Whats your diagnosis of this .. ( 156 wagon)

Its a 56 Wagon on an X plate - done 99 miles. belts etc were changed at 80k.

I was selling the car but a bloke came round to look yesterday and reconed there may be a prob with the engine (and if im honest i didnt really wanna sell anyway lol)

anyway

blokey who came to view looked over the engine - checked oil levels, oil cap etc and all were fine - then he stuck his finger in the top of the water header tank and got a bit of "mayoesque" sludge on his finger - so he walked away saying it had either HAD a head gasket go or the gasket was about to go.

the alfa is NOT overheating / losing fluid / blowing out smoke / driving badly - Its NOT using oil at all - levels are fine and oil is clean around the cap and on the dipstck etc. Infact the only sign that would hint at a head gasket failure is the little ( tiny) bit of sludge in the header tank.

What do people think ? Should i start worrying ? Can a home mechanic with tools change the gasket ? If i change sooner rather than later will i be able to avoid skimming the head etc.

Cheers, Dave

My wifes 147 had oil in the water. The heat exchanger by the oil filter was leaking (2.0 TS engine). I understand that this is a fairly common problem.

I replaces the heat exchanger which cost £150 from the dealer.

If it is this, not a difficult job just fiddley. The main problem is flushing trhe water system to get rid of the oil, Almost impossible to fully clean it.

Good luck.

That sounds highly plausable JDG so cheers for that

Ill try and find out if something like that has been repaced in the past and there is still old gunk in the pipes first before looking into replacing it

Originally Posted by daveR156

he stuck his finger in the top of the water header tank and got a bit of "mayoesque" sludge on his finger - so he walked away saying it had either HAD a head gasket go or the gasket was about to go.

What do people think ? Should i start worrying ?

dont worry, plenty of cars have mayo in the expension tank, including mine. it doesnt mean there is a problem. it is often there from a previous HG failure. if you ever see mayo it means at some point water and oil have mixed, so i would expect your car's history may include a head gasket failure, but that doesn not mean it has failed again or will ever fail again. i can understand why a potential buyer would be wary.

one thing you should consider, if there is crap in the expansion tank then there will also be crap elsewhere, which can cause blockages and will restraict coolant flow, reducing the efficiency of your cooling system. i would drain your cooling system and then flush it out thoroughly. i would also clean the inside of the expansion tank to put the next buyer's mind at rest.

He was a tyre kicker m8..

Originally Posted by Phil J

He was a tyre kicker m8..

Nah - an enthusiast apparently - nice enough guy, checked bodywork, and interior, checked under the bonnet and then walked away without starting the car or test driving. Fair enough it was his time wasted not mine but think he was genuine.

The more i think the more i cant believe its hg failure - there are no other signs and she drives loverly

Originally Posted by jug

i would drain your cooling system and then flush it out thoroughly. i would also clean the inside of the expansion tank to put the next buyer's mind at rest.

That is now on my list of things to do lol - though not for the benefit of the next buyer as i dont think there will be one for a while - dont really know why i wanted to sell it to be honest lol - love the car

You can also get traces of mayo under the oil cap if it's only used for shortish journeys.

I confess I too have walked away from a car with mayo in the coolant header (it was a red Alfa 75). It might not be serious, but then it might. I have to say that all my Alfas (5) have had scrupulously clean coolant..but I had a Peugeot 204 years ago that was a veritable Hellmans factory...and yes it had a leaky head gasket and liner seals that were dodgy

Its worth getting the cooling system pressure tested as that will tell you whether there is a leak or not. Its not expensive if you get your local garage to do it (assuming they have a cap that fits the Alfa header cap) and its non invasive so no dismantling for the hell of it.

AlfaLincs

Originally Posted by AlfaLincs

I confess I too have walked away from a car with mayo in the coolant header (it was a red Alfa 75). It might not be serious, but then it might. I have to say that all my Alfas (5) have had scrupulously clean coolant..but I had a Peugeot 204 years ago that was a veritable Hellmans factory...and yes it had a leaky head gasket and liner seals that were dodgy

Its worth getting the cooling system pressure tested as that will tell you whether there is a leak or not. Its not expensive if you get your local garage to do it (assuming they have a cap that fits the Alfa header cap) and its non invasive so no dismantling for the hell of it.

AlfaLincs

To be fair i would prob walk away as well lol - howch would a pressure test cost do you think at a local garage ?