E46 mayonaise but has been standing

[Babygotoo]

Hi,

After a bit of opinion please,, the two photos are what I found under the filler cap of a E46 2.5. The car has been stood since September '18 and was used as town runabout from Mar 18 until Sep '18, bloke said he has turned it over now and again. There wasn't a lot of gunk under the cap, one of the photos show that the sides under the cap look like they have had a thin layer of butter applied.

Car sounded good, no chatter, just a very very faint "whoosh" or the type of sound of air escaping if you depressed accelerator very gently.

Thoughts appreciated, thanks

[Scrump]

Not unusual for a car which has only done short journeys.

[Slushbox]

^^^ +1

Check expansion tank levels, pressure test for coolant leaks if worried. Change oil. Drive.

Edited by Slushbox on Monday 1st April 19:53

[Krikkit]

Looks fine if it's hardly been used, symptomatic of never getting hot enough to evaporate and remove all the water from the oil.

I wouldn't worry about it.

[StuTheGrouch]

The suction noises certainly suggests the crank ventilation valve [CVV], which is a very common fault with these cars. The valve separates water vapor from oil, and vents it out. When blocked the vapour builds up, meaning you'll have pressure inside the cam cover; the only way out is through the oil filler cap or through the cam cover gasket.

It's a job you can do yourself with the right tools; it's labor-intensive but the parts are about £80 all in. Might as well change the cam cover gasket at the same time, as that is possibly leaking anyway. When doing the job, make sure you take the whole dipstick out and clean it up properly. The dipstick casing is double-layered, where oil is returned from the CVV to the sump and will also get a bit gunked up. Failure to do that means you'll still get some of the symptoms of a failed CVV even after changing the valve.

[Babygotoo]

Forgot to add this one as well

[Babygotoo]

The noise was more an expulsion rather than suction, I'll go back and do the CVV Cap suction test.

Thanks

[StuTheGrouch]

From the pictures I don't think that's anything to worry about. Change CVV, CVV pipes, oil, cam cover gasket and give it a good drive.

[helix402]

As above+new thermostat.

[joema]

I had that on an old E36 and a long drive sorted it out - Combination of low use, short journeys and cold weather.

But yeah - the CVV should prevent it.