Head gasket done?

OK so ive been noticing my engine seems to be overheating a fair bit, well quite alot. Checked my oil an theres a light creamy liquid around the thread of the oil cap. Not noticed much smoke coming out of the back though. Take it its my head gasket? and as its overheated id need the head skimming? Any ideas how much all thats gonna cost roughly, or would it just be better to just put in a new lump?

cheers

Sounds like head gasket to me; the cream means oil and water are mixing. In my experience, it can cost anything between about three and five hundred quid.

may be other things like stuck thermostat etc,let a garage look first,cream in oil in this weather is common,ive had countless astra 8 valves in for 'head jobs' but its just bad breathing and short journeys  :wink:
Bert

as bert said above really

one garage i have used before have done a test on the water to see if the oil has mixed with it, they used a solution which changes colour if you engine water has oil in it, might be worth trying that ?

if its on the dipstick then you shoudl worry, cap and breather mayo is usually nothign to worry about unless there is a LOT, and you can see it all inside the head on the cam etc.

trust me you'll know if the HG has really gone

what are the coolant symptoms you have been having

Thanks. Theres nothing on the dipstick or the cam, just on the thread of the oil cap. It seems ive got another leak which would be causing the over heating. It seems to be coming from somewhere underneath the engine but i cant see it properly. Soon as i put it into the water tank it leaks out from underneath. Im getting another car within the next week so i can garage it and work on it, seems it needs some tlc

could be a core plug has popped or corroded, 3 big round plugsd in the back of the block. pop out and tap in some new ones job done

yeah it does seem to be coming from the back of the block. can these be brought from car spares? When its garaged up ill be stripping it and sorting it out properly aswell as giving it a good clean

yeah gsf will do you the core plugs, dirt cheap

as in gsfcarparts.com?

carspares
gsf
or eurocarparts in brum will do them.

wicked cheers mate, its in storage now anyway so will do them next weekend

sorted it today running sweet as with no over heating. Not put any pics up before so just uploaded some for anyone who wants toi take a look

http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=113573

what was it then?

well i kinda only temporarily fixed it atm. Ive no idea what should be there or if there is actually a hole blown in the engine. Its just underneath the manifold. I can feel 2 circular indentations in the metal and there was a little pin head sized hole in the centre of one of them and the water squirts out of it. Thats the best i can explain it and i cant get any pics due to how awkward it is to get too, i cant even see it just doing it all by touch. Do they have a 'bleed' screw or anything in the back??? ive no ida whatso ever what caused it or how to fix it as i dont know what it is. also i posted in wrong section, its a 1.6 carb not injection

yep sounds like you have a rot hole in a core plug. theres no bleed screws back there the system will self bleed if you run it from cold with the cap off, squeeze all the hoses you can and rev it now & gain to get the water flowing.  put cap on as water starts to rise or bubble and you're done.

sounds like its a head core plug that has gone, which means the manifolds will have to come off to fix it as you'll have no room to swing a hammer

nice one thanks for the help. so i just need a core plug? it very complicated to take the manifold off or is it just a case of removing a few screws and lifting out?

6 bolts for the inlet, 8 nuts for the exhaust. that makes it sound easier than it is though, as 2 of the 6 inlet bolts are very hard to reach and some of the 8 exhaust manifold bolts are probably just lumps of rust by now and will fight you

make sure you get 8 new studs and copper nuts from gsf, as the old nuts wont be in a state to reuse and at least some of your studs will be past their best

had a look at this today, planning on doing it tommorow. I removed the airbox and carb so i could get a better look. I can see 4 bolts on the inlet, 1 of which is an allen key and looks a pain in the arse to get into and the other 3 i cant even seem to fit anything over them to get them off. going to be a fun day tommorow on my driveway!

the 6 inlet bolts are all allen heads so that'll explain why nothing fits over them
a mirror and long thin allen socket extension is what you need really otherwise its a bit of a nightmare