Help please, head gasket ?

[chrissy75]

I have a vx commodore, she is loosing water out of the overflow bottle, the heater has stopped working, and when I take of the radiator cap and start the engine, little bubbles pop to the surface. I have just water in her at the moment because she was going through so much, I figured it was a waste of money to keep putting coolant in there. The oil is fine, it looks exactly how oil should, there's no trace of water in it at all. Would this be a head gasket problem or something else? And is it possible for me to fix it at home, with say, an instruction manual? I'm a single mum with two kids, one is special needs so money is EXTREMELY tight. I love my car, but boy is this stressing me out.

[greenacc]

Apart from the issues you described, does the engine run OK or was it running rough ?
Replacing head gaskets is quite a big job if it is that. Heaters can stop working for other reasons.

[S.T.K.E]

Have you noticed the temp. Has it been going up and down. Water in the oil is common for the head gasket but it also may be due to our car simply overheating which could be cause by a stuffed Thermostat which is not opening and closing right, which is a cheap at home fix

[GetToDaChopa]

I though you could also tell it's the head gasket if it is using a lot of oil. If not it's probably another issue.

[chrissy75]

She has been running ok, she had a small tantrum about two weeks ago, when the engine got extremely hot *but the thermostat on the dash was only sitting just under halfway* and the engine made a knock knock noise.. I pulled over.. waited for her to cool right down *I waited about an hour and 14 minutes* then topped up the water again and she was fine... I havent noticed a difference in her performance except for when she gets hot, which isn't all that often.

[S.T.K.E]

The thermostat is more or less a switch inside the thermostat housing under the hood. Basically allows the engine to heat it's self up before allowing the coolant to flow freely. one the dash its a temp gauge. What might be wrong is that it is not opening and closing properly (mainly caused by rust.......and old age). Replacements are like $15 from super Cheap and i am sure if you as one of the blokes there they will be able to show you how to put it in. It's pretty simple only 2 bolts. Even if that dosn't solve the problem is def worth the change if its never been done before............... How ever it seems to be that you are having basically an overheating problem, these are one of the things that if you kinda don't get it looked at something serious will happen. E.g warped head. (done that before). I would also be suggesting that possibly the water pump may be on its way out, but these tend to be one of those things that either work or they dont.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermostat

[chrissy75]

Thannkyou so much for your advice and help. I will start with the thermostat and see if that makes any difference, and go from there. Once again, thankyou.

[ClairBear]

Why don't you just get a mechanic to check it out, as if money is as tight as you say, then purchasing and replacing parts that may not need replacing is just a waste as that money could go towards fixing the real problem.

At least a mechanic can diagnose the issue rather than everyone here taking a stab at what it might be.

[pablo]

I would be taking it to a radiator repair shop pronto, where they can pressure test the system simply and quickly to determine if there is an internal leak. If it is losing that much water it would show up on the pressure test straight away.
If the gasket is leaking between the water jacket to a cylinder, water would not necessarily show up in the sump oil.
Bubbles in the radiator coolant are a tell-tale sign of a leaking head gasket!...unfortunately.

[CalaisJohn]

... given that a coolant temp guage relies on the coolant for it's reading, then, no coolant = innacurate temp readings as evidenced by a hot knocking engine and the guage reading mid-way. There's gotta be a better way mr manufacturers - ya can't measure what isn't there true? the reading would've been heatsoak into the temp sender and I wouldn't bet a cent on its accuracy. It's like trying to measure the temp of a boiling water in a kettle - which has no water in it.

A coolant temp guage measures coolant temp - only when coolant is available.. otherwvse all bets are off.

good on you though for having a sense to know she's cooking and let her cool down