I noticed when topping up the radiator last night that the water had oil in it, when i dipped my finger in it was very sludgy and definately oil. Can anybody shed any light into this?What would cause this to happen? Car has not been overheating at all and seems to be running just fine apart from running on a bit every now and then. It is a 88' Rover mini. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance
Richard

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Andele, Andele........

Possibly head gasket but that would normally show itself by having emulsified oil/water under the oil filler cap , looks like mayonaise basically . How long have you had the mini and have you had any work done on it lately ?

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Car had full service only about a month ago, changed all fluids etc.
I checked the oil last night and it was clean as a whistle which stumped me a little bit as i was expecting it to be miky as you mentioned.

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Andele, Andele........

Would anybody else be able to help or have any experience/advice with this.
I suppose i really need to know if it is something that may cause engine damage and should be looked at ASAP.

Thanks guys

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Andele, Andele........

I think its still a blown head gasket.. I have had oil in the radiator before and it turned out to be a blown head gasket. Even though the oil looked normal in the engine..

You need to get it pressure tested to confirm this.. But I think you will find that this is what is causing the oil to be in your radiator..

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Opinions expressed by me are of my opinion only and are copyrighted to Kinkabell Corporation? 2006.

OK thanks for that.
Now the next question is... how big a job is changing the head gasket?
Do you think it may be something that me and the old man can do in a day if we had a new gasket and a workshop manual? or is this the sort of job that should be left up to a professional workshop? Is there anything else i should be changing or looking out for when carrying out this work?

Thanks again it is greatly appreciated.

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Andele, Andele........

yes - you could do a head gasket change in under a day - in a few hours in fact and about the only specialised tool you need is a tension wrench.

But before you rush in and do that there are a couple of points to consider. Get a garage to pressure test the system to see if there is pressure lost over the system. If there isn't then dont pull the head off for nothing. head gaskets are not like spark plugs - they dont need replacing every 20,000 km.

But if there IS pressure loss then there is a reason for it and the root cause must be corrected. Commonly 80% of all A series heads warp over time. Plus, by now, the valves will need refacing and the same for the valve seats. The valve guide are probably worn enough to need replacing. An A series head is a big of an Achilles heel.

Send the head off to a head reco place and have them hot tank it to clean it. They wiill skim the head to make sure its straight and do the other things I mentioned if necessary. If it doesn't already have hardened exhaust valve seats for unleaded petrol, then they can also be fitted at the same time.

A head gasket kit (called a VRS kit) is worth about $30. The head reco is normally worth about $250 depending what needs to be done. Its money well spent if the head gasket does need to be changed.

Providing you've had a bit of a fiddle around with motors before I'd say you can do it yourself , just make sure everythings clean when being reassembled and replace the little bypass hose between the head and the water pump if your mini has it . Like DJG said though , get someone to pressure test it first though to see if there is a leak somewhere . Normally the water get's forced into the oil , not the oil into the water , though it can happen the other way . I'm not usre but it is also possible the workshop could have used something to clean the cooling system prior to replacing the coolant , maybe check with them as well if they have any ideas ?

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It is a 88' Rover Mini...that could mean a whole lot more work removing ancilliaries compared to the average Mini

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"Show me the Mini!"

I didn't take that into consideration. They have computer controlled processes and lots of plastic with a huge radiator across the front. There is also the possibility of air conditioning which may need to have the gas released. Your right - a lot of this is something not to be done lightly - especially if the head gasket is NOT leaking.

OK thanks for your help guys.
1st stop Brickworx to see if steve can pressure test it for me then i will go from there.
Yes it does have air conditioning and all of the other engine bay filling junk so im starting to think i may be biting off more than i can chew for a first timer!

My fiance uses the car as a daily driver, should I be pulling it off the road immediately or would we be able to get away with driving it for the next week or so as i have these problems assessed etc?

Thanks again Mike, sports 850, DJG.

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Andele, Andele........

Its worth taking off the road if its a possible head gasket.

You dont want anymore damage being done if it overheats...been there..not fun.

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No more Minis!......For now.

If it was me I would be getting it pressure tested ASAP and then take it from there. If it is indeed the head gasket then I would'nt be driving it too far. As this is more than likely an early sign of a major problem about to happen and I dont think you would want your Fiance stuck on the side of the road. Nor would I think you would want major engine damge from it over heating if it does go there and then....

Been there and done that in the past and ended up costing me alot more because I was lazy...

Also with the engine running and the radiator cap removed can you see any bubbles in the water?

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Opinions expressed by me are of my opinion only and are copyrighted to Kinkabell Corporation? 2006.

you would definetely know if it was a bhg - lack of power, shitloads of smoke out the exhaust, oil looking like a chocolate milkshake, generally sounding sick....the list goes on. you say the car is doing nothing out of the ordinary - i dont think its a bhg but yeah take it to someone to be on the safe side

how old is your radiator? the reason i ask is if its clogged up it will often leave an oily residue floating around in your water even after you flush the whole thing out and replace the coolant. check out your rad. empty the coolant and then put your finger into the outlet and see if theres a pastey or oily substance (it'll be more noticable towards the end when theres little coolant flowing out). if thats the case 3core rads are cheap as $160ish (would be cheaper than getting your old one re-cored)

hope this helps

Actually I blew the head gasket in a window less Clubman van I had once and the only tell tale sign was the temperature guage went into the red.. Still had heaps of power and blew no smoke at all and there was ever so slight bubbles in the radiator.

So sometimes it can be quite different to what one would expect..

BTW this happened when I was at Singleton and I had to get back to Newcastle .. But my Mini never let me down and we both made it home safe and sound .. I wish I still had that van actually as it was a beauty too ...

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Opinions expressed by me are of my opinion only and are copyrighted to Kinkabell Corporation? 2006.