My head gasket has just gone. the oil and water are mixing and there is a build up of thickish light pink substance in the water bottle. what is the cheapest option of repair. both water hoses were replaced within the last year. thanx

Head gasket is blown.

Blown head gasket, usually caused by over heating.
Replace the head gasket.

The only place, oil and water share a gasket is the cylinder head gasket, oil and water galleries run through the engine block and head via the head gasket. The cylinder pressure will be OK, it's the oil pressure that's putting the oil in the coolant, the gasket has gone between the water and oil galleries or there is an internal crack (unlikely). A coolant pressure test should show it up.

You have a blown head gasket. Water is bypassing your head gasket and has mixed with your oil. Take to your mechanic, will have to resurface cylinder head, new gaskets, water pump, timing belts.

You can have a head gasket problem or head problem without oil and water mixing, it is very likely to be the gasket but if you are driving it like it, will ruin the head if it's aluminium!!

YES YOURHEAD GASKET IS GOING BAD.

The white creamy solution is oil mixed with water. Take out your dipstick and check for the same substance, if so, you have a blown head gasket. If not, it's just condensed water in your valve cover that mixes with the oil, witch isn't really a problem. Have a nice day!

you have a cracked head or bad head gasket.

The milky white substance is water mixing with oil. Oil normally mixes with water in your engine from a blown head gasket, but if your not having any problems with your car I have seen where a little water gets under the oil cap from washing the engine down. Hope this helps.

Was the car using much coolant before you forgot to replace the coolant bottle cap?

The clinking noise you describe - that may be 'pinking'.. a noise caused by an incorrect air/fuel mix .. and also a symptom of a blown head gasket. Another symptom of a blown head gasket is white smoke (steam...) from the exhaust.

First, check your engine oil on the dipstick. If the oil is a creamy grey colour this indicates a blown head gasket. The creamy grey colour is caused by coolant finding its way into the oil system.

Fill up your coolant bottle with coolant. Leave the cap off, and start the engine and let it tick over for 10 minutes. As the engine warms up air will escape from the coolant level - keep topping up as necessary.

Keep your eye open for extreme bubbling in the coolant bottle - violent bubbling in the coolant bottle is caused by exhaust gases finding their way into the cooling system via a defective head gasket.

If there's no violent bubbling, replace the coolant bottle cap when the engine has ticked over for a few minutes..

... and then begin to look for leaks as the engine ticks over. Look under the car to see if there's any falling fluid. Check around the radiator and the hoses. Check that the coolant bottle itself isn't leaking.

You say your car isn't overheating - that's a positive. One symptom of a blown head gasket is overheating.

However, your coolant is going somewhere and you should try and find out where ... If it isn't a leak from somewhere, it may well be the head gasket.

Prices? To have a cylinder head gasket fixed costs around £500 - £1000 British pounds. A coolant bottle costs around £30 (look on Ebay)

If the head gasket is leaking/defective you can try a modern sealant/repair, which I am told are now quite good. Have a look on Ebay:

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