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Is it worth fixing?


Harrypm
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Hi everyone

I'm new here so sorry for signing up and going straight to the point. I've had oily coolant since I bought the car last year and it never bothered me. The radiator had a slow leak for 3 weeks but I just kept topping it up as I could see water dripping from the front.

Drove today and saw steam coming from the bonnet, gauge was bang on in the middle as normal but I pulled over and saw water boiling out of the expansion tank. I now know 90% that its probably the headgasket that went. Is it worth fixing the engine or just buying another one to put in? Thought about doing it myself but someone said it's quite tricky.

 

Any help or advice appreciated. Thanks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa9pldmPjuY

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Which engine?

I've done plenty of head gaskets. I'd never call them tricky. Unless there's something about your particular engine I don't know about it's just head off, clean the surface (get it checked for warping at an engine shop) and put a new gasket on. Head bolts are just following the instructions. Then it needs a new cam belt for reassembly.

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Welcome to club lupo :)

if temp gauge indicates normal, chances are thermostat is ok. Also my guess is the pumps circulating >water< just fine (no coolant?).

so could be gasket, especially if it's bubbling, but oil in water is no definite indicator as the oil cooler is known to fail (and mix nicely), just like @Rich suggests.

hey you have nothing to lose by pulling the head off. You could cheap out and reuse the head bolts (measure their torque before undoing them), and if the cam belt is still looking ok, reuse that too (remember the running direction). So just a head gasket for a fiver if you get lucky. Less work than an engine swap for sure. And and please go and get a new radiator from a scrappies. They're like a tenner. 

You'll want to run a couple (or even 3) dishwasher tablets in the cooling system to clean it out before refilling (then a clear water flush). 

Use some pink coolant!

 

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Thanks for the answers guys. Top rad house is hot. I’ve noticed yesterday that the radiator fan has never come on since I’ve owned the car. Shorted the plug and it did come on so might be a faulty sensor. 
 

Updates

i have oil under the car and it’s using oil rapidly. Engine is running fine but the water is still squirting out of the bottle after 15 minutes, even though the needle states it’s not overheating. 
 

I’ve done a search for headgasket replacements but on 8 pages I couldn’t find a how to or any torque settings. Any info will be appreciated. Also, will the 1.0l have an oil cooler? 

 

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Don't drive it any more. You're gonna get stranded somewhere and it won't get you home, or to somewhere where you can fix it. Then it'll cost you tow truck charges and a taxi ride.

Time to park up and get on with it.... Assuming that you have all the tools.

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On 7/14/2020 at 8:42 AM, Rich said:

You 90% know nothing.

Stuck thermostat?

Failed impellers on pump.

Oil/water mixing at the oil cooler?

I've taken this on board. I'm jumping straight into the deep end when it might be a simple fix. A stuck thermostat or air in the system could've blown the coolant out of the bottle, especially with all that sludge. I took out the thermostat and had no issues so far apart from the car cooling down very fast when just idling. I've replaced the radiator and will put in a new thermostat and housing when it comes this week and see what it does then. I've not checked the pump but the water is circulating. I did have a small pool of oil under the car when it first happened so that gave me the initial scare. I can't see anymore oil now.

Edited by Harrypm
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On 7/14/2020 at 10:05 AM, mk2 said:

Welcome to club lupo :)

if temp gauge indicates normal, chances are thermostat is ok. Also my guess is the pumps circulating >water< just fine (no coolant?).

so could be gasket, especially if it's bubbling, but oil in water is no definite indicator as the oil cooler is known to fail (and mix nicely), just like @Rich suggests.

hey you have nothing to lose by pulling the head off. You could cheap out and reuse the head bolts (measure their torque before undoing them), and if the cam belt is still looking ok, reuse that too (remember the running direction). So just a head gasket for a fiver if you get lucky. Less work than an engine swap for sure. And and please go and get a new radiator from a scrappies. They're like a tenner. 

You'll want to run a couple (or even 3) dishwasher tablets in the cooling system to clean it out before refilling (then a clear water flush). 

Use some pink coolant!

 

Thanks for that, I ran 6 through the system over 2 days until the water ran clear.

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