One for the mechanics -long-term damage of leaky head gasket?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Levo-Lon

Guru
Id not give it another thought as its new and the fault put right.
As its just seepage at the head ,and not showing in the level window or dip stick.
 

screenman

Squire
Used to get it all the time on the rx8, a good thrashing soon got rid of it.

But confused here, are you saying that a good thrashing got rid of the emulsified oil? How?

As you know the white oil scenario happens when water and oil are vigorously mixed together, I cannot figure out how they would become unmixed.
 

gbb

Squire
Location
Peterborough
I don't know if the same principles apply to scooter/motorbike engines but my old Cavaliers used to suffer from crankcase breather pipes clagging up with that white gunk...it was short runs that create the moisture that didn't get blown through.
If it was bad enough I'd remove the pipe,clean it out and refit. I cant remember if it created sludge in the head...but I think it did.
 
Last edited:

Levo-Lon

Guru
I don't know if the same principles apply to scooter/motorbike engines but my old Cavaliers used to suffer from crankcase breather pipes clagging up with that white gunk...it was short runs that create the moisture that didn't get blown through.
If it was bad enough I'd remove the pipe,clean it out and refit. I cant remember if it created sludge in the head...but I think it did.


It seemed to be most cars that we had as younger drivers that made mayo.
Cant say ive seen it in anything for a decade or 2.
Modern cars seem to breathe better and i think the use of synthetic oil makes a big difference tho i could be just putting 2 ×2 and getting 3
 
  • Like
Reactions: gbb

Drago

Legendary Member
Hence the key words, "if it's not too bad..."

If its progressed beyond that it'll need flushing. If its really bad then it needs mechanically removing.
 
It seems to be a bit of an odd one. Is the scooter new?
If it is and the dealer has stated that a gasket was omitted by the factory, then keep all the paperwork involved in case anything happens in the future.
I assume that you were given a receipt for the work carried out. Does it state what was done and does it include part numbers of what was fitted. You could check with their parts department whether this was a head gasket or a smaller gasket like an "O" ring.
Hopefully the fault was caught in time and with an oil change things should be fine. Keep all of the paperwork just in case.
Creamy deposits tend to occur in the rocker covers of older engines due to condensation.
It's not a very good advert though is it ?
Good luck.
 

Dirk

If 6 Was 9
Location
Watchet
I'd be pretty amazed if an engine without a head gasket would even run let alone keep going for a year. You would need some pretty close tolerances to get a pressure tight seal between 2 plain metal surfaces.
I've run several engines very succesfully, that did not require head gaskets.
Yamaha TZ350 and Manx Norton being two of them.
 

Dirk

If 6 Was 9
Location
Watchet
[QUOTE 5022174, member: 259"]I''s surprised at the Yammy. I haven't had one for a while, but I could have sworn I'd ordered and fitted one.[/QUOTE]
The TZ engines (racing specific) used a thin butyl 'O' ring to seal the water jacket. The head seal was made by lapping the head and barrel. There was no 'head gasket', although the road going version - the RD engines - did use one.
 
Top Bottom