Astra G - Head Gasket?

lemzip

lemzip

lemzip

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Joined
1 Sep 2005
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724
Hi Guys

After my last post about the car using so much oil, i not have another issue. The car seems to be getting very hot however i am not leaking any coolant. I have the yellowish mayo looking stuff on the top of the oil cap (however many forums suggest thats usual for this model - 1.6 8v)

Today i tried to overtake a bus and when i started pulling out around 55ish in 4th, the car seemed to feel like it didnt have any power so i put it into 5th when i noticed a whole lot of smoke from the back. I have checked and it is deffo oil smoke (oil around the end of the tail pipe)

So im stuck. I have seen some say over filling oil (i put in 5 ltrs and it was pritty low) however the mayo looking gunk and the loss of power/oil could suggest pistons/head crack/gasket fail.

I am getting a compression test done by vauxhall on monday (70 notes) but any additional info would be helpful, the car seems to drive okay at the moment (bar a little hot but not for it to come over 1/4th of the dial however more then in used to/noticed in the past 6 years). No management lights etc on the dash.
 
Dogbreath said:
Hang on a minute...you topped it up with 5 litres of oil? :eek::eek:
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Yep, no oil on the dipstick and a slight smoke coming from oil cover, probably bone dry.

I drive em mate, not really bothered about how they work, as long as it does. It gets services every year and for the first 3-4 years it needed no oil changes between services however since the last service (Sep 09) its used all oil (i checked it after the garage had it) and its done 5-7k miles, before it used to do 11-13k
 
5-7k mile without checking the oil! EEEK.

My Astra done the same, mines was condensation because I was only driving 2-3miles a day. Not done it since.
 
rofl

most engines take about 4l from empty .. from not showing on the dipstick about 1l would be enough to bring it back to normal . 5l will now be about 8l of oil which is mad hehe

overfilling is worse than runing low..you gotta drain it out bud but it will be burning oil like mad .

Persil
 
Persil said:
rofl

most engines take about 4l from empty .. from not showing on the dipstick about 1l would be enough to bring it back to normal . 5l will now be about 8l of oil which is mad hehe

overfilling is worse than runing low..you gotta drain it out bud but it will be burning oil like mad .

Persil
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rotf, i know jack mate about cars and i admit it with my hand held high up, i must admit, the car never really skipped a beat until i topped it up but did notice some flat spots/temps.

Are you sure bout that measurement thing, if it is overfilling, would most cetainly cost me less. If its the head gasket etc i will just get another car!
 
yup . hence why they sell 5l cans .. 4ish litres from empty . if it was under the dipstick but no oil light on the dash it would be about 1l (give or take) low . so if u put 5l in that = roughly 8l which is twice the amount it needs .

I really suggest you do not drive it till you drain and refill with the proper amount . As for gunk on the cap . not unusual if you do a lot of short journeys where the car does not get up to temp .

overfilling can do all sorts of damage... so it really is best you drain and refill with the correct amount .

Persil
 
Thanks Persil, any ideas on what it should be from empty? I checked the manual and has no indication on amount. Do i need to replace the oil filter or can i just drain from sump plug and put more in. Oil filter changed 09/09.
 
If you dont care about the car drain it but leave the filter on and then remeasure 3.5l (oil filter holds about .5l ) add the 3l then wipe and check dipstick . then keep adding 100ml till you get half way up the dipstick . run that for a day then let it settle then recheck .

you can use the same oil you took out if yer cheap/skint/dont care heheh or just but some cheap 10/40 from somewhere and give it fresh . but when its just touching the dipstick to max is about .5l to .75l so dont go mad :)

Persil
 
The oil will be like a jacuzzi LOL pistons slapping hell out of the oil.

I also had the creamy gunk on the oil cap of a corsa, same reasons as Begbie. Also had it once when i put an induction Kit on.

Dont have the car anymore thank god lol
 
well to update, i overfilled around 3.5ltr. Garage drained and said due to my short drives and relative low speed i should be okay (or get away with it as he put it). He suggested the worst is i probably will fail MOT next time due to the cat converter being oiled up but said i should get a sniff test done to see or leave it for MOT.

:D
 
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