, only if the engine has just been running or hot, I will check for leaks ect.. thanks for that information

 

Sounds like you have a leak somewhere, check that the radiator fan thermoswitch is tight, apparently it's about 1 1/8" AF

Edited 9 March, 20206 yr by sepulchrave