1.8 petrol head gasket

[iain8464]

Good evening Ladies & Gentlemen,

I pose a question to you, who are much more knowledgable than myself, I have a feeling the head gasket has gone on my 1989 80 1.8 petrol, to change this, is it a difficult job to do on a DIY basis, do I need any specialist tools, and are there any points I should be aware of.

Any advice would bw appreciated. Thanking you all in advance.

Iain

[Glen]

As far as I know from past experience with head gasket failures you'd know if it's gone. For me I had lots of leaking and overheating in a couple of minutes worth of driving. Unless if you're a experienced mechanic I'd also say it's not a job you should be trying yourself. My Dad had one go once and not even many garages would give him a quote.

 

What specifically makes you think it's a head gasket?

 

Glen!

[Tech]

Hi Iain,

Glen is right, you'd have to be pretty confident you knew exactly what you was looking at to take that job on.  Don't forget the timing belt has to come off just for a start.  What gives you the impression the head gasket is at fault?

If you was to remove the cylinder head to replace the gasket, it may be worth taking it to an engineering company to have it pressure tested whilst it was removed.

 

Tech

[iain8464]

Thank you for the advice guys,

I may be wrong in my assumption then, as I don't have any overheating issues, quite the reverse, I think the thermostat has stuck open, as it takes ages to warm up. However what made me think it was a head gasket problem was finding a beige coloured creamy substance inside the oil filler cap and also the same round the top of the dipstick, which I know is a result of oil and water mixing, and I thought the gasket may have gone between the oil and water galleries. The old girl has done 220 k miles, no rust, and in 4 years of ownership has cost me £120.00 in repairs, £50.00 being a battery plus the fact, my 6 year old daughter loves the car, and would never forgive me, so getting rid isn't really an option.

Once again any advice would be a great help, and much appreciated.

Iain

[Tech]

Iain, you can check if your thermostat is stuck open by feeling the radiator hoses from a cold start.  If they are warming up before the car has got to normal operating temperature, then the thermostat is defiantly stuck open.  In your case, it is safe to assume it is anyhow really.

 

As for the 'mayonnaise' in the filler cap, this is indeed water mixing with the oil.  However, this is commonly caused simply by condensation inside the engine in cold weather.  It happens mostly on cars that do shorter journeys as oppose to cars that travel long motorway distances daily, as the car does not stay hot enough long enough for all the moisture to evaporate.  It is nothing to worry about in this case.  Head gasket failure is not common on Audi engines, I have never witnessed a leaking head gasket on an Audi.

 

Tech

[iain8464]

Tech,

Thank you. This news is very reassuring, and also makes a lot of sense, as we have not done any lengthy journeys, just the school run and trips to the local shops, and as we all know the weather has been a little nippy of late.

I also have another question...... how would I go about changing the front top suspension bush, I had an advisory on this last MOT and the next one is due soon. I am mechanically minded and have spanners and a reasonable socket set and want to keep costs to a minimum. once again, advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Iain

[Tech]

Hi Iain, this depends which top suspension bush exactly they have advised, there are quite a few suspension bushes, top and bottom!

If it is the top strut bush than you will have to remove the suspension leg and will require a spring compressor to tension the spring so you can remove the top bush and bearing assembly. However, if it is a different bush they have advised, the job could be much more simple.

 

Tech