cjhillman
Posted a lot
1979 Capri (Rolling Project) 1985 Escort mk3 (Daily)
Posts: 1,600
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Hi all,
My daily Ford Focus 1.4 is using Oil and water every decent size trip now. I've owned it for 5 years and it has always lost oil on a big run (400 miles?)... then the other year started loosing water as well. Now if i go from London to Manchester and back the water is at min and the oil sometimes as low. It seems to be running fine as it approches 186000 miles... I cant see any decent oil leaks or water leaks although the engine isnt clean!
My main questions are... is it like to be the head gasket? and what should i expect to happen to this car before it gets scrapped? Would it just seize up on me one day even if i keep the fuilds topped up?
Its my main daily and summer is busy for me being a professional musician. usually doing long drives and needing to get there. trying to get a head of any disasters!
cheers, Chris
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Personally I would check the oil and cooling system for leaks - use a pressure tester on the radiator if you can borrow one. If you don't find any leaks I would bung a bottle of K seal in the cooling system Has it ever had the oil changed or has it just been topped up? If its never been changed I would do it now...
If you keep the fluids topped up and keep an eye on the warning lights then its unlikely to let go with no warning.
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Tart
Kinda New
Posts: 6
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Hi if you have white goopy stuff on the inside of your oil cap or on the dip stick, then my guess is that the head gasket is toast. If you get loads of black smoke out of the back of your car when you boot it off from the lights, then the oil is being burnt because your engine is worn, but it sounds more like its leaking out of the rocker/cam cover gasket. If you get steam out of your pipe then you may have a head gasket gone or at worst, a crack in the cylinder head, but that is not so likely. You may be getting bubbles in the header tank, indicating combustion gasses are leaking into the cooling system. If you can do a compression test that may help determine the overall condition of you engine. If you keep the fluids topped up and drive with care you will keep it going until you just don't have enough oil and water for your journey and you decide to call it quits, but it would be unlikely to suffer catastrophic failure unless abused.
hope this helps
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froggy
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,099
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Pull the plug leads off and see what state the core plugs in the head are like .
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cjhillman
Posted a lot
1979 Capri (Rolling Project) 1985 Escort mk3 (Daily)
Posts: 1,600
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Thanks guys, will try some of the above! I know there isnt any white gunk in the cap or dip stick, it did blow a header tank last year. It must have been going for a while as it rusted the prop for the bonnet. Replaced it and now have the bubbles in there. Its been like that since last July or something. Cant remember the last time i completely drained the oil but, its going for an MOT next month so depending on that I'll see how it stands also they might end up doing that for the emissions. No black smoke either... maybe there is a leak where i cant see around the back and same with the water. Not sure if i know anyone with a pressure tester but if it gets worse I'll get a compression test done.
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Sounds like head gasket, if this is a scrapper then bung some leak seal stuff in it and keep the fluids checked and topped up, not much point in chucking money at it.
If you like the car and are handy with spanners then you could whip the head off for a look see, but if you don't like what you find then it might be a waste of time and money.
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...Cant remember the last time i completely drained the oil but, its going for an MOT next month so depending on that I'll see how it stands... Are you seriously telling me that you have never changed your engine oil? Even if your car is only worth beer money, there's no reason to neglect it. Oil and filters are cheap, and they will save your engine and prevent you from ending up stranded at the side of the road!
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yep well worth doing an oil change at least yearly on even the cheapest bangers , keeps em going
so yeah oil n filter change would be great , then sinse it sounds like an unloved banger just keep a keen eye on the levels and top it up , as long as its running ok with no mess in the tank etc it should keep going unless you let the levels drop
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91 golf g60, 89 golf 16v , 88 polo breadvan
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cjhillman
Posted a lot
1979 Capri (Rolling Project) 1985 Escort mk3 (Daily)
Posts: 1,600
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...Cant remember the last time i completely drained the oil but, its going for an MOT next month so depending on that I'll see how it stands... Are you seriously telling me that you have never changed your engine oil? Even if your car is only worth beer money, there's no reason to neglect it. Oil and filters are cheap, and they will save your engine and prevent you from ending up stranded at the side of the road! Nope, never said i've never changed the oil. I have a few times over the 5 years but, over the last year and a bit probably not... now i have my Escort, i spend more time on that and just keep on top of this. Fair point i will do that... tbh I've been topping it up so much i kinda thought it would be a waste of time. I don't know if its a banger but its got a fair few problems... i'm just trying to keep it going for as long as i can. I'll see how it does over the next MOT and if they don't change the Oil for the emissions I'll do it. In the past i've changed the Oil then they do it again anyway for this reason.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,251
Club RR Member Number: 170
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When you say it has bubbles, are you saying that the header tank is bubbling inside with the car running? What colour is the coolant inside the bottle?
I'd check everywhere for a leak, the radiator, thermostat housing etc. It may even be worth putting the car onto a ramp to look for leaks.
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Last Edit: May 3, 2016 6:32:04 GMT by ChasR
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cjhillman
Posted a lot
1979 Capri (Rolling Project) 1985 Escort mk3 (Daily)
Posts: 1,600
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It's more like bubbled as in condensation rather than a kettle boiling. Maybe that's not head gasket related then.
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