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VS Ute possible head gasket?

Yasin Surer

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Hi guys, i have a 1999 VS ute S3 5spd manual 157xxxkms and ive had a lot of trouble trying to get it to run good, problem i have is when im driving normally(grampa style) it seems to be fine, as soon as i need to give it some herbs and spices usually over 3000rpm the car feels like its not getting spark and jolting the car back an forth, i usually shift next gear to avoid it most times. Also my friend opend the tappet cover cap and found what we ausume is water(slighty white milky) and said "oh no head gasket", its used the water in the overflow and also found roughly the same substance on the rad cap aswell, allso all my spark plugs have white tops(not sutty or wet).Here is list of things ive replaced.

New spark plugs.
New leads.
New coil packs 3x.
New fule filter.
New air filter.
Swaped DFI.
Swaped MAF like 3 times.
Does anyone know whats going on :(
Thanks.
 

vs-lover

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That sounds like a pretty accurate diagnosis as milkiness in the oil is a definite sign of cross contamination. Sadly a costly and time consuming task ahead I'd say.
 

Wozza

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could just be a bad inlet manifold gasket...as this has to come off to do the heads start with that
 

vc commodore

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Assuming it is a V6, a problem that crops up is the valley cover gasket(I assume that's what it is called) would need replacing....

The valley cover has water running through it, which would account for the water contamination you describe, especially if the gasket is perished
 

Yasin Surer

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Assuming it is a V6, a problem that crops up is the valley cover gasket(I assume that's what it is called) would need replacing....

The valley cover has water running through it, which would account for the water contamination you describe, especially if the gasket is perished
Sorry yes it is a L36 N/A my bad.
Would this posibly cause the jolting and is there a way i can find out if the heads are blown?
Thanks alot for the replys.
 

woteva

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Cooling pressure test will confirm water leaks internal as the system will not hold pressure. Any mechanic should be able perform this for you.
 

Wozza

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You have water in the oil and oil in the water so you have a leak, as you know you have a leak a pressure test wont do much but confirm the obvious.You will need a test for combustion gas in coolant to verify if its head related..
Heads cracking is pretty rare yes it does happen as does blown head gaskets but 90% of the time its inlet manifold gasket...Yes coolant/water leaking into the induction side will cause running issues, as water does not compress and will tend snuff the flame..If your motor is digesting a lot of water you risk bending a rod or two which can also cause issues with running but that tends to be a tad noisy ;)
 

Lunati

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I usually do a Tee Kay test -
And radiator pressure test with the plugs out. when the pressure has dropped, you can crank it to see if any moisture comes out.
 

vc commodore

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Sorry yes it is a L36 N/A my bad.
Would this posibly cause the jolting and is there a way i can find out if the heads are blown?
Thanks alot for the replys.


Yes it would, because it would be sucking air in, when it shouldn't.
 

Yasin Surer

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Yes it would, because it would be sucking air in, when it shouldn't.
Hey, just did the valley gasket and it was pooped as hell, saying so it has not fixed the studder at all. I wiggle some wiring (near the T/B) such as the tps and idle sensors and the motor starts to rev up and down accordingly to the way u touch it (lifting it up and down) i did notice there is a skinny black earth on the back of the motor passanger side that looks a bit how ya going and the temp signal wire (on thermo housing) is allso how ya going and does the same as i said above.
Any ideas? Or can you point me some where with common vs wiring issuse.
Thanks! :)
 
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