Absolutly gutted.. Has my head gasket gone?

Lloydie22

Lloydie22

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Hi guys,

Just went out to check my oil and to top it up and i was faced with the dreaded milky colour oil. Does this mean my head gasket has gone?

if so, when i bought my car i was given a 6 month warranty from warrantydirect.com. Will this be covered do you think? Obviously i could just phone up but there closed as it being sunday. Just want to prepare myself for the call tomo.

Any help / advice would be GREATLY appreciated. How much it will cost etc.

Lloyd
 

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Are you loosing coolant? Any problems with temps?
 
Ewwww, tough to say on warranty front, you'll need to read the policy document that came with your purchase to see what the exclusions are. Good luck.
 
Yikes.

Certainly looks like HG Failure....

Prepare for the worst.

I wish you luck
 
If your within 6 months and the car is low miles i would say its applicable. There is no way in my opinion that a head gasket is wear and tear, so unless there is a specific clause i would fight to get it done. Having said that though it needs diagnosing first and if your not losing coolant and your temps are not high then it could be another fault that's allowing water into the engine. Could potentially be oil cooler or seals, especially if you have oil in the coolant as well.
 
From what i can see it looks like i've lost some coolant. Yeah it is within 6 months, but i havent noticed any problems with the tempreture of the engine. Can i still drive it? Or is it a nono?
 
You can still drive it, but watch that temperature gauge like a hawk.

Any movement above the 90 mark and i'd call it game over, switch off and garage time.

You dont want to damage the bottom end afterall.

You definitely would have used some water to make that lovely mayo mixture, thats afterall how you produce the sludge. oil/water.
 
I wouldn't, if the damage gets worse or the warranty company learns you continued to drive it then they may walk away.
 
I'd be on Audi UK's case too.

It'll have been "going" for quite a while, and chances are whilst it was within its proper warranty.

Has it had much service history with Audi?

They may do you a goodwill gesture if you have a bit of a cry at them.

As afterall, its a bit mad for a car of your age to go pop like that.

Obviously first tackle your current warranty company.
 
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Best get it booked in to a garage mate sooner rather than later. Increased temps will only make the problem worse so make sure the coolant is topped up, but i really wouldn't run it much in the condition its in. The more coolant gets into the engine the more the oil loses its lubricating effect.

Depending on the condition of the head when its removed it will more than likely need a skim and that's £250 quid or thereabouts, including labour and parts it could total £500+ . I would get it booked in somewhere for an assessment and use that information to make a decision on whether to contact the warranty company. Hope you get it sorted.
 
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Its worth asking, do you do a lot of short journeys? My oil cap is similar although no where near as bad as that and I literally do 12 miles a day and the oil never fully gets up to temperature.

When the engine is running grab a large coolant pipe and squeeze. If it's hard to squeeze then the gasket could have gone and it could be pressurising the coolant system. Does your oil smell of coolant or fuel?
 
It could be short journeys my girlfriend uses our S3 to go to the train station a few miles each day and we get sludge. But if I clean it off and have a decent run it stays clean. Always seems worse in the cold weather too! We don't lose any coolant though.
 
Oh okay. Thanks for all the replys i really appreciate them. I only ever do short journeys. 2 miles a day. Could this maybe be just that then? Shall i take it for a bit of a run?
 
One other thing to check would be your oil pump.

I had this problem when my 2.0t A3's pump went. Masses of mayo at the cap! The garage, flushed and replaced the oil three times. Didn't make any difference!

If the oil pump (which is a more integral part of the engine) chains stretch or fail, the engine looses oil pressure and fails to send oil around the engine and the port holes become blocked. Ending up with the oil mayonasing (big time) at the cap.

If your hearing any strange rattles or tapping sound from deep in the engine bay, or your oil pressure light (red) comes on then it could be this. This is not a cheap fix! Not wishing to scare you or anything :scared2:

Just a heads up really!

I hope it's nothing too serious, though mate. It looks like you just need to take it for a good blast for 30 mins to warm it up :icon_thumright:

p.s check you have the right grade oil too, as this can cause this issue.
 
