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Blown headgasket or just a detached coolant pipe
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redeyes
New User
Oct 9, 2012, 1:25 PM
Post #1 of 8
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Blown headgasket or just a detached coolant pipe
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Hi and thanks for reading.
My car is a Rover 25 1.8 Gti
All diagnoistic work so far has been done in the dark with a torch, so I may be more accurate tomorrow morning
I was driving home today when something failed under the bonnet, a load of blown slush was thrown on the windscreen which the wipers and screen wash just spread and did not clear it. I only had another 200 metres until home, I did not hear a bang or any noise and the engine didn;t appear to be making any unusual noises.
When I got home, there was smoke coming from the bonnet. Opening the bonnet revealed the inside to all be covered in a brown, sticky goo. It feels weird to the touch, in honesty I think it does feel like oil is mixed in with it. It is also brown coloured and looks emulsified (like sludgy mayonaise). I am fairly sure this is symptomatic of a blown head gasket.
However, if I remove the oil cap and also check the dip stick, then I can only see normal oil it does not appear to be emulsified.
I have noticed that a pipe from the radiator is now detached and there is little to no coolant left in the system (the bottle is also empty) there is brown sludgy stuff in the container also.
Could it be, that only this pipe has detached and I have not blown my head gasket. I am happy to post pictures tomorrow morning.
Is it worth reconnecting the pipe, refilling with coolant and starting?
(This post was edited by redeyes on Oct 9, 2012, 1:26 PM)
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Oct 9, 2012, 2:15 PM
Post #2 of 8
(2143 views)
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Re: Blown headgasket or just a detached coolant pipe
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We can't see your car or what leaked out of it and your description doesn't tell us too much. You need to get it to a shop for diagnosis. It sounds like the radiator hose blew or the radiator neck broke but that sludge still needs to be determined what it is.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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nickwarner
Veteran
/ Moderator
Oct 9, 2012, 2:24 PM
Post #3 of 8
(2136 views)
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Re: Blown headgasket or just a detached coolant pipe
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It may have oil in the coolant, but the sludge may be from a badly neglected cooling system. Over time, the anticorrosion additives in coolant break down. Thats why the factory has schedules for you to drain and flush the system, refilling it with fresh coolant after doing so. You're going to need to fix this pipe, and may need a new part or two as they rarely allow themselves to be reconnected without leaks if they rupture like that. Then you will need to completely flush this cooling system. There are flushing additives you add to water and run the engine for a while that break loose the slude and scale. Follow the directions on the bottle of whatever brand you buy. Then you will need to pressure test the cooling system to see if any other parts are having issues and leaking or ready to rupture.
If this is an automatic trans, check for coolant in the trans. If you have it there then your heat exchanger in the radiator is bad, and the oil in the system is from the trans. You would also need to drain the contaminated fluid out of the trans. Replacing the radiator would solve that issue.
Its too early to confirm or deny a head gasket at this stage. Its possible, but you need to do the flushing and checks I gave you first before we can look deeper into that possibility.
Soapy water and a hose will get that crap off your windshield pretty easily. Be sure to scrub down the wiper blade surfaces to keep it from smearing next time you use your wipers.
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re-tired
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Oct 9, 2012, 2:48 PM
Post #4 of 8
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Re: Blown headgasket or just a detached coolant pipe
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Has anybody added coolant to the eng cooling system recently? It sound like you have gotten two different types of antifeeze/coolant mixed . When this happens in turns in a brown goo that is very hard to flush out.
LIFE'S SHORT GO FISH
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redeyes
New User
Oct 9, 2012, 3:05 PM
Post #5 of 8
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Re: Blown headgasket or just a detached coolant pipe
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I have only owned the car for a few weeks so I do not know if coolant types have been mixed in the past. I have not added any coolant or water to the system since owning it. The coolant reservoir bottle has loads of this brown sludge inside it also.
I will upload some pics tomorrow when it's light, but i am not entirely sure how much use they will be.
I will flush the system (hopefully tomorrow), refill with coolant and leave the engine idling. I want to also look out for white smoke from the exhaust?
(This post was edited by redeyes on Oct 9, 2012, 3:07 PM)
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Oct 9, 2012, 3:10 PM
Post #6 of 8
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Re: Blown headgasket or just a detached coolant pipe
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We get coolant mixes all the time and it has never caused a problem. Dexcool will create a sludge if it is exposed to air in the system from being low. You need to have a professional look at that and determine what it is. It could be oil or trans fluid mixed in.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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re-tired
Veteran
/ Moderator
Oct 9, 2012, 4:42 PM
Post #7 of 8
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Re: Blown headgasket or just a detached coolant pipe
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Let me clarifty my statement . If you have green coolant top off with same . If dexcool orange top off with same. regular green coolant will not sludge up even when level is run low. Put dexcool in to top off a low green system and it will lower the corrossive inhibitors and shorten the life of coolant and can cause brown goo if the system is run low.
LIFE'S SHORT GO FISH
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redeyes
New User
Oct 9, 2012, 7:02 PM
Post #8 of 8
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Re: Blown headgasket or just a detached coolant pipe
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AA man has just been - it is not good news.
He confirmed it is definitely oil mixed with the coolant, he imagines this would be the head gasket but did also mention several other things it could be.
Anyways, thanks for the reply and the suggestions.
Off to the knackers yard with it ;;
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