Hi! If you remember, some days ago, I had a problem with the fuel pump and the relay. I solved the problem: was the relay. This mornig while I was checking the liquids (oil and water) I saw a leack of water from the expansion tank. While the engine is turning from the expansion tank up (there is a valve I think) water came out expecially at high rpm. It's a clear sign of head gasket failure. Now I never change this part and I'm searching for detailed istructions..... Thank. Andrea
The diagnosis needs to be confirmed. The pressurized expansion tank makes the behavior somewhat different than in most cars and head gasket failures that aren't associated with serious overheating are rare in this engine.
Others may have a better idea, but I suggest starting with a cold engine and adding coolant mixture to the expansion tank until the level is up to the 'cold' mark. Start the engine and rev it gently a couple times. If you see bubbles and the level drops, bring the level back up; repeat as necessary. At idle (before the engine starts warming up) place the palm of your hand over the opening of the expansion tank. If you feel pressure steadily rising over a period of five seconds or so - worse yet, pulsations - it is a bad sign for the head gasket. Otherwise the head gasket is probably okay. Shops can test the coolant for combustion gasses to positively confirm the diagnosis either way, but this test has always been 100% accurate for me.
If the gasket is not bad, you still have a problem somewhere. My first concern is the pressure cap, which is notorious for cracking around the circumference. The caps are color coded for pressure, so if you replace it be sure to get the right one.
Thank you very much for your answer. Tomorrow morning (CET) I'll try to test the pressure with the hand...after a prayer :) At moment I'm going to prepair a list of items that I'll need for the gasket failure. The cost
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is not very high: about 150 euro for timing belt, water pump, expansion tank cap, head gasket set....but I have few informations to do the head gasket substitution. So I'm going to buy a repair manual on e-bay.
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