2000 Vauxhall Astra oil in water compartment

ROELANI

MEMBER
2000 VAUXHALL ASTRA
V8
FWD
MANUAL
130,000 MILES

Dear all,

I have recently found some oil in the water compartment. This was quite thick. I have had the system flushed out and have been advised that it could be the head gasket, we have had a check by a garage diagnostically when there was a slight alteration in the colour light reading, from blue to green and have been advised to run the car, as no change in temperature and performance, until we feel a change- is this correct or should something be done asap?

Kate Grinter

7 Replies

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

Hi there,

I would be inclined to have it seen to sooner rather than later, there is an issue somewhere, and if it is a cracked head, and if it gets worse, the repair may be rather more expensive, depending on where the crack is.

Mark (mhpautos)

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Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 AT 4:16 AM

ROELANI

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7 POSTS

Does it definitely indicate a head gasket probelm then? Its unusual for the oil to be in the water isn't it. Just dont want it to be taken apart when it may be something else like an oil cooler leak. Please advise on best course of action.

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Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 AT 6:20 AM

ROELANI

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7 POSTS

It has had a compression check and apart from the slight change in colur code, everything else seems to be fine. But it is worrying to have oil in water compartment. Could it be anything else?

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Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 AT 6:21 AM

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

Hi there,

being manual, I would be suspecting a head problem, I would be thinking a cracked head, as you say no overheating so coolant loss is not the issue.

This tends to lead to a problem around a main oil gallery as the oil pressure is higher than the water pressure, the oil is going into the coolant and not the other way.

Mark (mhpautos)

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Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 AT 6:37 AM

ROELANI

MEMBER
7 POSTS

LIKE YOU SAID THERE IS NO PERFORMANCE ISSUES OR OVERHEATING, SO IT LOOKS LIKE A CRACKED HEAD GASKET. IS THIS QUITE SIMPLE TO GET REPAIRED AND WHAT IS THE PROCESS. COSTS ETC?