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Lloydie22 said:
Oh okay. Thanks for all the replys i really appreciate them. I only ever do short journeys. 2 miles a day. Could this maybe be just that then? Shall i take it for a bit of a run?
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Two miles a day the oil wont even be getting anywhere near up to temperature which will be causing moisture in the engine especially in the colder weather. Clear the mayor from the cap and the oil filler neck and take it for a long run. Your oil tempersture will need to be atleast 90c before it even starts burning it off. Your front pcv will also be caked in this sludge too!

You can check the oil temperature in the display menu.

I doubt its your oil pump as you would know by now it sounds to me like too short journeys.
 
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I have just gone out. Wiped the oil cap and the inside part i can get it. Started it up (was guna take it for a spin) and theres a fair bit of white smoke so i've decided against this. I'm guna take it to a garage tomo and have them look at it. But tbh i'm expecting the worst. I hope the warranty covers it, literally this morning i bought a new acoustic guitar of ebay setting me back £1,400. Wish i didnt now grrr!!
 
Lloydie22 said:
I have just gone out. Wiped the oil cap and the inside part i can get it. Started it up (was guna take it for a spin) and theres a fair bit of white smoke so i've decided against this. I'm guna take it to a garage tomo and have them look at it. But tbh i'm expecting the worst. I hope the warranty covers it, literally this morning i bought a new acoustic guitar of ebay setting me back £1,400. Wish i didnt now grrr!!
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are you sure its smoke and not pure steam? Easily confused.
 
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ALL TFSI's used fr short trips do this. If you are not loosing coolant, it's more likely the short trips, get the oil changed ASAP to minimise it
 
The dealer is responsible for any faults for the first 6 months regardless of weather they sold you a warranty or not. It's the law.
 
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Dude white smoke after starting it is not smoke at all, it's moisture/condensation caused by the warm exhaust fumes entering a freezing cold exhaust, perfectly normal.

You only do 2 miles each way per day? That's more than likely your problem then, the car's not even getting up to temp.

Clean it off go take it for a good spirited drive and you should clear it all out.

Catch tank would be a good idea if that's the sort of use the car gets going forward :)
 
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Muzza80 said:
Dude white smoke after starting it is not smoke at all, it's moisture/condensation caused by the warm exhaust fumes entering a freezing cold exhaust, perfectly normal.

You only do 2 miles each way per day? That's more than likely your problem then, the car's not even getting up to temp.

Clean it off go take it for a good spirited drive and you should clear it all out.

Catch tank would be a good idea if that's the sort of use the car gets going forward :)
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oil change with with a flush then drive to France and across Europe and it will be clean
 
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Whats the oil like on the dip stick?

If its milky on the dip stick too there is a problem, if not then it's just condensation mixing with oil at the to of the engine.
 
leegsi said:
Whats the oil like on the dip stick?

If its milky on the dip stick too there is a problem, if not then it's just condensation mixing with oil at the to of the engine.
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Disagree mine has some at the top of the dip stick. Yes as its under warranty it would be wise to get it checked out either way and for piece of mind.
 
Did this warranty with warrantydirect come with the car recently or did you purchase it yourself? and if you only bought the guitar this morning you could put a ticket in with ebay and claim what is likely happening with your car a reason not to commit to purchase and they may allow it to be withdrawn and a refund issued if you would rather prepare putting it towards the car. just a thought of course. hope its not bad news though
 
Thanks again guys. You were right the part of it being steam and not smoke.

I took it for a good 45 minute drive. The temp stayed dead on 90 with no coolant lost. There is also no milkyness on the bottom of the dip stick. Do i NEED to do an oil change or will it eventually all burn off? (If it isnt the head gasket)

The warranty with warrantydirect (gold policy) was given to me by the dealer. So im still going to take it to the garage ASAP to get a definative answer.

However in the mean time i am going to drive it on the fact im hoping its just from the short journeys.
 
As long as the dipstick is showing oil and no mayo and your not losing coolant or pressurising the coolant system then I'd say perfectly normal for short runs and cold outside temp.
Only doing trips of a couple of miles at a time will cause this, even if you flush it out it'll return during colder months.
Either try and give the car a decent run and warm up as often as possible or every now and again wipe the cap clean.
Stop worrying as it looks fine.
 
