Engine Coolant

[bassjacka]

I'm in the process of looking for a car to buy. I went and looked at one tonight, and whilst carrying out an inspection of the car i found that the coolant liquid was a white creamy stuff, about the same thickness as cream.

I checked the engine oil and there was no white stuff there, so maybe not the gasget. There wasn't just a small amount of it, the whole coolant tank was full of this white creamy substance, looked a bit like emulsion paint. The car had only just been put through its mot, and was serviced 4 months ago.

Its a Vauxhall Astra 1.4i 16v Sport Hatch 2005.

What could this be, and would it cost much to repair, as I am still considering buying the car.

Many thanks!

 

[nickso]

forget it. its bound to be emulsified oil. no point in even contemplating a 5 year old astra with crap in the coolant. there are thousands of the things to choose from.

 

[Burnerman]

On the starting blocks......GO!
Some of these engines had porous blocks and heads - stay well clear.
John

 

[nickso]

On the starting blocks......GO!
Some of these engines had porous blocks and heads - stay well clear.
John

jesus, are vauxhall still making porous heads?

i would have thought they would have learned their lesson with the mk3.

 

[bassjacka]

Thanks for the advice lads! Much appreciated. You could have both saved me a fair sized sum of money.

John, would you advise staying away from used astra's all together?

Also, just for my knowledge in the future, if there was an issue with the oil somehow getting into the coolant tank, or vice versa, would this be due to a faulty head gasket, or would there be another cause. And would there not be some other signs of oil being the cause, such as white residue around the oil cap, or engine head or even white smoke from the exhaust? As there was none of this at the time.

Someone has told me that its possible for someone to cover up the fact that there is a problem with the gasket by changing the oil and cleaning the cap before i viewed it, only for the car to fail on me a week or so later?

Again, Many Thanks!

 

[bassjacka]

On the starting blocks......GO!
Some of these engines had porous blocks and heads - stay well clear.
John

jesus, are vauxhall still making porous heads?

i would have thought they would have learned their lesson with the mk3.

Do Vauxhall do this for a reason? Or is it just the fact that the parts are cheaper to make? Sorry, I'm no mechanic as you can tell...

 

[nickso]

i would fully recommend staying away from astras


changing the coolant and oil and cleaning the caps will mask it. i wouldnt really expect to see that sort of thing on a 5 year old car TBH unless its a real ****ter. the cap can be cleaned but when you check the oil cap get a torch and look inside the engine. look in the corners of the gubbins inside and see if there is any nastyness. clear light brown (new oil) or old black oil is what you want to see depending on the age and servicing. white creamy mayonnaise is not good.

vauxhall got a rep for porous heads from one small production run of them, i wouldn't imagine its still an issue but i'm no poxhall expert.

 

[Burnerman]

The Mk 3 Astra was notorious for porous aluminium castings - hopefully they have got it sorted by now!
The fact is, if any car you are looking at has evidence of oil in the coolant, then beat a swift retreat - there are loads of them around to choose from.
Its also a bit of a fact that, once there is evidence of oil emulsion, the fault isn't always fixed permanently - a new head gasket and the car is sold on.
I would certainly consider buying a used Astra - but i wouldn't go near one that has had this problem. The same applies for other makes, too.
John

 

[nickso]

if the oil is emulsified the crank bearings are as good as ****ed.