Headgasket going? Symptoms

[jmelhuish]

Hi all,

Can anyone enlighten me what the symptoms I should be looking for.

Thanks

Jason

 

[Frenchy]

Down on power, oil/water mixed, a garage can do a compression test and also a water check for signns of CO2 indicating goosed HG.

 

[sawood12]

If your car spends alot of time between being driven look for a cream crackered starter motor. If the car is sat for a long period the cylinders can fill with water so when you come to start the car the starter motor shaft fails - there is a shear neck designed into the starter motor shaft that is designed to ensure the starter motor fails before the engine in such a scenario.

 

[DivineE]

Mayonnaise in header tank, oily film on surface of the water, air bubbles in header tank / or air can be felt blowing out of header tank when cap is off with engine running.

White smoke that lingers from the exhaust (doesn't dissipate like normal morning mist) looks much denser and smells obviously stale/damp

Clean spark plugs that look like they've been cleaned.

Hot running

Heater blowing cold air when set to hot... erm

Misfire when first started and for first couple of minutes... I think that about covers all the symptoms.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Don't know what symptoms you've got that are making you wonder, but 944s are notoriously difficult to bleed properly. I had water bubbling out of the header tank and it was no more serious than an airlock. Also, the dipstick does get a bit of gunk around the top from condensation and oil mixing in cold weather, again not a problem.

 

[vince944red]

Hmm I think I've caught the symptoms

Had overheating problems last year probably pushed my head gasket over the edge

1 I have super clean spark plug #1 ( not yet looked at the others)
2 Misfiring when cold then clears
3 Increasingly misfire when hot at 3k revs plus
4 misfire erratic, comes and goes
5 small quantities of water going from water exp tank

Do not have
1 Oil in water exp tank
2 obvious water in oil just minor white stuff round the cap
3 white smoke from exhaust

I was hoping it was the central exhaust silencer as this has disintegrated internally recently but I guess not, the clean spark plug sort of says it has to be - steam cleaned to perfection its a textbook light brown and looks brand new?

Looks like i'm in for some DIY as I've spent too much on it recently at the garage. Anyone know what a head skim costs?

 

[Copperman05]

I thought spark plugs should look light brown, thats the sign of a healthy mixture is it not?

Edd

 

[sulzeruk]

If the spark plug is super clean, I guarantee that the gasket is gone. Look down through the plug hole and the piston crown will also be nice and shiny too.
Alasdair

 

[jmelhuish]

Hi all, Thanks for the info. I've checked the spark plugs and they are normal. So the water leak must be in the radiator (But I cant see one) or the water pump and not he head gasket which I was told. The car is off for some work soon. Ill get the garage to have a look when its up on ramps.

 

[vince944red]

er yes I should have said super clean spark plug in the light brown colour just as if it had come out of a handbook of what a perfect spark plug should look like with the correct mixture. I'm going to look at the others but by clean I mean clean not new out of the box!

 

[DivineE]

ORIGINAL: vince944red

er yes I should have said super clean spark plug in the light brown colour just as if it had come out of a handbook of what a perfect spark plug should look like with the correct mixture. I'm going to look at the others but by clean I mean clean not new out of the box!

That is confusing to read?! Steam cleaned = v.bad, light coating of undisturbed brown power type stuff = v.good

I'm surprised you've no oily film in the header tank or build up on the cap? That's usually a pretty reliable early sign on 944's. Also its almost always cylinder 4 that fails first not #1. Maybe it's buggered a valve or something?