Head Gasket , Vauxhall Tigra 1998 s plate

[laurenm82]

Hi all,

When I start my car after it has been running for about ten mins there is white smoke coming out of the exhaust. Also the temperature was gauge was going right up near red. I checked the water bottle and there was no water or anti freeze in. does this sound like A head gasket problem?? and if so how much am I looking at to get it fixed and is it worth getting fixed?

Thanks in advance for your replies

[Clanad]

Having just replaced a head gasket on one of our vehicles here in the U.S., I could probably confirm that you're problem is either a cracked cylinder allowing the coolant into the internal piston area, or a broken/damaged cylinder head gasket.
First, I'm not familiar with the Vauxhall, but all liquid cooled engines are relatively the same. If yours is a simple 4 cylinder, as an example, then there's probably only one gasket. However, a good mechanic would want to send the cylinder head (which has to be removed to replace the gasket) out to have it planed to assure a perfect fit. This adds to the cost. Ours was a V-8 so required two gaskets and cost $1800 U.S. I would expect yours to be quite a bit less.

If the cylinder or fluid temperature continues to go up after starting, don't drive it since you could really damage the engine. Here, the "bottle" as you call it, can be low or empty and still not be enough to refill the coolant system. There should be another fill port that goes directly into the engine or radiator... have someone look at it...
White smoke is always coolant, black smoke is oil...
Best of luck!

[laurenm82]

Thanks for your fast reply clanad. Its much apreciated!! Yeah I am taking it to a local garage tommorow..

[beso]

White smoke can also be excess fuel but I don't think this is your problem.