Oil in water

[urbanjohn]

Hi All,

Right here we go, be kind as I'm new on here and there may have been posts related to this before and I also hope I'm on the right part of the forum.

I have a 2009 Berlingo van with about 88,000 miles and the 1.6 Hdi diesel engine.

Having had some heater problems late last year these were sorted out with a new pollen filter, however for about a month or so the heating has been intermittent coupled with a temperature rise that causes the radiator cooling fan to come on briefly. The heater stopped working until the engine temperature rose above 90 degrees and then the fan cooled it back down to 90. Over the last week I have had sudden temperature rises to overheat level causing the stop light to come on, this has only lasted about 30 seconds and then the van is fine for the rest of the day. Upon checking I have found that there is oil in the water. I should say that the thermostat, expansion tank and cap were replaced last week.

 The system has been flushed and the van now runs fine with no over heating and even the heater works as it should, but again there's oil in the water. The oil has been changed and there's no sign of water in the oil. When the van is at operating temperature there does not appear to be any water in the expansion tank, when left overnight and checked when cold in the morning there is still no water, but if I loosen the cap the system releases a load of pressure and throws oily water out meaning that the system is remaining pressurised.

Is this likely to be caused by a faulty oil cooler or could there be another cause?

all help is much appreciated.

Regards

John

[Johny555]

Head gasket..?

[polar]

Hi John you have described a perfect blown head gasket scenario - i would get it into a good garage to pressure test it and you need to get them to give you a price on a replacement head gasket mate.

[urbanjohn]

Hi John you have described a perfect blown head gasket scenario - i would get it into a good garage to pressure test it and you need to get them to give you a price on a replacement head gasket mate.

Thanks for the responses.


Right van going back to the garage soon as possible, just out of interest is there a away of telling the difference between head gasket and oil cooler, or would it be a better option to change both?

regards

John

[polar]

Hi John if it was the oil cooler it would not pressurise the system - what i would do is use a pressure tester to pressurise the system then start the engine and watch the gauge if the pressure keeps building its a sure fire sign of a head gasket/craked head, cracked block or a liner gone. Or of course a combination of all!

[urbanjohn]

Hi John if it was the oil cooler it would not pressurise the system - what i would do is use a pressure tester to pressurise the system then start the engine and watch the gauge if the pressure keeps building its a sure fire sign of a head gasket/craked head, cracked block or a liner gone. Or of course a combination of all!

It sounds like it may be better to just fit a recon engine or second hand low mileage engine, any idea of cost for replacing a head gasket, tried three garages today my usual mechanic not available, a well known independent and a main dealer and none answered!

[ntm1275]

For your information

I have in front of me a bill for a change of head gasket at a Citroen Main Dealer and the total cost was £1476.76 including vat (includes all parts, labour and fluids)

What is not included is a possible skim of the head if found to be warped

The invoice is broken down like this
Labour = £923.86
Parts = £306.77
VAT = £246.13

[polar]

The problem with getting a head gasket done today is finding a competent mechanic the only ones i know are all old and retired or old and ill like me.

The skill level of the mechanics out there today is shocking - im sorry to sound like an old person but its true it scares me how they call themselves technicians but they are piss poor fitters.

[Col]

The problem with getting a head gasket done today is finding a competent mechanic the only ones i know are all old and retired or old and ill like me.

The skill level of the mechanics out there today is shocking - im sorry to sound like an old person but its true it scares me how they call themselves technicians but they are piss poor fitters.

If it doesn't show on a laptop they are stuffed.