header tank is this bad?

With a six mile run your engine hardly gets up to temp so it could be an accumulation.
On the other hand it could be the start of a failure. Now would be a really good time to fit the alarm.
I had been getting a bit of discolouration in my header tank but no froth. My coolant alarm went off and I was able to shut the engine down before it overheated and did major damage. The head gasket had failed but there was no collateral damage and the repair was straightforward.

Spot on that's what I thought

What happened on the run, Ben? Froth-wise?

Froth gone could be a loose cap ?

I'd say that a loose cap could encourage froth by allowing the water to boil at a lower point, due to the lower pressure in the system, but would not explain the oil in the coolant.

The best case is that the car had a failed head gasket (or someone just picked up the wrong top up can) and there were a few millitlires of oil in the coolant. This will end up in the header cap when it gets warm as it floats to the surface. All thats justified ATM is keep an eye on it, and the diagnostics i mentioned.

So here's the update I've not been in the tf since Saturday checked this.morning and the coolant is looking darker than before with a smaller amount of mayo and some white floating on the top of the coolant in there.

Driving spot on no leaks and the level is spot on

Do you think the system would benefit a full bleed / refill (ten quid spent for piece of mind?)

I didn't wipe all the cack off it last time so I'm not shocked

its exactly how mine started, no loss of coolant, just steadily getting more and more oil in the header over a few weeks....go to a local garage and get them to do the chemical sniff test to confirm if gasses are entering the system which will confirm hgf one way or the other..........good luck!

Good stuff sounds fun a job for the garage beagle?

bensewell wrote: Good stuff sounds fun a job for the garage beagle?[/quote
lol! :bust: ...if you look on youtube there are plenty of videos showing the test...........no dogs involved :bust:

Bens car smells nice :bust:

should be ok ...cant see any mayo on his nose..lol!!