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stu_850t5
Sunday 12th February 2012, 21:42
Hi all. Sorry to post this on a volvo forum but im sure theres many knowledgable people on here that know more than me. . . . . . Here goes. . . . .
The mrs has got a 1998 vitara 1.6 8v and its showing the dreaded signs of a blown head gasket (creamy dipstick,gloopy white gunk in oil cap)

It has never overheated or used oil (possibly drunk a litre of water or so in the last week).

It is unbelievably :):):):):) on petrol (im talking 20 quid to do 30 miles) and it also has developed a mis - fire for the first 5mins on start up.

Do you reckon i should get the head skimmed? (never over heated though) once the gasket is done do you think fuel consumption would improve?

Im not overly confident in doing the job as ive never done one before but wouldnt mind having a go at it. . . . . . Any hints/tips?

Anyone local fancy having a pop at it? Tea/red bull/ciggies/cash in it for you! (although im skint lol)

Thanks in advance
stu

t5 stealth
Sunday 12th February 2012, 22:13
a lot of cars suffer with the mayo or creamy crap on the stick and cap,
usually its cos short journeys,stop /starts and local shopping trips,
has the car got engine light on as if its missfire it could be something breaking down when cold,
it may just be a coil or plug or lead faulting,
you could check the plugs to see which cylinder is misfireing,it will be a diffrent colour from the other 3.

as for skimming the head,it it hasnt boiled up then chances are it wont be warped,
once head is of just clean up the face edge and put a straight edge across it and look to see if theres a warp ,

fuel econemy isnt great on them realy as 4 wheel drives and small engines arnt eco lol,
but depending on whats wrong with it may improve it,
if its missing it will be bad on fuel,

local-looney
Sunday 12th February 2012, 22:18
Hi all. Sorry to post this on a volvo forum but im sure theres many knowledgable people on here that know more than me. . . . . . Here goes. . . . .
The mrs has got a 1998 vitara 1.6 8v and its showing the dreaded signs of a blown head gasket (creamy dipstick,gloopy white gunk in oil cap)

It has never overheated or used oil (possibly drunk a litre of water or so in the last week).

It is unbelievably :):):):):) on petrol (im talking 20 quid to do 30 miles) and it also has developed a mis - fire for the first 5mins on start up.

Do you reckon i should get the head skimmed? (never over heated though) once the gasket is done do you think fuel consumption would improve?

Im not overly confident in doing the job as ive never done one before but wouldnt mind having a go at it. . . . . . Any hints/tips?

Anyone local fancy having a pop at it? Tea/red bull/ciggies/cash in it for you! (although im skint lol)

Thanks in advance
stu

had this on my sj,got a 8v vitara lump in this and like yours aint good on fuel at all,but head gasket very easy,just be methodical and take your time,whilst your at it,good reason to put a timing belt on,again very easy. never skimmed my head and had no issues since and mine does get a lot of off road abuse!!
http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x451/850-shane/sj004.jpg

stu_850t5
Sunday 12th February 2012, 22:26
The mis fire goes away after 5-10mins of driving, it drives spot on once its warmed up. No engine management light showing.
As for journeys. . . . In a day it wil go 2 miles stop for 1hr then 2miles, stop for 6hrs then 4miles. . . . Stop.

So it doesnt really get a run anywhere.

It dosent get beaten up off road, just very short journeys.
I may aswell do a cambelt while its off. Water pump you reckon?

Cheers lads

stu_850t5
Sunday 12th February 2012, 22:28
It was serviced november 2011. . . . Plugs,leads,oil and filter

local-looney
Sunday 12th February 2012, 22:30
The mis fire goes away after 5-10mins of driving, it drives spot on once its warmed up. No engine management light showing.
As for journeys. . . . In a day it wil go 2 miles stop for 1hr then 2miles, stop for 6hrs then 4miles. . . . Stop.

So it doesnt really get a run anywhere.

It dosent get beaten up off road, just very short journeys.
I may aswell do a cambelt while its off. Water pump you reckon?

Cheers lads

compression check first!! your suzuki doing very short journeys,could cause your mayo problem.....i gave mine a check before i took mine apart.....

t5 stealth
Sunday 12th February 2012, 22:32
short trips dont do it any good,
the auto choke on those stays on for a while so the car is always on choke,so that is fuel use,also if its always running on choke or cold then it may be choking up the plugs,thus giving missfife,
try taking the car for a good run for about 10 miles,to get everything hot and running at normal temp etc,
then see if it starts better the next day,
also an oil and filter wont hurt,but the best thing is to do more than a mile here and 2 miles there etc...

streaky744
Sunday 12th February 2012, 22:52
white creamy oil residue in the filler cap is very common on lots of cars due to condesation and it getting hot and cold etc etc.

as for creamy oil in the dipstick tube is not a good sign, as a mechanic of many a year i would say the head gasket has gone, but to check this have the sniff test done on the car before you pull it apart see if the fluid goes from blue to yellow that indicates gases in the water.

if you are going to remove the head, don't scrimp and do half a job, the head is ali so make sure its fully cold when you remove it and as a matter off course have it skimmed and also pressure tested to make sure it has no internal cracks that you can't see, not a hard job on this type of car, fit new cam belt and tensioner while its apart and if you plan on keeping the car for some time yet if the cam belt drives the water pump also replace that at the same time.

renew fluids and fill with cheap oil and filter, once car has run 100 miles change the oil again as any milky deposits left in sump will then be mixed in with oil and be drained out, now fill with good engine oil.

don't use an engine flush as found these do more harm, than good. half pint of diesel in with oil will clean internals with it running before you drain oil out i find.

follow guidelines regards head bolts etc and should be good as new when finished. also dont't over look the thermostat as this may be the cause that ruined the head gasket in the first place if it has gone.

shame your not closer as i have head gasket tester

stu_850t5
Sunday 12th February 2012, 23:05
Good bit of info there streaky, cheers! Funny you mention the thermostat.........

It never used to warm up (temp gauge never moved) so we put a thermostat in it and its been fine (warms up and got good heating) all this was december time

jayeastanglia
Monday 13th February 2012, 09:28
if the gasket has gone thats could also be the misfire in the morning as a bit of water will leak into a cylinder and the water sits on the spark plug...A compression leak down test will see what cylinder is leaking down..But get a sniff test done first and change the plugs.

stu_850t5
Tuesday 14th February 2012, 19:45
Done a block test today and it was all good! Fluid didnt change colour at all.

Oil and oil filter change i reckon and see how we get on from there