possible problem?

[nezzi21 27]

i did a oil change on my 97 vr6 today which is the first time since iv had it. now when i drained the oil there was only about 2-3 litres max came out the car. which i found strange as they hold 5.7 iirc. then my bro-in law used this block tester stuff which is put in to a container then sat in the coolant bottle with the engine running. now if it stays blue then all is well but mine changed to a mucky brown/yellow colour which he says indicates the head gasket is goosed although there is no other indication that it is goosed. any ideas if this stuff is accurate? and also if running with so little oil in the car would cause this??

cheers in advance

[kilokilla 0]

Hi Mate yes this stuff is pretty accurate it lets you know there are exhaust gasses in the water system allthough it can give misreadings if not used to excact instuctions generally though if it changes colour quite rapidly from blue to green then yellow it would suggest its time to think about replacing head gasket and no mate the oil does not affect it allthough if you are that low on oil it would suggest your burning oil or you have a leak when you have head gasket done make sure thay change valve stem seals as they come in head gasket set but also get them to check for play in pistons because it could also be rings on there way out but you might just be losing oil down to head gasket being knackered.Carl.

[nezzi21 27]

how long would u say rapidly is? it took bout 15secs to start changing and probs about 15secs to change to yellow. what should i expect to pay to have the head gasket done?

[nezzi21 27]

also if i do the head gasket do the chains need to be done at the same time? as the car has only just done 80k.

[kilokilla 0]

Yep thats rapid eneough mate and price wise it depends where you take it and the level of which you want it doing personally when i do head gasket i like to do stemseals clean up and reseat valves and get everything as clean as poss but some places will just whip off head tidy up a bit and put back together also its worth checking history of car because if it hasnt had tensioners done it might be worth getting them checked whilst your at it the parts alone will cost about £150 for the head gasket set new head bolts oil and filter and anti freeze oh and the sealing paste for the chain cover and thats if the tensioners are ok depending on where you go anywhere from about £400-£1500 to do job properly but you cant get a proper quote until you take engine apart and see what state it is in really.

[kilokilla 0]

At 80k if your car is n reg or younger id advise to get the chains done aswell because it wont be that long before they need doing if it is newer then the tensioners are better and will last a bit longer.

[nezzi21 27]

the car is a 97 on a p. so if the tensioners look ok do you think id get away without doin the chains?

[kilokilla 0]

Sorry mate i should have been more specific when i said tensioners i meant chains and tensioners its just you should do them all at the same time thats why i just said tensioners.Carl.

[Phat VR6 3]

I would say do the chains, tensioners ect, Head gasket, Stem seals, Lap valves ect at that kind of millage,

Pointless considering its the same amount of work to do it again if it needs doing in 10.000 miles time,

Couldn't it also be a cracked cylinder head??

Compression test wouldn't go a miss earther,

Carl (kilokilla) is the man to do it tho, I think you'le find it hard to get cheeper and everyone on hear trusts him, Never hurd a bad word againt him

[nezzi21 27]

sadly im located in sotland so getting carl to do it is kinda out the question. i will get a compression test done tomorrow. how bad is it to drive the car? its my daily drive.

[nezzi21 27]

how many hours are in doing the haed gasket?

[Phat VR6 3]

Would say its not great to drive it, Carn't do it much good but im not sure how bad it is! Would say the headgasket takes a good day, 5-7 hours or somthink like that,

[kilokilla 0]

If its head gasket and you keep driving theres a good chance it will pressure up the whole engine has it gets worse and ive seen them blow every gasket and seal on engine if they get to much pressure also the rad and heater matrix dont like the pressure and can pop aswell my advise would be not to drive it because it could end up costing a lot more in the long run its cheaper to get bus or taxis for a few days until its sorted mate.

[nezzi21 27]

does the water pump need doen on the vr6 when the chains get done? im thinking while the head gets done id be as well doing the chains and wat not.

[kilokilla 0]

As the water pump is on the other side of the engine its upto you mate but as there not very expensive it cant hurt to do it as its a lot easier to access while the head is off.

[nezzi21 27]

whats a good price for chains,guides,tensioners,headset,bolts and a thermostat? just parts?

[kilokilla 0]

You should be looking between £350-£400 for them parts any cheaper is a bonus any more is over the top.Carl.

[nezzi21 27]

well im in luck well over a ton cheaper than that. i work in a motor factors but we dont normally get chains or anything. had to buy them from some1 else just wanted to make sure they werent being funny. now to find soum 1 to do the job. all the local garages are scared of it i think

[kilokilla 0]

Yep youll find that with vrs all over the country mate i dont know why but then i suppose im biased cos i specialise in them i think there easier to work on than the majority of other vehicles i suppose its cos its hard to get literature on them or mayby its because they think they are more likely to get thrashed bt i know theres are a lot of places that dont like to work on them.and if you got all them bits for that sort of price i should be coming to you for my parts youve done well there mate.

[nezzi21 27]

helps coz i get all my bits at cost.

[nezzi21 27]

well had the car in the garage last week to get it checked out. seem like it wasnt the head gasket at all, it was the seal from the thermostat housing to the head. so that was replaced along with the housing, thermostat and all the other seals. got done on today and redone the coolant test and it was fine. also got a great pic of my vr sittin next to a m5 in the garage.