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Marshy said:
As long as the dipstick is showing oil and no mayo and your not losing coolant or pressurising the coolant system then I'd say perfectly normal for short runs and cold outside temp.
Only doing trips of a couple of miles at a time will cause this, even if you flush it out it'll return during colder months.
Either try and give the car a decent run and warm up as often as possible or every now and again wipe the cap clean.
Stop worrying as it looks fine.
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The cooling system is pressurised as water boils at a higher temperature when pressurised,as long as it's not pressurised by combustion gasses it's all good.
 
Bought from a dealer less than 6 months ago?

it has a compulsory 6 months warranty anyway by LAW, so even if they didn't give you that warrantydirect warranty, they have a legal obligation to have it repaired under the sale of goods act
 
Like above get it tested just to put your mind at rest but it sounds normal to me! I was a bit worried the first time I spotted it on mine as I've always done a lot of miles so hadn't seen it before. Take the scenic route now and again get it upto temprature!
 
T8DPR said:
Bought from a dealer less than 6 months ago?

it has a compulsory 6 months warranty anyway by LAW, so even if they didn't give you that warrantydirect warranty, they have a legal obligation to have it repaired under the sale of goods act
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so your telling me that its 6 months regardless, and if anything blows they must repair it? damn i didn't know that, what if they refuse? or what if they refuse but you need the car repairing so you get it repaired, can you forward the bill on?
 
T8DPR said:
Bought from a dealer less than 6 months ago?

it has a compulsory 6 months warranty anyway by LAW, so even if they didn't give you that warrantydirect warranty, they have a legal obligation to have it repaired under the sale of goods act
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This is interesting, i brought my 06 A3 Sport 2.0 tdi like the 7th January from BMW as an approved used car.
It came with 3 months warranty.
 
The dealer is trying it on by telling you it's only got a 3 month warranty. Basically the law goes that if a fault becomes apparent within 6 months that it's accepted that the car was at fault when sold and so the dealer must fix it.
 
Ch3tan said:
The dealer is trying it on by telling you it's only got a 3 month warranty. Basically the law goes that if a fault becomes apparent within 6 months that it's accepted that the car was at fault when sold and so the dealer must fix it.
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Oh cheers mate, might have to look into that if i find anything wrong, especially that i think the MOT is within that time frame... I thought buying from a branded dealer like BMW everything would be more reliable and professional lol
 
I've owned 2 8P S3's over 7 years and at one point the 2nd car sat for 3 months unused with limited local mileage around the periphery of this window and it never got that bad. I had the slightest rim of white gunk (oo-er missus) around the oil filler cap seal, but nothing on that scale. First car did 60k miles, second is on 24k and never in the same league as that.
 
Ch3tan said:
The dealer is trying it on by telling you it's only got a 3 month warranty. Basically the law goes that if a fault becomes apparent within 6 months that it's accepted that the car was at fault when sold and so the dealer must fix it.
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Indeed...6 months the dealer HAS TO PROVE that it was not faulty at the time of sale. if they cant..bang boom they pay. and lets be honest how are they to prove it. they shall pay it
 
Wow i'm just looking at that and it looks at lot worse than i've ever seen on mine.... Mine gets used for short journeys, cars lucky if it does 100 miles per week, although when I do have it out, the majority of the time it does get up the temp, again mine had slight sludge, i've not checked it for a while though so i'm gonna check it today and i'll post up a pic
 
Yeah it would be good to see a pic mate. I'm guna give it a huge run tonight. Get it up to temp and burn it off. Theres no gunk on the dip stick so i'm hoping its condensation
 
Just raced out and checked mine. It seems okay there's a tiny bit but not much. Gutted for you. Hope it nothing serious. Mine doesn't hardly get drove and this is mine. Sometimes doesn't move for days.

27277d1392052511-absolutly-gutted-has-my-head-gasket-gone-image.jpg


Forgot to to mention mines 2007 with 42k
 

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