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[jimmas]

Hi guys, I think I may have the early signs of head gasket failure, in as much as I am loosing coolant, no apparent leaks any were, no leaks from matrix in vehicle no water in oil, to sum it up can not find a leak any were, so thinking maybe loosing it across water jacket and out through exhaust, but again no steam, so my question is if it is head gasket what are they like to do on a 2.2i petrol, do I need any special tools etc.

[TheBoy]

not too bad on 2.2

[mark readman]

The head gasket has a well known manufacture fault which brings on the dreaded "pot 4" syndrome
the gasket breaks away between the water jacket and pot 4 of the engine and fails repeatedly.
30,000 miles between repairs is average, some are very lucky and get away with no head gasket failure, however most do not.
Water is dragged in to the engine, on down stroke and gases escape in to the water on up stroke and firing, early symptoms are the blowing of the heater matrix valve due to increased pressure as it increases the emmisions light will light as steam is detected in the exhaust
Vauxhall do not want to know and will not listen, end of story
They all fail eventually !
its a head off job, a pressure test on the head it needs skimming to get the crap off where the water is dragged through, a new gasket, timing belt and top gasket set, its also a good idea to get the head cleaned out to remove any crap from the breather ports.
It is not a job for a DIY mechanic.
expect to pay around £500 for a fix.
To diagnose use a water tester bulb that detects for exhaust gasses in the water.

[jimmas]

thanx mark will look into it further, got to admit car has done a few miles now, so would not be surprised if it was start of head gasket.  

[Marks DTM Calib]

The head gasket has a well known manufacture fault which brings on the dreaded "pot 4" syndrome
the gasket breaks away between the water jacket and pot 4 of the engine and fails repeatedly.
30,000 miles between repairs is average, some are very lucky and get away with no head gasket failure, however most do not.
Water is dragged in to the engine, on down stroke and gases escape in to the water on up stroke and firing, early symptoms are the blowing of the heater matrix valve due to increased pressure as it increases the emmisions light will light as steam is detected in the exhaust
Vauxhall do not want to know and will not listen, end of story
They all fail eventually !
its a head off job, a pressure test on the head it needs skimming to get the crap off where the water is dragged through, a new gasket, timing belt and top gasket set, its also a good idea to get the head cleaned out to remove any crap from the breather ports.
It is not a job for a DIY mechanic.
expect to pay around £500 for a fix.
To diagnose use a water tester bulb that detects for exhaust gasses in the water.

What a load of miss informed crap......

They fail at around 100K miles if poorly maintained.

[Martin_1962]

My 2.0 CD did over 140,000 (when sold) on original gasket

[jimmas]

Hi car has done 128000 miles but has been very well looked after, regular oil changes at appro every 6000 miles genuine vauxhall anti-freeze changed every 2 years, car runs fine apart from this initial missfire for approx 10-15 seconds when first started from cold and have noticed asmall drop in coolant level but can find no leaks what so ever.

[JamesV6CDX]

The head gasket has a well known manufacture fault which brings on the dreaded "pot 4" syndrome
the gasket breaks away between the water jacket and pot 4 of the engine and fails repeatedly.
30,000 miles between repairs is average, some are very lucky and get away with no head gasket failure, however most do not.
Water is dragged in to the engine, on down stroke and gases escape in to the water on up stroke and firing, early symptoms are the blowing of the heater matrix valve due to increased pressure as it increases the emmisions light will light as steam is detected in the exhaust
Vauxhall do not want to know and will not listen, end of story
They all fail eventually !
its a head off job, a pressure test on the head it needs skimming to get the crap off where the water is dragged through, a new gasket, timing belt and top gasket set, its also a good idea to get the head cleaned out to remove any crap from the breather ports.
It is not a job for a DIY mechanic.
expect to pay around £500 for a fix.
To diagnose use a water tester bulb that detects for exhaust gasses in the water.

What a load of miss informed crap......

They fail at around 100K miles if poorly maintained.

Ever Mr Tactful, Mark

Must say I agree with Mr DTM though - they are no more common to fail then any other engine, and the ones that do fail are usually due to an inadequete coolant mix which kills the composite materials..

