i suspect my head gasket has gone on my p reg corsa?

I had a leaky head gasket on my 1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme (60k miles). I put in a jar of Bars Leak and drove it without a problems for another 120k till the transmission went.

try a jar of Bars Leak, it might do the trick

http://www.barsproducts.com/

I take it you are seeing no coolant on the floor under the car? If not, it's either leaking inside the car via the heater matrix (wet carpets and sickly smell inside?) or being used by the engine (possible head gasket failure). Now, as you say there is no build-up of pressure, I wouldn't suspect head failure but would still get a "block check" done. As mentioned, this involves using a liquid that turns from blue to yellow when it detects combustion gases in the cooling system. If this is a 3 cylinder (X10XE), check your oil level. Any contamination on the dipstick (white mixture) could also mean the coolant is going in through the timing cover from the water pump. One last thing on these engines is the EGR valve. It's water-cooled and if the gasket has gone, or there is an internal fault in the EGR, it can burn off the coolant through the exhaust. If all that comes up as negative, then a pressure test needs doing again because the coolant is obviously going somewhere. Maybe it's time to get it checked at a different garage. Sorry about the list but there are a few places it can go.

If you do a lot of short journeys then this could be the cause, but if you are doing long trips (45 Mins +) Then check both the oil filler cap and the dip stick for white or grey scum, also check the water bottle for signs of oil or scum.

Changing the oil will solve the oil scum problem for a short time. Best check out everything twice before ruling it out.

The emulsified oil inside the filler cap doesn't mean there's a problem, it's caused by water condensing in the oil, most often due to short journeys where the car doesn't warm up.

Change your oil more often, use a good quality oil & avoid journeys that you could easily walk!

Fraid so - Cream coloured scum around Filler cap very indicative of oil/coolant mixing via gasket.

May not affect running significantly at present but will deteriorate with time.May well run for quite a while although you will gradually lose compression and power.

Could replace gasket now - and trade it in.

hi if you think your head gasket has gone, well you will have oil in your water and where you put you oil will be covered in with creamy oil, i would get it sorted out now as you could blow your engine or could need the head skimmed or even worse crack your head,its simple to fix and cheap to do head gasket will only cost you about £20 to £30 the max thats for the kit, where as the garage will cost about £120 or even more. wish you luck in getting it sorted out

A good garage will be able to test the coolant and tell if it is likely that the gasket has gone. Would take about 10 minutes.

this is not an uncommon with cars that are not driven long distances or just used on short runs.....the engine gets moisture in it and it never gets hot enough to burn it off and it builds a milky looking substance around the oil fill cap or around the pcv valve..(its a good idea to change the pcv valve..there cheap and easy to do)....now if u are driving long distances ..it may be the start of a leaking intake manifold

all that is is SMEG... its an emulisfying of the oil as it mixes with condensation...

its a primary indication the oil needs changing... thats all.

if the HG goes youll know... the car wil stop running... and youll be hundreds of pounds out of pocket.

low miles on a day to day basis this is normal you just clean it on a weekly basis

but if your loosing water then head gasket is at fault