Creamy stuff around oil filler cap
Discussion
I have recently brought a Corsa to use through the winter months. I changed the oil & filter as soon as i got the car, as i always do.
I have noticed a build up of that creamy gunge stuff around the oil filler cap when you take it off. After my initial thought of, oh my god head gasket on its way, there dose not seem to be any other signs.
It uses no coolant at all, the coolant is clear with no signs of oil deposits, and there is no creamy stuff on the dip stick.
The car dose do a fair few short trips from cold.
My question is whether the creamy stuff is a result of the short trips and the condensation rising to the top of the engine, or dose this not look good?
Any advice appreciated.
I have noticed a build up of that creamy gunge stuff around the oil filler cap when you take it off. After my initial thought of, oh my god head gasket on its way, there dose not seem to be any other signs.
It uses no coolant at all, the coolant is clear with no signs of oil deposits, and there is no creamy stuff on the dip stick.
The car dose do a fair few short trips from cold.
My question is whether the creamy stuff is a result of the short trips and the condensation rising to the top of the engine, or dose this not look good?
Any advice appreciated.
f there are no other signs i would think it was just condensation.
I would clear it off as best you can before using the car as normal (longer trips if possible) and check again in a week or 2. If it has re-appeared it may be time to dig a little deeper into the cause of the problem, or wipe it off and sell it on
I would clear it off as best you can before using the car as normal (longer trips if possible) and check again in a week or 2. If it has re-appeared it may be time to dig a little deeper into the cause of the problem, or wipe it off and sell it on
Edited by kiethton on Thursday 2nd December 12:35
Great Pretender said:
5678 said:
Imminent HG failure IMO.
Yawn.Condensation from the cold weather can cause this, but my experience of problems like this (when no HG failure symptoms are present) is that the HG is on it's way out and letting water into the oil ever so slightly.
5678 said:
Great Pretender said:
5678 said:
Imminent HG failure IMO.
Yawn.Condensation from the cold weather can cause this, but my experience of problems like this (when no HG failure symptoms are present) is that the HG is on it's way out and letting water into the oil ever so slightly.
Had this on a couple of cars used for short journeys and it's never caused a problem. Give the car a good run out and it will be fine.
Had this exactly on a 1.4 1996 corsa with 30k miles. Used for just 2x 4 mile trips a day. Used to build up in the winter - its likely just condensation as there was no coolant loss at all.
Once I removed the oil filler cap and it was like an ice cream with a massive dollop of the stuff.
Clean out as much as you can get your finger into and take it for a long run (hour+) and it will clear up for a while.
Of course it just comes back again when returned to normal use. The corsa ran just fine for few years like this.
I never thought of checking for blocked breathers, worth doing.
Early RX8s have the same problem - the dipstick tube is a condensation trap on these.
Once I removed the oil filler cap and it was like an ice cream with a massive dollop of the stuff.
Clean out as much as you can get your finger into and take it for a long run (hour+) and it will clear up for a while.
Of course it just comes back again when returned to normal use. The corsa ran just fine for few years like this.
I never thought of checking for blocked breathers, worth doing.
Early RX8s have the same problem - the dipstick tube is a condensation trap on these.
Edited by was8v on Thursday 2nd December 13:20
Edited by was8v on Thursday 2nd December 13:20
It's not significant enough that you're losing measurable amounts of coolant or can see it in the oil or it you have rotten idling or poor temperature control I'd forget about it.
Failing that get a sniffer test done;
http://www.uktools.com/block-tester-p-12508.html?o...
Failing that get a sniffer test done;
http://www.uktools.com/block-tester-p-12508.html?o...
Prof Prolapse said:
It's not significant enough that you're losing measurable amounts of coolant or can see it in the oil or it you have rotten idling or poor temperature control I'd forget about it.
Failing that get a sniffer test done;
http://www.uktools.com/block-tester-p-12508.html?o...
Thats an interesting looking litle gadget prof. How does it work? Quick/simple enough to test on a potential purchase? (I'm looking at alfa's ;-) )Failing that get a sniffer test done;
http://www.uktools.com/block-tester-p-12508.html?o...
The fluid one checks the pH (Acidity matters) of the coolant.
CO2 dissolves into the coolant and forms some thing like Carbonic acid.
Either way, there shouldn't be any acidity increase as there should be no way of the gasses getting in there, so it if changes the a specific colour, you know you have a combustion>water leak.
edit-CO2 makes the acid.
as exhaust gas tester looking for CO also works.
CO2 dissolves into the coolant and forms some thing like Carbonic acid.
Either way, there shouldn't be any acidity increase as there should be no way of the gasses getting in there, so it if changes the a specific colour, you know you have a combustion>water leak.
edit-CO2 makes the acid.
as exhaust gas tester looking for CO also works.
Edited by TheEnd on Thursday 2nd December 14:13
thetwistys said:
Prof Prolapse said:
It's not significant enough that you're losing measurable amounts of coolant or can see it in the oil or it you have rotten idling or poor temperature control I'd forget about it.
Failing that get a sniffer test done;
http://www.uktools.com/block-tester-p-12508.html?o...
Thats an interesting looking litle gadget prof. How does it work? Quick/simple enough to test on a potential purchase? (I'm looking at alfa's ;-) )Failing that get a sniffer test done;
http://www.uktools.com/block-tester-p-12508.html?o...
It works by measuring if exhaust gases are have dissolved into the coolant.
Very easy to use. You take some coolant out of the system with a pipette, you mix with the reagent. If it turns from blue to yellow there's a leak.
If you're looking at cars that could have scuppered engines I'd advise you to bring one along with a compression tester.
I think it's a decent test to walk away from a car, but I wouldn't use it alone to diagnose HGF.
Prof Prolapse said:
thetwistys said:
Prof Prolapse said:
It's not significant enough that you're losing measurable amounts of coolant or can see it in the oil or it you have rotten idling or poor temperature control I'd forget about it.
Failing that get a sniffer test done;
http://www.uktools.com/block-tester-p-12508.html?o...
Thats an interesting looking litle gadget prof. How does it work? Quick/simple enough to test on a potential purchase? (I'm looking at alfa's ;-) )Failing that get a sniffer test done;
http://www.uktools.com/block-tester-p-12508.html?o...
It works by measuring if exhaust gases are have dissolved into the coolant.
Very easy to use. You take some coolant out of the system with a pipette, you mix with the reagent. If it turns from blue to yellow there's a leak.
If you're looking at cars that could have scuppered engines I'd advise you to bring one along with a compression tester.
I think it's a decent test to walk away from a car, but I wouldn't use it alone to diagnose HGF.
It's called a sniffer for a reason, it sniffs gas that collects above the coolant NOT the coolant itself.
Seal the rubber end of the sniffer on the expansion/rad cap, run the engine and pump the bulb on the end to draw the gases present through the fluid.
If exhaust gases are present then it will change colour from blue to yellow/green.
You can test it on the exhaust to see what it should change too.
If you mix coolant with it, it will give a false reading especially as some coolants are acidic (OAT).
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