[mark readman]

What a load of miss informed crap......

They fail at around 100K miles if poorly maintained.

and every 30,000 after initial repair

Just out of curiosity, have you ever owned a 2.2 petrol ?
 
Thought not !!

[JamesV6CDX]

What a load of miss informed crap......

They fail at around 100K miles if poorly maintained.

and every 30,000 after initial repair

Just out of curiosity, have you ever owned a 2.2 petrol ?
 
Thought not !!

I've owned plenty of 2.0 models which is mechanically identical. I've had no problems with head gasket reliability when properly maintained.

Why the hell would it fail 30,000 miles after repair if it's fixed and maintained properly?

Also, why is it misinformed crap that a poor coolant mix will erode composite material? It's common sense...

[mark readman]

Also, why is it misinformed crap that a poor coolant mix will erode composite material? It's common sense...

Where did I say that ?
No it's perfectly good advice dear chap !!! and exactly what happens, the gasket erodes in to pot 4 usually around 100,000 miles--ish and once re-paired its lucky to last 30,000 before it's at it again
as to identical to the 2.0, no its not it's a 2.2 capacity

You however said it was mis informed crap that
The head needs to be skimmed and pressure tested.
That the breathers need to be cleaned before re-assembling ??

And that once the head has been off and skimmed anyone who thinks it's as good as a new engine.. well  

[JamesV6CDX]

Also, why is it misinformed crap that a poor coolant mix will erode composite material? It's common sense...

Where did I say that ?
No it's perfectly good advice dear chap !!! and exactly what happens, the gasket erodes in to pot 4 usually around 100,000 miles--ish and once re-paired its lucky to last 30,000 before it's at it again
as to identical to the 2.0, no its not it's a 2.2 capacity

You however said it was mis informed crap that
The head needs to be skimmed and pressure tested.
That the breathers need to be cleaned before re-assembling ??

And that once the head has been off and skimmed anyone who thinks it's as good as a new engine.. well  

It is absolutely identical mechanically, the only difference being that the 2.2 is a stroked version of it's predecessor.

I agree with some of your points but I fail to see that when repaired and serviced properly why it will only last 30k miles.

I've sucesfully repaired handfuls of these that have gone on to do high mileages again...

[tunnie]

What a load of miss informed crap......

They fail at around 100K miles if poorly maintained.

and every 30,000 after initial repair

Just out of curiosity, have you ever owned a 2.2 petrol ?
 
Thought not !!

But I do....

112k - Original Gasket.

Maintain it, with regular coolant changes, and its not an issue.

We had a 1997 2.0 GLS, which did 135k in 3 years, never missed a beat.

As mention 2.0 / 2.2 block is the same, just stroked!

Gasket only lasts 30k? Pah!

[jimmas]

I believe mine to be original as already said currently sitting at 128000 miles, not sure if it's going or not yet.

[dbug]

Also, why is it misinformed crap that a poor coolant mix will erode composite material? It's common sense...

Where did I say that ?
No it's perfectly good advice dear chap !!! and exactly what happens, the gasket erodes in to pot 4 usually around 100,000 miles--ish and once re-paired its lucky to last 30,000 before it's at it again
as to identical to the 2.0, no its not it's a 2.2 capacity

You however said it was mis informed crap that
The head needs to be skimmed and pressure tested.
That the breathers need to be cleaned before re-assembling ??

And that once the head has been off and skimmed anyone who thinks it's as good as a new engine.. well  

What a load of condescending b*llox.  I had a 1997 4 pot from new, Vx maintained (company car), which was well hammered here & abroad, covered around 140k without any gasket problems whatsoever.  It was sold on to a company employee at book value - covered another 30k prior to being sold by them.  No head gasket issues.  The company had a number of 4 pot (& 6 pot) omegas and I never heard of a head gasket issue with any of them.
Now Rover 8 series 4 pot - different matter - crap design blows head gaskets pot 1 - p*sses oil out - cure fit German upgraded gasket and remove restrictor in pressure feed to cam (approved Rover mod carried out to any that failed during warranty!!!) as flow not pressure needed.