[sean.corsa]

I have just brought a Vauxhall corsa for 200 with a failed head gasket, well I think it has failed, oil and water is slowly leaking from the engine, I looked at the dipstick it looks like a small amount of creamy stuff in there,im wondering if the engine has had its day or could there still be life in there, when you accelerate the car sort of juddders down the road at no more than 25 mph, have I been ripped off or can I still repair, any help most appreciated,

I forgot to mention its a corsa active 1.2 16v

 

[Walksall]

Welcome to the Forum.

When there is water (more correctly, coolant) in the oil, it generally shows up as small beads of moisture on the dipstick.
If this creamy (mayo) substance is inside the oil filler cap, it does not , on its own, point to a failed head gasket - it could simply be down to condensation.
When you say that 'oil and water are slowly leaking from the engine', are you saying that there is an external leak?

Do you know the service history of this car, especially if it has had new filters and spark plugs of late?

As a starting point, I would check the compression pressures and read any fault codes.

Regards.

 

[sean.corsa]

the compression pressures must be low in the engine as when I hold the accelerator down its like im pushin it and taking my foot off in sync, I had a look at the oil cap and its like mayo, the coolant tank is now empty and you can see the tank is stained by oil, the car had a new water pump about a year or so ago, but apart from that I don't think it has any new spark plugs or any thing, do you think the engine is on its last legs ?

 

[Walksall]

I still think that it would pay you to do a compression test and read any fault codes before you condemn the engine to an early grave.
Even if it IS the head gasket that has failed, providing that there is not much else wrong with it, you could still get a decent life from the engine, if you were to replace the gasket.
If the head is removed, it would pay to check the surface of the head and, if necessary,have it skimmed and pressure tested.
You don't say what mileage it has done, but with a bit of TLC, these things run for ages.

Regards.

 

[sean.corsa]

yes I want to get a mechanic to do it as I herd the cogs on the timing belt are hard to realign is that right ?

 

[sean.corsa]

any help would be much apreciated

 

[Vegas]

You've been told what to do, and haven't done
It. What else do
You want people to
Say

 

[sean.corsa]

ihave done it it reads no fault codes smart ass

 

[Walksall]

You have me worried now, if the valve timing is 'out', it will probably need a lot more than re aligning.
Take off the oil filler cap, get an assistant to operate the starter whilst you have a look to see if the camshaft is turning - if it isn't, you can forget the compression test.

Regards.