1998 1.9 turbo diesel head gasket - northy44
Just posted a question about running cool and then went out to check filler cap and found a thin line of tell-tale creamy stuff around filler cap. Is this the start of head gasket going?

Is it irreversible - is it safe to take on a long trip, is it too expensive to get fixed at a garage (how much), should I just get rid of it (it's a clean car with 76000 on it)

Please, any advice would be hugely welcome.

{There is no need to repeat the information selected from the compulsory drop down menus and year/engine boxes in the subject line as this automatically gets included. Now edited out}

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 28/07/2008 at 19:53

1998 1.9 turbo diesel head gasket - thomp1983
how do you use the car? do you do alot of short journeys? if so then it may just be condensation in the oil. as for running cool, what temp is it running at? thermostat could be stuck open.

chris
1998 1.9 turbo diesel head gasket - Peter.N.
I doubt that it would be the head gasket at 78k, providing it has always had plenty of antifreeze in it, they should last for 150k. As mentioned by Chris, if its running cool you will get strange things forming in the oil as well as the water. Even if it was the gasket, if the rest of the car is in good condition I would say it was worth replacing. If you buy a later car, you will have to take it into a garage whenever anything goes wrong and you wont be able to fix it yourself.
1998 1.9 turbo diesel head gasket - northy44
Cheers for the replies. Had another look at car - it was only a very thin line of white stuff under cap. No problem with oil - antifreeze a good clear red colour. Took header tank cap off and ran it for ten minutes - nothing happened - no bubbling, no nothing. here are no leaks and water level intank remains constant.

Just bought it a couple of weeks ago and pink fluffy dice myself into thinking was head gasket and just about to take it to France for a long trip.

Everything else is fine good acceleration and pretty quiet- although seems a bit more thirsty than I expected.

Temp gets to about 75 on a good run.

Think i'll just keep an eye on it and not panic

Cheers again guys

suggest you go and read the forum policy on swearing! Next time I might not be so lenient in editing when deletion is so much quicker




Edited by Webmaster on 29/07/2008 at 18:59

1998 1.9 turbo diesel head gasket - Screwloose

Try a new thermostat - or at least check that there's one in there.....
1998 1.9 turbo diesel head gasket - RichardW
Yes, temp's looking a bit low. 1.9TD driven reasonably will only make low 40s mpg. Mid to low 30's easily attainable if you thrash it!