has my head gasket failed

[inde_house]

Hello. So there is mayo all up the dipstick. But no mayo under the oil cap.

Does that mean that a new head gasket is going to be needed.

But the car has not overheated once.

[T5frankie]

mayo is normal on our cars mate, its just condensation down the dipstick tube mixing with the oil, only happens when cold

[inde_house]

Okay. I got worried then.

[graemewelch]

could also be the oil cooler going pourus

[Harvey]

The main thing are you loosing water from the header tank ? If not then you should be fine.
The reason you could have this if you only drive 5 miles or so a day or per trip the engine can't get up to temp to burn the water,condensation out of the oil.
As said worse in the winter as it takes so much longer for the engine block to get hot.

[inde_house]

There is some water being lost. But I put that down to a faulty cap.

it does seem to be more mayo then oil. And there any tests or other tell tale signs.

I did have the coolant flushed and replaced. They did add change it with red coolant. This wouldn't have anything to do with it would it.

[graemewelch]

i know you dont mix blue and red coolants as they react and cause sludge. best getting a compression test or a sniff test or both. its the only way to confirm. are you water pipes going hard or anything like.

[T5frankie]

now you're getting him worried again, there is no problem, 850's have the external dipstick tube that is metal and gets condensation down it when it is left in the cold, if there is no mayo under the oil filler then you wont have a headhasket problem, it would overheat anyway

[graemewelch]

now you're getting him worried again, there is no problem, 850's have the external dipstick tube that is metal and gets condensation down it when it is left in the cold, if there is no mayo under the oil filler then you wont have a headhasket problem, it would overheat anyway

thats not realy true though. it depends wear the gasket has blown. if its suspect the only was is to have a compression test done. for all we know it might of just blown between a oil and water way. guess work is pointless and leads to expensive mistakes. if the head is blown catch it early befor it dose more damage. either way if you car needs a bit tlc. if its not the head your going to need a engine flush and oil change as the oil wont be doing the engine much good

[T5frankie]

thats not realy true though. it depends wear the gasket has blown. if its suspect the only was is to have a compression test done. for all we know it might of just blown between a oil and water way. guess work is pointless and leads to expensive mistakes. if the head is blown catch it early befor it dose more damage. either way if you car needs a bit tlc. if its not the head your going to need a engine flush and oil change as the oil wont be doing the engine much good

you're not listening the water is not in the oil only inside the dipstick tube

[graemewelch]

you're not listening the water is not in the oil only inside the dipstick tube

that means jack ££££. its guess work. how do you know 100% that its condensation, you cant and dont know. compression test is the only way to confirm it properly. if your going to give advise out make sure its good advise and not guessing what up. the guys car is using water which gives 2 symptoms to a blown headgasket. if the head is gone and the guy drives with the blown gasket beleaving its not cause hes recieved poor advise. hes going to end up with a much bigger bill. warped head possibly cracked. pistions rings can even sieze into the pistons. for the sake of few quid to diagnose it properly why guess.

[T5frankie]

that means jack ££££. its guess work. how do you know 100% that its condensation, you cant and dont know. compression test is the only way to confirm it properly. if your going to give advise out make sure its good advise and not guessing what up. the guys car is using water which gives 2 symptoms to a blown headgasket. if the head is gone and the guy drives with the blown gasket beleaving its not cause hes recieved poor advise. hes going to end up with a much bigger bill. warped head possibly cracked. pistions rings can even sieze into the pistons. for the sake of few quid to diagnose it properly why guess.

how many 850's have you actually owned and maintained graham? you're scaremongering someone when the only issue he has is condensation in the bloody dipstick tube

[graemewelch]

how many 850's have you actually owned and maintained graham? you're scaremongering someone when the only issue he has is condensation in the bloody dipstick tube

Engines are engines ive worked on many not just one type. Its not scarmongering its fact. You might of had more volvos than me but that means jack. How many engines you rebuilt and i dont mean swaping a engine

[stribo]

Just to put my two penneth worth in, a compression test or sniffer test won't show anything if the gasket has gone between the oil and water galleries. It does sound like the norm, as I get mayo in my dipstick tube, but, I only work 5 miles from home so the car never gets properly hot. I would get the water bottle cap changed, to make sure that's the only cause of your water loss.

[merc85]

it could be a very slight seep from the radiator which may have cracked internally causing a small loss of water into the oil cooler,

it does sounds like condensation to me, longer trips and more regular oil changes help stop this

[graemewelch]

Point is though gasket has gone between water and oil it will break in to a cylinder soon. A sniff test and compresion test will confirm and save a break down. Its worth it for peace of mind. Its on ten mins to whip the plugs out

[Harvey]

Ok lads ,Just to ask how far does he drive the car in a week or day if it's only local runs then that's a factor to look at.
Also is the expansion bottle clean or are there any water stains around the filler cap or cracks in the bottle,have a very good look at all the water pipes in the engine bay.

[T5frankie]

so according to you graeme everyone of us 850 or phase 1 owners should go and get a sniff test as we will all have mayo in the dipstick whilst its cold, it's normal graeme for these engines, if it was elsewhere it would show on the underside of the filler cap

[merc85]

so according to graham everyone of us 850 or phase 1 owners should go and get a sniff test as we will all have mayo in the dipstick whilst its cold

Only if you have water loss

[T5frankie]

Only if you have water loss

i have slight water loss, could be coming form anywhere, radiator, pipes, heater matrix, expansion tank or the cap itself