Hi!

First off, I don't own a polo myself.. though I have had a golf and currently have a Passat, so I'm still a VW man!

My other half's dad has a 1998 S plate 1.0 polo. I believe the engine code is ALL (999cc)

He had some overheating problems a little while ago (broken thermostat housing), which have been sorted, but I suspect this has lead to a blown head gasket.

He's just tried getting it through the MOT, and the first attempt it overheated during the emissions test (lots of white smoke from exhaust apparently, which I guess was steam) and ran low on coolant (with no large puddles under the car), tried putting it through again (nothing to lose, had a free retest and would not have been able to do anything in the available time), and this time it just failed the emissions test (didn't overheat, but was over 110 just after test so not far off...) Then later he tried driving it and lost all power (said he couldn't get it over 40) so he's borrowing another car for now.

I've looked at it, and there is the lovely brown mayo under the oil filler cap, so it's got water in there, and it does seem to be blowing some steam out of the exhaust. Could this be anything else, apart from the head gasket? I'm pretty sure from what I've read, but I've never dealt with one before.

Now I'm perfectly happy to lend a hand with this - he has a Haynes, so I'll have a look through it in there, and I've been looking at parts prices. GSF list this gasket set:

"CYL.HEAD GASKET SET-BQ - 11478B PO 1.0 96>99 Eng. AER/ALL", which I guess includes the head gasket, valve cover and exhaust gaskets (I've sent them an email asking this).

GSF do not list head bolts for engine code ALL - will AER bolts work (based on the above gasket set being for AER or ALL)

We were going to do timing belt and tensioner at some point anyway, so we'll do that at the same time, but is there anything else worth doing? (cam seals?)

I've not done a headgasket before, but I've changed the timing belt on my 1998 B5 1.8T passat, and changed the valve cover gasket, and done various other bits and pieces and believe I have all the necessary tools for the job (a big torque wrench and some tipp-ex for timing marks!) - I'll make sure to have a good read through the Haynes well in advance to see if I'll need any other tools) Any general advice for this?

Thanks for reading!

I hope you haven't forgotten the importance of skimming the head! There should be some sensors down there you may as well replace too. Only the easy ones!

Filters, just as your down there I guess! New rocker cover gasket? Unless you've written that already!

Luke.

I hope you haven't forgotten the importance of skimming the head! There should be some sensors down there you may as well replace too. Only the easy ones!

Filters, just as your down there I guess! New rocker cover gasket? Unless you've written that already!

Luke.

Is it vital to skim the head? What's involved? I was thinking just a good cleaning and check that stuff isn't warped at all, maybe polish it all off with some ultra-fine sandpaper, then stick it back together with new gaskets/bolts.

Obviously we'll have a look at the valves etc and look for cracks or other damage too while we're there, and source a new head /engine /car (delete as appropriate) if need be

And Oil/filter change was going to be done... Seems daft not to do such a simple thing at the same time :-D

Sounds like headgasket failure to me... water+oil = emulsified gunk! head may well not need skimming, best to check it against a flat surface and check for warpage.

if you were to buy a headgasket set/kit i'm sure all the relevant gaskets should be there.

here is a few pics of the head upon first inspection of suspected headgasket failure on my 1.3 coupe a couple of years back- luckily the head wasn't warped as i noticed it overheating.

good luck with getting it fixed, not a bad job as long as you're mythodical and use the haynes manual

Is it vital to skim the head? What's involved? I was thinking just a good cleaning and check that stuff isn't warped at all, maybe polish it all off with some ultra-fine sandpaper, then stick it back together with new gaskets/bolts.

not getting it skimmed is a risk. you could end up doing all this work only to have the gasket blow again right away or after not very long. You can often get away without doing this if the engine hasn't overheated but since yours has I'd not want to risk not skimming it. You'll need to take the head to a machine shop once you've got it off the car.

Or if you want to get it done quicker but more expensively, see if you can source a new cylinder head!

Yeah, skimming is heavily advised in all fairness!

Here's me helping people with their questions, but no one to help me with mine! lol.

Luke.

not getting it skimmed is a risk. you could end up doing all this work only to have the gasket blow again right away or after not very long. You can often get away without doing this if the engine hasn't overheated but since yours has I'd not want to risk not skimming it. You'll need to take the head to a machine shop once you've got it off the car.

hmm.. how much is that likely to cost? Is it likely to have been warped much, or is it more there will be scratches/dents/etc in it? Is There any chance that any of this would be apparent if given a very careful inspection? He's very poor at the moment, and want to be as cheap as possible (but at the same time don't want to have to revisit it any time soon of course!).

Any ideas on the Head bolts? (Will AER head bolts work in an ALL engine) I had a reply from GSF stating that they need the reg no to figure out which bolts to use, which seems daft since I told them the engine code... I can't believe you'd use different head bolts on engines of the same code depending on reg... ?

Thanks for all the swift replies people! :-D

Here's me helping people with their questions, but no one to help me with mine! lol.

That's usually my problem! lol. Fortunately not here though.

head skim should only cost about £30. You can kind of check it for straightness using a proper straight edge on the head surface and shining a light at the back of it, then if you can see any light getting under parts of the straight edge then you know the head is warped. It's hardly scientific though. The old saying do it right, do it once applies here. Not worth skimping on since you know the car has overheated.

Sorry for the highjack, but when i took my oil cap off the other day i noticed i have salad cream all over the underside of the cap , now it looks like from this that my headgasket has gone also, but fortunatly my car hasn't overheated yet (touch wood). looked at gsf, now the cylinder head gasket set is £40 (mk4 1.3 94-95 engine code adx) is this all that is required?. From reading this do i not have to skim the head as my car hasn't overheated?

Also how likely is it going to overheat anyway, how long?

cheers.

Sorry for the highjack, but when i took my oil cap off the other day i noticed i have salad cream all over the underside of the cap , now it looks like from this that my headgasket has gone also, but fortunatly my car hasn't overheated yet (touch wood). looked at gsf, now the cylinder head gasket set is £40 (mk4 1.3 94-95 engine code adx) is this all that is required?. From reading this do i not have to skim the head as my car hasn't overheated?

Also how likely is it going to overheat anyway, how long?

cheers.

overheating the engine (because of a broken thermostat in the cooling system for example) will sometimes (maybe often?) be the cause of a blown headgasket. A blown headgasket can be the cause of overheating...

The 'Mayo' problem you have is just the result of having water in the oil. While this could be caused by a blown headgasket, it could be caused by something else.

I would suggest doing a compression test on yours. It seems unnecessary in our case though, since the sequence of events and current symptoms leave little room for doubt really.

If you do have to do the head gasket, you'll need the head bolts too. They are not designed to be re-used, and a gasket kit will not include them I think. to quote the guy from GSF:

The part number 11478B is complete head set with all the gaskets and seals to change the head gasket.

which I take to mean it comes with Valve cover gasket, exhaust manifold gasket, and cam seals as well as the head gasket too. if it came with bolts I would imagine they would have said so... and I'm assuming all the 'head gasket sets' from GSF contain the same set of gaskets...

a bit of mayo under the oil cap isn't anything to worry about, especially in cold weather and/or if you do a lot of short journies. Are you having to top up the coolant header tank (this is aimed at hawker by the way).

phhheeeww , i do alot of short journeys yes, never had to top up the coolant.