Head gasket on way out maybe?

[Crippin]

Right, well I was changing my side light bulbs today and thought why not look at the oil.
I opened the oil bit and it's got, thick mouldy looking cheese round the rim.
I went to a local car garage, explained it and they said straight away it's the head gasket.
Only thing that I don't understand is why would it be going when it's a 59' plate car.

Just curious to what people think could of caused this and also what it may be?
Luckily it's under warranty. It is booked in at Renault in a weeks time so I've got time to take the exhaust system off and what not so they have nothing to blame it on.

 

[Damo_Sport]

Does it overheat?? If the answer is No then no its not... second question.. Do you do short journeys everyday? If yes then its just built up condensation

 

[Beef-Mc]

I bet if you go out for a blast for half an hour then came back and had a look it will have gone away.

 

[HOMERV6]

Flush out the engine and refill with semi synth oil. The sludge is a sign of short journeys as stated previously and / or cheap oil wityh a poor visco range . Hand in pocket time and 5w / 30 time.

 

[Crippin]

Does it overheat?? If the answer is No then no its not... second question.. Do you do short journeys everyday? If yes then its just built up condensation

It doesn't overheat no. & yes I do a few short journeys, 5-10 minutes. However I also do a good 35minute run everyday.

I bet if you go out for a blast for half an hour then came back and had a look it will have gone away.

How will this help?

 

[Crippin]

Flush out the engine and refill with semi synth oil. The sludge is a sign of short journeys as stated previously and / or cheap oil wityh a poor visco range . Hand in pocket time and 5w / 30 time.

I haven't put oil in it at all. However it's been in at Renault quite a lot where they've put the oil in. Maybe it's them that's done wrong..

 

[Damo_Sport]

If its not overheating then its just built up condensation.. nothing to worry about

 

[Terry172]

As it's under warranty get it checked out as it's there for abuse lol

 

[Crippin]

As it's under warranty get it checked out as it's there for abuse lol

Haha. Yeah that's what I'm going to do. They clean it all out for me which saves me getting my hands dirty lol. Just gonna take exhaust ok cos' they'll blame it on that.

 

[Advikaz]

Easy way of checking for head gask problems is to check the Rad cap, if there is a porridge type "sh*te"" <<< TECHNICAL WORD on the cap then you could have a problem.

Having said that, what the others have said is also true.

 

[Crippin]

Yeah it's like a mouldy cheese looking thing lol.
I think there's a problem tbf but thought I'd ask on here cos' people know quite a lot on here as well.
When it's in on monday I'll post on here what it was and if they fixed it under warranty..
...Ya never know, i've got a different head unit which therefore caused the problem!!

 

[Wick]

Short journeys combined with all of the cold weather we've had recently often results in a build up like this

 

[Advikaz]

Also if a car isn't opened up occasionally they coke up like a B*tch

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

Give it the beans once in a while (when warm (oil warm not water gauge warm!) ).

 

[jamesd1263]

Nothing to worry about!

 

[Crippin]

Tbf, I never really open the car up.
Tomorrow I'll give it a good blast down the M1.
Also, I'm soo close to having a remap from K-tec to give it a bit more umph. Ya think it's worth £250..

 

[Damo_Sport]

Tbf, I never really open the car up.
Tomorrow I'll give it a good blast down the M1.
Also, I'm soo close to having a remap from K-tec to give it a bit more umph. Ya think it's worth £250..

no

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

All engines should be 'opened up' regularly. Whether it's a 1litre Micra or a Konningsegg. Doesn't take much effort to see the top of 1st, 2nd and third entering a m'way sliproad for instance.

Not in any way suggesting you light the wheels up and drive everywhere like a 17 y/o on the way to a baseball cap shop.

 

[Crippin]

Haha. Tomorrow when going down the M1 i'll hit a tonne and keep it there for a while then see what it's like.
And why a straight no about the remap? Just curious this is all.

 

[jamesd1263]

You don't really open it up.
You want a remap for extra umph...

Add them up together and there's not
Much point

 

[Fred@BTM]

D4F based engine? standard

 

[bmh.01]

D4F based engine? standard

Yes its a D4F and bloody hell it took a while for someone to say it!

Don't worry about it its just a "characteristic" of the engine.

 

[Crippin]

I've not got a clue what a D4F is lol.
& nailed it down the M1 today and back a good 50minute run, got back had a look, and it was still there lol.

 

[bmh.01]

D4F is your engine code, its nothing to worry about happens to pretty much all of them no matter how much they get used due to the plastic cam/rocker cover. Moisture gets in and condenses, mixes with the oil and et voila you get a little bit of sludge.

As long as its not excessive and theres nothing on the dipstick untowards don't worry about it. Never actually known a hg to actually fail on one.

 

[Crippin]

Ahh I see..
Just took a picture to upload and this is what it looks like..

 

[bmh.01]

Normal, don't worry about it.

 

[Crippin]

Just got back in from being out and about with a few of my old mates.
Exhaust seems to be smelling really hot.
Seems like I get problem after problem....