corsa club 2006 1.2 petrol 50k

[keser]

hi people
MOT due checked the bulbs, rear near side fog light had blown, bought new one put it in, worked fine, went to front of car and noticed front nearside sidelight and same rear fog light had blown again!!!! can anyone put me in the picture what might be happening?
Also opened the bonnet to check the oil and noticed a yellowish sludge in the plastic water (radiator) container... cam belt changed October last year, checked the oil stick and that looked ok .....car runs ok ........any help gratefully noted
Cheers

 

[Burnerman]

It's only excess voltage that can blow bulbs.....look at the glass of the failed bulb. Black means excess heat or poor quality, white means air ingress. I think you are looking at coincidence here for now.
As for the oil in the coolant, that sounds like the car has had head gasket problems in the past.....do you have any history?
Mayonnaise on the oil filler cap underside isn't usually an issue and indicates short runs.
John

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Second that, having also got a 1.2 Corsa with head gasket problems, oily sludge in the coolant is a sign of previous or current head gasket failure allowing the oil and coolant to mix.

 

[keser]

Hi guys
No my mechanic said he saved the head gasket when he looked at the cam belt change..... said it was ok
Should the wife keep driving as you are right she hardly dose any miles as she only works a mile
away.... I don't understand the bulb situation though, the front nearside light was fine until I changed the back fog side and they both blew? ..... should I look at fuses?

 

[Burnerman]

Cam belt changes don't save the head gasket I'm afraid.....but they do prevent wrecked valves!
Check your bulbs again....are they actually blown or just not illuminating? By all means check the fuses if it's the latter - this is usually caused by fitting an incorrect bulb into the holder.
John

 

[keser]

Will do on the bulbs and fuses, is the car on way out then?
Thanks

 

[Burnerman]

Not at all - just keep an eye out for oil in the coolant.....in fact it's a reasonable idea to remove the expansion bottle and clean it out but I reckon the car has had head gasket problems at some time in the past.
John

 

[keser]

Thanks guys much appreiated, will come back with outcome

 

[Pickup]

Is there a NSR fog lamp on Corsas? There may be space for one (same lamp holder for LHD markets but different loom). Fitting a bulb that isn't meant to be there could cause the fuse to blow.

Emulsion in oil filler cap is most likely due to the the type of journey, frequent short journeys mean the engine doesn't get fully up to temperature, moisture in the air doesn't evaporate off and mixes with the engine oil to form a beige sludge.

However there shouldn't be ANY oil in the coolant so there SHOULDN'T be any sludge in the coolant reservoir. It's possible there's a head gasket issue but because the car is only doing short journeys it's not getting up to temperature and any fault is not therefore apparent.

Check the fluid levels (coolant and oil) with the engine cold, give the car a good run (keeping a close eye on the temp gauge / warning lights) and then, once the engine is cold again re-check the levels.

Hope this helps

F