Vauxhall Astra 1600 Club Head Gasket ?

[Creepy]

I recently inherited my Mothers above car - 2000 model which only had 7000 miles on the clock. We changed the cam belt and oil as it had been stood for 4 years and all seemed well. I did however notice slight emulsification under the oil filler cap when I topped the oil up. Thought nothing of it - changed the oil twice since and now its done 16,000 miles (not hard) I notice more emulsification - yet cant see a drop in coolant level ? engine runs perfectly. Is this normal for this engine at this time of year ? or should I fear the head gasket is on the way out ?

[Toureman]

Not to worry, it is a common fault on the Astras.

The engine is overcooled, i had just the same with the Astra I had, the engine is not getting hot enough, I cured it by fitting a blanking plate over half of the radiator to warm the engine, even in summer, just keep an eye on the temperature gauge in heavy traffic.

There is nothing wrong with the head gasket.

[Creepy]

Thanks Toureman - it makes sense now - in fact after driving 100 miles the other day a remarked how cold the engine was. It must be the atmosphere it draws in and where it does not get so hot it does'nt steam it off ?
I shall block some of the radiator off.
Thanks again.

[woodchopper]

Emulsified oil ( which looks like mayonaise )i s usually caused by the car not reaching operating temperature for long enough to burn off the condensation that arises in the engine.
It is possible that the theromnstat which gives bother on the Astra'sand Corsa's is sticking open and not allowing the temp to rise sufficiently.
I wouldn't go blanking off the radiator - to me a colder engine won't do any harm whereas a hot engine will - the Astra's and corsa's are renowned for head gasket failure.

[ashthesparkie]

overcooling will harm your engine and cause you to use more fuel then it should, the mayo will block the lifters and cause it to tap loudly, which will get worse and then require new cam/tappets etc. Go to ebay and search "vauxhall thermostat fix" this will solve your problem, this is very common but now there is an answer. cardboard blocking doesnt work!!