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Golf R - My 60K Mile Story..

9V7W3

Ready to race!
If your head gasket is blown and your coolant is mixing with oil you would have to be a complete moron to drive the car. You will turn bad to worse, if it already isn't.

Of course.. The problem is I'm not sure if it's really a blown head gasket.. I don't have the car back yet but I'm def taking it for a second opinion. It just doesn't make sense what they're telling me. They are a reputable shop but then again they told me its fine to drive. I'm going to get to the bottom of it FAST.
 

9V7W3

Ready to race!
Typically this type of head gasket failure occurs from a warped head.
The head will need to be entirely replaced, BTW good time to upgrade to a ported head if you can.
I had a friend with a 6 cyl supra that warped 2 heads, the first time was back at the #6 Cyl where all the heat is in that engine, and second time was because they machined and reused his original head instead of installing a new one. Once a head has warped its trash, do not try to machine and reuse.
The reason the head warps is usually due to uneven heat, maybe a coolant port is clogged with a foreign body or the head bolts have not been torqued in the correct pattern and process (aluminum and iron don’t mix that well when it comes to heat dissipation and expansion and contraction).
When they replaced you cam, after the HPFP melt down, did they pull the head to clean it in a solvent bath. I would have to get all the metal shaving out. If they did there may be gasket material blocking or partially blocking one of the head ports, also if they didn’t follow the head torquing procedure exactly how VAG says it should be done, it could explain the warped head. Also if the head was removed it should have been machined because it will always express a little warp simply due to it being aluminum.

thanks for the post man. I completely agree with everything you're saying, and I could definitely see the cleaning after the cam follower damage being a possible issue here. Is it NORMAL procedure to remove the head for that bath after that kind of metal damage? I would assume so, but I'm not sure if they actually did or not.. Of course if I ask they will probably deny it, but then again I could claim they did not properly clean the engine after the mishap which could have cause debris to clog a coolant port like you said. Im going to have to be smart with the way I approach them.
 

bebersol

Ready to race!
BTW you would know if you your coolant is mixing with the oil, for one you coolant reservoir will lose coolant and your oil will look like white cream from the hydrogenation.
 

bebersol

Ready to race!
thanks for the post man. I completely agree with everything you're saying, and I could definitely see the cleaning after the cam follower damage being a possible issue here. Is it NORMAL procedure to remove the head for that bath after that kind of metal damage? I would assume so, but I'm not sure if they actually did or not.. Of course if I ask they will probably deny it, but then again I could claim they did not properly clean the engine after the mishap which could have cause debris to clog a coolant port like you said. Im going to have to be smart with the way I approach them.

If they didn’t clean and flush the engine, loose metal shaving would circulate in you oil, and you would possibly see some on a dip stick or in an oil pan after an oil change. Oil filter would be full of them.
 

9V7W3

Ready to race!
BTW you would know if you your coolant is mixing with the oil, for one you coolant reservoir will lose coolant and your oil will look like white cream from the hydrogenation.

Well my coolant was not low before I brought the car in, and I also didn't check the oil because I wasn't aware of any problem. All I know is what I'm being told at this point, looks like I wont have it back until Monday ..
 

9V7W3

Ready to race!
So apparently when the cam follower blew up they did not remove the head from the engine to clean it out.. And he just told me that it's definitely a coolant leak in the head gasket but it's only exterior, that there is absolutely no coolant getting into the oil or anything and it's a very small leak at that. He still suggested it be fixed ASAP but since nothing is leaking internally he said it could be driven as is for the moment. Going to get a second opinion for sure.

Oh and misfires at full boost were a bad coil pack..
 

9V7W3

Ready to race!
Doesn't seem right.

Yea tell me about it.. I'm even more uneasy after talking to them. It bothers me about the metal clean out after my cam follower exploded and cam shaft wore through the pump.. Does anyone know if it's normal practice to remove the head for this type of cleaning? I paid about $2,500 for the repair when that happened and it was explained to me that the engine was cleaned of metal shavings, but is it possible to be done properly without the head being removed?
 

PetrolHead

When's the next track day
Maybe? I'm not sure how you'd properly flush the engine without removing the head, but I suppose it's possible. I just don't see how metal shavings would cause the head gasket to fail ONLY on the exterior of the engine. Metal flying around in the coolant won't just cause it to fail. It would have to block a passage, cause overheating, and the head my warp or something to cause gasket failure, and then it would be both inside an outside. It's rare that a head gasket would fail just to the outside of the engine. If there's coolant on the outside of the engine, I'd be more inclined to blame the water pump or something like that. The bigger concern with metal particles in the engine would be in the oil...that would wreak havoc on critical parts (pistons, cams, lifters, anything oiled).
 

9V7W3

Ready to race!
Maybe? I'm not sure how you'd properly flush the engine without removing the head, but I suppose it's possible. I just don't see how metal shavings would cause the head gasket to fail ONLY on the exterior of the engine. Metal flying around in the coolant won't just cause it to fail. It would have to block a passage, cause overheating, and the head my warp or something to cause gasket failure, and then it would be both inside an outside. It's rare that a head gasket would fail just to the outside of the engine. If there's coolant on the outside of the engine, I'd be more inclined to blame the water pump or something like that. The bigger concern with metal particles in the engine would be in the oil...that would wreak havoc on critical parts (pistons, cams, lifters, anything oiled).

Yea you're right.. I've never heard of a head gasket ONLY leaking to the outside either on ANY car.. I'm picking it up in a few hours and going to have a look myself and bring it somewhere else as soon as I can. Nothing adds up.

Also already had to change the water pump on the car once the original one started vomiting all over the place at 10K miles..
 
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