Head Gasket, or just a characteristic...?

[sspogman]

Got a bit of a (possible) concern with my 1.8

Every time that I start her up I get a cloud of white smoke / steam come from the exhaust. I've read previously somewhere on t'internet that 5's are known to run quite wet, creating their own condensation which then burns off in the way that I have described.

As I only ran the car home from buying it the once prior to starting to break her, I don't know whether this is an ongoing characteristic of my donor. Just wondered whether any of you had any experience of 1.8s and could say whether they all do this? Thinking about buying a bottle of Steel Seal to put in her to try and fix the Head Gasket if that has indeed gone as a cheaper and quicker alternative to a full-on replacement....?

Anyone else have exhaust emissions that resemble this, or do I have something to worry about?

[Deleted]

I know that 1.6s had this too. Had my engine rebuilt and it did it every time until I gave it a good long run and gave it a chance to burn off the moisture in the engine. I even had the mayo like substance on the bottom of the oil cap, which can point to a gasket. Once it burned the moisture off it was fine. Give it a good run for at least an hour a few times and it should go. Putting a sealer of some form may help but I was of the understanding that it forms a seal when it reaches air, so tends to work well for radiators but not as well for cylinder/head gasket issues. Can't hurt though.
Alex

[lad]

From previously dealing cars I've had 5 or 6 1.8's and I've never found them to be particularly steamy. Our donor car had been stood for months and was pretty dry on the exhaust. I'd say get one of those chemical testers and run it in the coolant tank to test for combustion gases. I bought one a few years ago and its always allowed me to either not worry or get on with the fix. All cars will get condensation so you never know without a definite test.

[rharris19]

What that is normally in our spec cars is valve seals a little worn. It will go away once warm and only do it when the motor is cold. Two of our cars do the exact same thing and that is the issue with them. We don't really worry about it. It doesn't affect performance.

If you are worried about your head gasket, do a leak down test and see what numbers you get.

[sspogman]

Thanks chaps, that all sounds pretty reassuring. When I get a chance I'll get a compression tester and see what figures I get for each cylinder - anyone got any idea what the ideal figures should be? I guess that so long as all 4 show similar amounts it shouldn't be too much of a worry?

[sspogman]

Okay, so I got myself a compression tester Hi Gauge and had a go at it.

Results I got were:

Cylinder 1 - 12 1/2
Cylinder 2 - 12
Cylinder 3 - 12 1/4
Cylinder 4 - 11 3/4

The instructions state that variances of less than 1 bar should be considered normal and within tolerance, so I guess that all is fine.

Has anyone else compression tested their 1.8 Mk1 so that I can compare results please?

Cheers,

[rharris19]

There can be variance from tester to tester on the raw number so don't get concerned to compare to others. Just worry about the difference from cylinder to cylinder on your tester.

Yours seems good.

[sspogman]

That's good to hear, thank you. I'll stop worrying about the head now and try to focus on getting the engine dried out by getting her on the road!