is this what i think it is?????

Hi,

was going to change the oil today so opened the oil plug to add some forte engine flush to the oil but saw this....









so had a look at the coolant reservoir and saw this...



empty! totally dry.....

am i being pessimistic or am i looking at a head gasket on its way out?

cedric[/img]

When was the car last run ? It's a bit too warm to see that amount of mayo with condensation though + the coolant has got to have gone somewhere .
Not looking promising I'm afraid
Drain the oil and see what that is like .

[BIG_MVS]

So that's what they mean by "mayo" under the oil cap when the headgasket has gone Sorry but that looks pretty bad.

When was the last time you checked/filled up the coolant?

Has it overheated recently at all?

Check the oil on the dipstick, what is that like?

last run on tuesday to work and back (around 25 miles)

i always get stuck in traffic but it does not overheat, sometimes the fan comes on but temp does not go much over 90

just checked the oil at the dipstick and it looks normal

I have seen mayo in may car like that..... ai think it is a buikd up of condensation over time.
Clean out out and monitor it.

For the water, fill it up, and monitor that too.

This will give you a clean-ish starting point for both potential issues.

You could compression test each cylinder. and you could get a leak-test done on the cooling system. Also, I would suspect that the Lambda reading might me 'off' if water /steam is going through the exhaust

[BIG_MVS]

Normal oil on the dipstick is better news.

Have you cleaned the breather system/pot out at all? That may need a flush and clean.

As Simon says clean up and fill the coolant up and monitor.

Have you cleaned the breather system/pot out at all?

????? not sure what this is??

will clean it all out and keep a close eye then

i suspect prescott is probably not a good idea then...

[BIG_MVS]

It's that black box to the right of the oil cap on your first picture.

If you follow the pipe that comes off the top of the cap it all goes back to that box(if I remember correctly).They ditched it on the later cars. Maybe it is causing excessive condensation in the top of the cap. Might be worth taking it out and giving it a good clean through.

Still doesn't explain the loss of coolant though

that will be tomorrow evening's job... i'll get it compression tested soon to make sure.

i havent noticed any smoke by the way

thanks

i havent noticed any smoke by the way

Which is why it may not be a problem at all.

i really hope so

Fingers crossed but ...the water doesn't always get into the pots sometimes it just gets in the oil .....Could be liner seals .The loss of coolant is the main concern ,it's gone somewhere and if it's not on the floor .......
I'd drain the oil and see what it is like ,you were going to do that anyway .If you run it with water in the oil the bye-bye bearings in a very quick time .

i was going to change the oil anyway so i'll make sure i do that before i run it. will check the oil before disposing of it to see if there is more of that mayonnaise and if there is coolant.

no water on the floor, well difficult to say with the amount of rain we had in the last few days.... but nothing before.

i think i'll have to monitor everything very closely

the car seems to run normally though

Speaking from recent experience, check your passenger footwell and make sure that it is dry. Lift the carpets to check. If wet, then your heater is leaking and that's where the water is going.

Agree with all the advice on here. I've had mayonnaise on the oil cap of my old Fuego but the oil and water were fine and never met. Used to get all kinds of condensation under the bonnet. Lots of Holts Damp Start on the distributor cap. I digress ...

If the oil looks fine focus on where the coolant has gone. Check that the coolant cap is on properly and sealing, too. I changed one of mine on the GTA (which was brown and therefore wrong anyway) as coolant was coming out the top when things got hot. As we discussed in another thread, this most likely just that the wrong cap had too low a release pressure.