And ideas what white sludge behind the oil filler cap means?
And no, I haven't been shagging it.
Pat...

If it looks like mayo, its your head gasket most likely.

repeated short runs also causes this, so all is not lost necessarily! check for water or oil loss, or poor starting. these would also point to the head gasket.

start engine, squeeze top hose, does it feel like its building up pressure inside it?? not the normal flow of water but gets really "hard" parden the pun......

Yes = head gasket.

Like above, short runs n never getting up to proper temp is also a cause,

Old BL and Rover engines are particularly prone to this, check your radiator or header tank to see if it's got scum on top or an oily film. That will be head gasket trouble.

as a point of interest, is the pressure in the hose always present when the head gasket fails? cos, i guess the gasket could split oil to water, oil to cylinder or water to cylinder. so would there be distinct symptoms for each of these cases (scum, exhaust smoke and hard hoses respectively) or would all the symptoms be common to all the problems, so to speak? sorry if that makes no sense...

You can have a combination...

I have one going right now, and have low compression with vapor in the exhaust, but the oil's OK.

Last time (same vehicle, 60,000 miles ago) it blew to the outside. "Blew" is an overstatement, as it was a slow leak. Put in radiator leak sealer and drove it 2 more years!

Pete

cheers pete!

pat, if it is the head and you keep driving it then it may eventually need the head skimming flat again (£20 when mine needed doing...) so maybe just do a quick compression test to get an early diagnosis without waiting for more symptoms to show!

I have had several - some new - bl cars that did this. There wasnt anything wrong. They just do it.

Unless your oil level starts rising and your rad level starts to fall, I wouldnt worry.

atb

steve

Joel,

No - you will only get hard if engine is hot. Water is vapourised within combustion chamber (assuming that's where the leak is going) and therefore lost. The only thing to fill the void will be air, or when engine hot - pressurised steam. As engine cools steam will recondense to water.

HTH

ATB

Simon

Water or vapour coming out of the exhaust is not a sign of a failed head gasket. Water is a by-product of the combustion process of fossil fuels (hydro bit in hydrocarbon means water) and something like 3 pints of water is produced for each gallon of petrol burned. That's one reason why exhausts rust from the inside, especially when doing short runs and not getting up to temp. Look at any car exhaust starting from cold in cold weather and you will see a shower of water, enough to wet the floor below it.

Pete,

Correct.

ATB

Simon

PS 28/3 - BTW, they go forward

I know when they go forward, that wasn't the question. I've put all our clocks in a cupboard and locked them in.

Cheers guys (so far).....
Never been out in the car apart from to turn it around and most of the time it has just been sitting on the drive idling. A couple of weeks ago when I started it, it blew loads of white smoke out of the exhaust, but hasn't done it since.
Maybe changing the head for an unleaded one anyway so will do the gasket then.....
Pat...