Head gasket

[jonamery]

Good evening,

Any advice please..

Upon checking the the oil filler cap on my '69 Fulvia coupe 1.3 rallye in the last few weeks I have noticed a worrying white residue which I had presumed to be an issue with the head gasket. My only hesitation in diagnosing this is the car doesn't smoke when warm, overheat etc. I wondered could this be moisture under the cam cover or has the head gasket gone? The car is garaged but moisture can get in the garage.

If the gasket has gone would anyone recommend other work to be carried out to the engine whilst this job is being done?

Thanks!

Jonathan

[davidwheeler]

Or it could be the water pump gland which will also leak water into the oil and is a known point of failure.     It is possible to test the integrity of the head gasket with a suitable compression tester.     To the best of my knowledge, Fulvia head gaskets do not fail (unlike Lambdas!).

[jonamery]

Thanks for the reply, that's interesting. It has only happened since I replaced the water pump. Could it have been an error in fitment or the replacement water pump itself?

[fay66]

Good evening,

Any advice please..

Upon checking the the oil filler cap on my '69 Fulvia coupe 1.3 rallye in the last few weeks I have noticed a worrying white residue which I had presumed to be an issue with the head gasket. My only hesitation in diagnosing this is the car doesn't smoke when warm, overheat etc. I wondered could this be moisture under the cam cover or has the head gasket gone? The car is garaged but moisture can get in the garage.

If the gasket has gone would anyone recommend other work to be carried out to the engine whilst this job is being done?

Thanks!

Jonathan

It may just be that the car has stood and it needs a good run to get it really hot which will burn off all the condensation which is emulsified oil.
All older cars tend to do this if they don't get hot enough to burn it off,
Many years ago at Vauxhall motors, the viva's were getting this because the rocker was getting too much cold air over it, causing the same condition, a fix was made by making up a shield that bolted on in front of the rocker cover to divert the cold air.
Is there any sign of oil or the same sort of emulsified oil in the radiator header tank, if not I doubt you have a problem with the head gasket.
Just go and give her a real workout to get her nice and hot, then look again.
Brian
8227  
 

[davidwheeler]

Thanks for the reply, that's interesting. It has only happened since I replaced the water pump. Could it have been an error in fitment or the replacement water pump itself?

I would be very suspicious of the replacement pump!    However, try Brian's fix first.

[rogerelias]

If there is no water loss, wont be a gasket, and unlikely to be a pump problem, but most likely to be what Brian says,