I am looking at a probable cylinder head gasket failure on my car as she is using water. There are no apparent leaks in the system and the indications are that water is being forced under pressure basck out through the pressure cap of the expansion tank. The underside of the bonnet at the front shows signs of condensation which in turn looks as if it's the steam that has been expelled from the cap. System is also under pressure when cold as can be seen when the cap is taken off. Pungent smell also emits from the water inside the tank.
Been experiencing this now for around 6 weeks and had it in and checked out with my regular garage. Very rough costs around 12 to 1500 pounds for repairs ( that would be both heads which I presume i would have to replace gaskets with ). Car is losing around a 100mls of water over say around 300 miles and drops the water level below the sensor which then inturn activates the Low Coolant Warning on the dash. Still consulting with the garage ( been going there years, they know the car outside in and I trust them fully ). Their view is, big job, expensive to do, is car worth it commercially? probably not.
Had a similar experience before with a Sierra Cosworth a while back and I suspect it may be time to go as I don't fancy getting into a situation of throwing a lot of money at this like the last time. 86000 mile on the clock and still runs very sweet, really messing my head up as it's looking great as well and the trade in price will be a pittance.
Any thoughts anyone ?
