1. Home
  2. Automotive Technologies
  3. '92 golf cl - head gasket or other issue?

'92 golf cl - head gasket or other issue?

'92 golf cl, 1600cc n/a. 180,000kms the coolant is disappearing from the system in an increasing amount. more than a 1l a week. the coolant also becomes contaminated. rusty color but not opaque. the radiator looks good and there are no visible leaks. hoses are good. the engine oil is not contaminated and its level is consistent. my first think is that the head gasket must be replaced. my confidence is that will fix that. my worry is that there may be a crack in the block. does that even happen with this car? ever? often? or something else?

Reply to
b
Loading thread data ...

If it never overheated you're probably ok, but you should get the heads checked when you remove them.

Reply to
m6onz5a

You dont always contaminate the engine oil with a blown headgasket or cracked head/block...Usually, maybe, but not always. And you dont always get oil in the coolant. Usually one or the other, but not always.

Sometimes you get exhaust gas back into the coolant, and this causes overheating, rusting, loss of coolant.

You can probably get a good idea by a cylinder pressure/leakdown test.

Have you replaced your pressure cap and checked the overflow cannister? If this is faulty you can get loss of coolant, rusty water, etc.

Reply to
hls

My question would be, on a '92, has the cooling system ever been drained, flushed and refilled?

I was having similar problems with an '80 Corolla, and when they flushed the cooling system they kept a baggie of the crap that came out of it to show me!

Car ran for another 100,000 miles, but then, we're talking a Corolla...and an old school one at that. ;)

Reply to
Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B

I used to have a Dodge Custom Van, 1997 model, and began to have similar problems. I checked the Welch ("freeze") plugs and found them leaking.

When I tapped them out of the block, I flushed a ton of rust and mess out of the block. Then I spent an hour or so digging "rubber" out of the water jacket (stop leak compound). After fixing this sloppy maintenance and replacing the Welch plugs, the thing ran very dependable until I sold it last year.

Reply to
hls

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.