Njhall Posted April 2, 2022 Report Share Posted April 2, 2022 Afternoon all! I had just got my 1997 1L AER Arosa running smoothly and now I’ve got the dreaded Mayo of death. Has anyone recently had a head gasket replaced and if so, how much was it? I’ve got to work out if it’s worth investing in the car at 50,000 miles. Cheers for any help or insight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2 Posted April 2, 2022 Report Share Posted April 2, 2022 Because it's one of the older engines, it might not be the head gasket... If in this cold weather you do lots of short runs, the gunge can build up because of insufficient heat to burn it away. Try taking it for a good half hour run somewhere (or heavy traffic) and see if it clears it. Also, is it using any coolant or oil. Or is there a misfire or a dodgy looking spark plug insulator colour in one cylinder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Njhall Posted April 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2022 Thanks for the reply Mk2, I've had similar advice from the facebook page as I only travel 12 miles each way a day. Oil seems fine and I have recently lost coolant, but to be fair that may have been from when I replaced the temperature sensor in the dark. I have now topped up the coolant and will run it for a week and monitor oil/ coolant levels. She runs sweetly and I didn't notice a dodgy looking plug insulator, temperatures seem fine so hopefully it is just condensation. I have cleaned out as much of the emulsified oil as I can but wonder if there are any tips for opening up the rocker cover to clear out the rest before an oil change next weekend? Cheers, Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2 Posted April 3, 2022 Report Share Posted April 3, 2022 Yeah, the only thing that'll really get rid of it all (easily) is heat... Shouldn't be using any coolant (zero) if all is well. Keep an eye on the level. Look for exterior leaks/wet patches around the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigcraft Posted April 3, 2022 Report Share Posted April 3, 2022 I’ve done a few flush outs in the past just by using red diesel instead of engine oil. It cleaned the engines internals very well then back to proper oil again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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