Hi all, in the past few months i have had 3 or 4 ''coolant low' warning lights, but each time i top up, i have no problem for a few weeks!

manual model

Today it was the RED light, when i stopped the coolant was fairly well spread, all over the place under the bonnet, obviously a pressure build up, i have pics but dont know how to upload!

There is slight sludge under the oil filler cap, so water is starting to mix with oil, which i assume will be HG issue, or could it possibly be oil cooler related?

Would changing header tank do any good? It doesnt seem to be a spring loaded cap, jusrt a plain screw on, on this model. Ebay sell new ones, but without the cap?

MPG has dropped slightly of late, i thought the fuel was watered down! at least 5MPG less , on average!

Had the 'top op oil' light on , the other week!

Otherwise car is solid! 87k, recent cambelt and WP, full history, i changed and flushed the oil, last year, never thrashed, never overheated, i use mainly for motorway and A roads, i occasionally add fuel additive, every other tankful.

I always thought the large, but underpowered petrols suffered HG issues, not modern diesels, especially ones that have been looked after?

Should i get a compression test done? The car is still perfectly driveable, but i want to get ahead of this! Cheers all!