New Member - new car.. new issues... Head Gasket Going?

[Metro]

Hi All,

I have been searching and searching for my first car for months now, finally I chose the A3 1.8T. When I went to look at the car, there was no obvious problems, checked coolant, oil and the whole lot, seemed very tidy and checked out okay with my friend who was a lot more experienced than me...

So... I have had the car a week today, the engine light came on... I took it to get diagnosed and seems a thermostat is faulty for regulating the water to the rad.. anyway... that problem in the process of being fixed, I get home and check the coolant again... there seems to be a yellowy foam forming on top of the coolant which has turned a bit milky... there is no change in the oil though, that all seems to still be fine.

Lets just say it is not the HG, what other problems could cause something like this? Ive got it booked in for a compression test next tuesday but I cant stop thinking of the problem and what it could be... I have been reading up on the forum for hours now and there are so many happy endings when it comes to this issue that im hoping my problem isnt the HG!!!

Thanks

 

[s3dave]

Theres no point speculating mate, get the tests done, hopefully it will be ok....it could just be poor maintenance from the previous owner...

 

[Metro]

Cheers for the speedy reply, Ill try not to loose too much sleep over it! but.. What kind of costs would I be looking at for a HG and fitting?

 

[superkarl]

change coolant. take the tank out, clean it out. fill up again. then monitor it from there

 

[Metro]

Thanks a lot, as soon as I have fitted the new thermostat Ill flush the coolant and give the tank a good clean. Will the compression test tell me if there is a problem with the HG or does it only tell you if it is completely gone? I was wondering if it was worth shelling out for the test?

 

[superkarl]

it'l tell you if there is any loss of pressure in each cylinder and will indicate either HG, or head problem.
im unsure of how much they cost tbh so dont know if its worth it. but seeing as you need to change the thermostat (horrible job), you may aswell take the tank out and clean it and refill with new coolant and water, then monitor it from there. thats what id do.

 

[Metro]

cheers for your recommendation! Ill do it over the weekend when Ive got some time!

 

[Routledge]

As above approach constructively and don't worry about it - If it's a problem then it's a problem, but at the moment it's only a hunch