Head gasket ... oil in water

[horsechessnut]

I am getting some oil in the water of my Citroen ZX and I suspect the head gasket even though it has only done 56000 miles but it is 9 years old.
Had varies quotes all about £600 yes s bit steep but what do you do? any ideas?
I have heard of a product called K seal and seen it sold locally so I will give it a go if anyone can recomend it or agree that it may work to seal the gasket.

Cheers

H

 

[^neo^]

Anything that goes in to fix the headgasket like that is only a temp fix and can do more damage than good.

If you're semi sensible armed with a haynes manual it's a pretty easy job to do, just time consuming

 

[yes2mud]

If you are sure it's oil in the water,and not showing water in the oil.There is a possibility that the head gasket is not the cause.Some of the ZX range had a modine type oil cooler which fits to the cylinder block before the oil filter.The oil pressure is typically 3bar and coolant about 1bar,so if there is an internal leak on the modine,the oil pressure wins.Hope this helps.

 

[horsechessnut]

Thanks for your replies, on the face of it you would think that Anything that goes in to fix the headgasket like that is only a temp fix but if you look at the wesite they guarentee the repair for the life of the engine and say it is not a quick fix as it uses ceramic and copper etc etc.

I had no idea about the modine type oil cooler and the different pressures, I'll look into it but I have had some crud at the top of the dipstick so assume the water is also getting into the oil, maybe I'm wrong who knows?

Thanks again.

 

[horsechessnut]

I have checked and my car does not have an oil cooler so I will try the K seal and let you know what happens.

 

[^neo^]

if you look at the wesite they guarentee the repair for the life of the engine

If it starts blocking waterways and bits, then the life of the engine won't be that long!

 

[PhoenixC]

Is the zx a petrol or a diesel?

I wouldnt recommend using any type of block sealant or gasket sealant products.
If you plan on keeping the car you might as well repair it properely.
what signs do you have that the headgasket has gone.
Are teh oil and water levels dropping, is it overheating.

 

[horsechessnut]

Is the zx a petrol or a diesel?

I wouldnt recommend using any type of block sealant or gasket sealant products.
If you plan on keeping the car you might as well repair it properely.
what signs do you have that the headgasket has gone.
Are teh oil and water levels dropping, is it overheating.

Its Petrol, the levels aren't dropping at all which is the strange part and it is not overheating so it is only mild at the moment I think, I have used the K-seal and am not getting any traces of fresh oil in the water.
Thanks for your reply

 

[yes2mud]

Hope it keeps on going ok for you Horsechessnut.
I didn't want to sell my spare modine cooler anyway!!

 

[horsechessnut]

Well just to let you know the engine is still going and I still have the car and had no more oil in water or water in oil after the K seal...brilliant stuff!

Damn electrics are dreadful though had to take out the burgler alarm fuse as it would just go off for ever but that means no central locking, no inside light, no boot light, no clock and no radio as all run on the same fuse, it would cost £800 to fix the alarm as only Citroen know how the wires go apparently so no chance of that being repaired!

Still engine is fine!