Head gasket gone or not ?

M

MKZ4000

Active member
First off this is not for a Z.

I was looking to buy a 2008 VW beetle from someone at work for the girlfriend.

It has the typical Mayo under the oil cap, but I know it’s only ever driven short distances about 8 miles each way to work and has been sitting for a couple of months.

What was also concerning was the coolant was just below the min’m level. I pointed this out and the owner had since had a coolant change carried out at the weekend.

There is no Mayo on the dipstick and the car doesn’t have any white smoke other than a small amount on start up.

I took it for a short drive and it runs fine. I also used my head gasket tester on the expansion tank to check for exhaust gases, the liquid did not turn yellow and passed the test

What do you guys think ? It’s just the low coolant with the Mayo bugging me
 
I’d say condensation due to engine not warming up.

8 miles Is definitely not enough to warm the engine....our zeds suffer the same thing in winter and short journeys.
 
I tend to agree and want that to be the case.

It’s the low coolant in conjunction with the Mayo that worries me.

It’s possible it has a leak but I can’t see one. Could it have gone down by just sitting in the winter for 2 months ?

How reliable are the head gasket testers ?
 
I would trust the gas test result you got, visual check with the cap off at running temp you should not see any bubbles that would indicate leaking exhaust gas getting into the cooling system. Maybe the low level was as a result of not topping up when the coolant change was made and all the air had been burprd out.
 
If it has done only 8 mile journeys, then that will be the probable cause of the mayo. A security guard where I used to work said his car didnt get warm in winter even though he drove 20 miles to work. The whole engine was mayo and not good. The thermostat was faulty and not allowing it warm up . This caused the mayo and I stripped out all the engine breathers as clogged up. Was like something from Dr Pimple Popper when oozing out the white gunge. New thermostat and new coolant and after a few weeks, the gunge that was inside the rocker cover was virtually gone, the car heated up and the fuel economy was so much better.
Sadly,so many cars suffer with short journeys and gunking up. If you do buy it, take it on a decent few runs or even just let it get up to temperature and fans cut in and out a few times regularly.
 
If you go ahead and get it first thing I would do is drain the oil and refil with flushing oil then run it up to temp and let the flushing oil do its thing followed by draining it and change the oil filter, refill with your chosen brand of fully synthetic at whatever grade VW suggest, I suspect its 5W-40. After that make sure you give the car a regular run so it gets up to temp.
 
colb said:
I would trust the gas test result you got, visual check with the cap off at running temp you should not see any bubbles that would indicate leaking exhaust gas getting into the cooling system. Maybe the low level was as a result of not topping up when the coolant change was made and all the air had been burprd out.
Click to expand...

I did take the cap off the expansion tank when warm. It wasn’t boiling or anything but had like a trickle. I think this is just water constant recirculating, the same as the Z4 has a constant flow.

Also the heaters blew hot
 
That sounds ok then, as the heater blows hot I assume it comes up to temp as it should from a cold start so that would rule out a stuck open thermostat making it run cool as a cause of the mayo build up. Probably just endless short journey trips are the cause.
 
What is the engine? Petrol, diesel?

I would say from my experience is that the car didn't drive enough, so it didn't have a chance to warm up properly and that is just condensation.

A proper test would be to change oil and coolant and the warm car properly and drive it for at least 100 km if there is mayo in the cap and you see oil in the expansion tank, then you know there is the problem. But I think this is not a case.
 
On a related note, my recent foray into that-era VAG motors also alerts you towards when the water-pump was last changed, as that will inevitably need attention soon if its not been done.
 
It's a 1.6 petrol engine.

There was no oil in the coolant, just it was below the minimum which if it hadn't had been I would have bought the car by now.

I guess I am hoping there is another reason why the coolant was so low and it was just a coincidence that the oil cap has mayo (from short journeys/cold weather)

The sniffer test passed which was reassuring, no smoke, no poor idle, drove smooth, heater blew nice hot hair.

It sounds worth a shot as its quite cheap.
 
Well, 1.6 engine is a simple VAG engine, so my guest as inkey$ said, water pump maybe need a change. Also, if the coolant was low, maybe it is losing it on the thermostat, I had that problem with my Mini One, I thought that is something going on with the engine, but I was losing coolant on the thermostat.

Anyway mate, flush the coolant, change the oil, warm up the engine and take it for a proper high rev drive, if there is no mayo and all is good, the car had the problem as all cars do in the city during the winter - people are not warming them up for a drive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom