signs of headgasket failure??

[nezzi21 27]

iv been losing alot of coolant over the last week or so and i cant find any signs of a leak anywhere, its been suggested that the headgasket is on its way out. but iv none of the usual signs. mayo in oil cap, overheating. although in saying it aint overheating, the temp gauge sits at bang on half and never moves above that but after a drive the top of the inlet manifold feels really hot. also its a bit smokey on start up if its cold and kinda smells of coolant. it aint majorly smokey. now is there any other way of telling if the headgasket is gone without taking the head off?

cheers in advance

[mark_rooney 0]

pressure test?

[madhead 1987 0]

ive got the same prob loosing loads of water some 1 sed to me cud b heater matrix or water pump or the head gasket so i rekon check those as well like is it damp in the footwell nd etc

[terrorste 0]

Check your crack pipes and thermostat housings, i hade all of the above problems and not after finding out the thermo housing was broke i got sorted.

[The Monk 50]

Upper inlet mani always gets very hot during use/hard use. All the heat from the cylinders and cylinder head, head up through the mani.

1) Check all hoses are attached properly.

2) Check crackpipe/thermostat housing for leaks.

3) Check the header tank (coolant expansion bottle), around the middle as they sometimes crack.

4) After taking it out for a drive to the shops or wherever, park up at home, open bonnet and check for water drips on the floor.

5) Following option 4 before any other is always the best thing. With the Engine warm/hot, means any non visable holes or leaks when cold, can usually be spotted.

BTW, sitting dead on 90*c in the middle of the temp guage is what both my VR's have done, so I think that is a good sign.

[stewvr6 0]

i used to have this problem and thought it was the radiator, when i jacked the car up i found that the clamp on the bottom pipe going into the radiator had cut into the pipeline. my simple fix was to cut it back behind the damage and reattached it.