coffee coloured froth

2_216v

hi... recently the timing chain snapped on my car.. had valves chain guides head gasket ect changed, this was all done about a week ago. now when i lifted the engine oil filler cap it had a coffee coloured froth in it.. i'v been told this is prob jus condensation.. i then checked in the header tank, and there was a few bits of the same stuff floating around. called the mechanic who carried out the work, n he said they would need 2 hav a look at the car.. and said it could be the oil cooler, as the head gasket is new. is this correct? is that expensive? it didnt hav ant probs wiv anythin in the header tank b4 the chain snap. notsure.gif
someone please help.

rushy

Unless you have a VX220 you don't have an oil cooler.

si_c1978

probably head gasket/or cracked head as rushy said above no oil cooler

2_216v

how comes it doesnt hav one? i thought vx220 has same engine?

JohnnyN

It does but the oil cooler is seperate from the engine.

2_216v

so there is no way that the oil cooler would cause this prob on my car?

2_216v

i just looked in the header tank bout half hour ago..and it didnt seem 2 hav any more of the froth in it, wierd.. wouldnt it build up more if there was a prob? is it true that under the engine oil cap it does sumtimes get condensation? which causes the coffee colour? i thought when head gasket goes its more of an mayo colour? and the head gasket was only done a week ago

Tazmad

what JohnnyN was saying (i Believe) is that the astra's n veccy's that are a 2.2se dont have an oil cooler only the VX220 has
an oil cooler, the VX220 has the same 2.2se engine but the oil cooler is an extra bit of equipement not part of the actual engine
so if your car is a standard 2.2se astra coupe then you will not have an oil cooler which means the problem unless yours is a coupe
turbo ?
as si.c1978 say's prob head gasket or cracked head, you may find that if the mechanic made a mistake or didnt spot a problem with the head
or the gasket they may try to blame it on something else rather than admit their error on the repairs
(most mechanics are ok but you do get the odd cowboy thought i'd better put that in 😃 )

JohnnyN

Sorry I was a little vague in my earlier reply. As above really, the Astra, Vectra, Zafira and vx220 all have the same z22se engine. The Vectra does have a different inlet cam to drive the power steering pump. It has a hexagon formed into the end of the cam to drive the pump. The vx220 is the only vehicle that has the oil cooler. The cooler is tapped off of the oil filter housing and runs external to the engine.

There is a strong possibility that it could be a cracked thread in the head where the plugs sit. The threads for the plugs run extremely close to the water jacket.

Are you suffering from white smoke from the exhaust?

2_216v

thanks guys.. answer to ur last question,.. no smoke at all.. car is running mint.. would there be white smoke then if it was a cracked head? as i was sayin ealiar.. there isnt anymore frothy stuff in the header tank either.. i thought the amount would increase? the water is clear apart from the pink anti freeze.. and there is a few blotches of like ( when u put water in2 a glass thats had sum kind of grease in it.. it has a little clear film or blotches of grease on surface of water) sorry hard 2 explain! notsure.gif
would the water not turn a more mucky colour?

blue_se2

if they didn't drain the coolant before removing the head some of the water in the head may have got in the oil? so give it a few more miles then get coolant changed

2_216v

cheerz 4 that last reply mate.. thats exactly the answer the garage i had the work done at gave me, and also i checked at another garage aswell.. n they said about the condensation.. and what u said about water going into the oil when the work was being done :thumbup:
how hard or easy is it 2 change the coolant? as i might do it myself.. is there a how 2 guide for that on here?

blue_se2

On the astra there is a drain bung on the O/S of the radiator undo that if there is one with the coolant cap off there is also a drain bung on the back of the water pump if you can get to it remove that too and drain the system then refill with 50/50 antifreeze and deironised water. run for a couple off mins with cap off and top then replace cap let fan cut in let cool for a while top up if needed and recheck after a couple of days.

baz_rochdale

Just come to clean my air mass meter. took the air take tube off and hey. look what i see. my oil cap is the same but dipstick is clean oil. do i have a problem and need advice on cleaning the air meter. do i take the gubbins out or what.

By barlowsvectra at 2010-01-14

MikeS

personally i would take the cam cover off m8 and have a look

all that crap you can see on the throttle body should be plastered around the cams

and it is pointing towards either head gasket or your engine is breathing very heavily

si_c1978

it isnt a good sign! thats breathing very heavy, mine was'nt that bad and my engine failed!

baz_rochdale

si.c1978 said:
it isnt a good sign! thats breathing very heavy, mine was'nt that bad and my engine failed!

So how could i sort this problem out? noticed my exaust been blowing so sorting that out as soon as.

CARS NAFFING ME OFF NOW!!