Milky substance in oil.

[geraintthomas]

Now I'm guessing this is the head gasket on it's way out, as there's a creamy substance in with the oil. There's hardly any of it though, but it is there. The water is ever so slightly dirty as well, but again hardly anything.

The car's done 70,000 miles and this is the first problem I've noticed on the car. Is there anything else I should keep my eye out for if this is starting to go?

Engine sounds fine, runs great. How much would it be for a garage to fit a new head gasket, and how much would it be if I bought the parts and did it myself?

Ta! :hug:

[mlawlan69]

Garage would be anywhere from 200+ really. I think parts would set you back 100 max, have a look on euro car parts or similar.

[holdawayt]

I'd do it myself personally. Garages charge loads due to the amount off stuff that needs to be removed to get to the gasket. It's not a difficult job it just takes a while and looks daunting. Head might need a skim by the way which could be a nuisance.

[Tontsy]

what type of driving do you do?

mostly around town / short journeys ? could just be a build up of condensation . . . save your self a small fortune and get a compression test done first, this will show any sign of leaks / damaged headgasket.
if it comes back ok, drive abit harder for longer lol.

[Prickle]

As above....

[geraintthomas]

what type of driving do you do?

mostly around town / short journeys ? could just be a build up of condensation . . . save your self a small fortune and get a compression test done first, this will show any sign of leaks / damaged headgasket.
if it comes back ok, drive abit harder for longer lol.

Mostly around town as I live in the city. I do the odd long drive to my parents (45 mins on motorways etc). Nothing too drastic at the moment.

I'll get it looked at, cheers for that. I've got this small bottle from my dad that you apparently pour into a hot / warm radiator, and it'll seal any leaks in the radiator or head gasket if they're minor. Would liquids like this help it?

[stevo67]

As said get a compression test done before spending out money,plus your engine with the short trips you`re doing isn`t really warming up so condensation could be the issue mate.

[Liam_]

Very common to see a little mayo under 8V oil caps, especially if you do short journeys.

[geraintthomas]

I haven't driven it for 3 weeks as I had an accident - the radiator was ruined and all water / coolant was drained while it sat there for 3 weeks. After fixing it up and getting it running again, it's only now I've noticed the water in the oil. Could that be something to do with it?

[krisdiamond91]

yeah i noticed the same with my little 1.1 small amount of mayo on the cap and some gunk in the rad. i took it for a compression test and its fine on compression. guy told me about the small journey thing and i gotta admit i think the car hadnt moved much. iv done hundreds of miles in it since and its working fine. wouldnt worry to much unless your loosing oil or coolant/overheating.

[Gandi699]

The old gaskets break down on the 8vs I find sometimes between the oil ways and the water jacket and not around the fire rings for the cylinders so the compression tests show good results. My old zest did this, but the oil wasnt emulsified just a few blobs of oil showed up the coolant every now and again. I'd have changed it if it got worse but it was fine for all sorts of driving, I should have changed it but I was getting rid. As said in this weather the 8vs can put mayo under the oil caps and in the breathers if the car isnt run for a fair few miles daily

[krisdiamond91]

yeah mate thats gotta be what i got. some gunky coolant. if it gets worse il look into sorting it but its running okay and not loosing any coolant or oil.

[Gandi699]

Its something you want to address but not a major problem as in you could keep driving the car normally, just keep your eye on oil and coolant levels as it'll only get worse over a long period of time

[geraintthomas]

Ah okay. As you said, it could be due to this weather and not having a drive for a long time, and I haven't It's been standing for 3 weeks in this freezing weather, while the car had hail stones thrown at it and a coating of ice almost every morning. Not nice :(

[ChAdS]

I am having this problem, Took the car to have a compression test today and all the readings were the same. I do very short journeys in my vtr and its just built up condensation in the engine :( In this weather as well its the worst!

[Gandi699]

My 1.1 used to fill its breathers with mayo from the short journeys I was doing. Giving it a long run a few times helped to sort it once I'd cleaned it all out. My VTR does it too slightly but luckily the condensation just goes to the catch tank

[geraintthomas]

So if it's just condensation in the engine causing this mayo substance, then is this unhealthy for the engine? Or is it fine?

[Gandi699]

The way I look at it is - Is the oil on the dipstick creamy? if its just a bit under the oil cap and in the breathers its likely condensation from short runs however that is only so providing the oil on the dipstick is clean. If coolant has found its way into the sump and emulsified the oil then I'd suggest a further investigation as its most like the head gasket - its very rare for just condensation to emulsify the oil in the sump in this way.

[geraintthomas]

The way I look at it is - Is the oil on the dipstick creamy? if its just a bit under the oil cap and in the breathers its likely condensation from short runs however that is only so providing the oil on the dipstick is clean. If coolant has found its way into the sump and emulsified the oil then I'd suggest a further investigation as its most like the head gasket - its very rare for just condensation to emulsify the oil in the sump in this way.

The oil looks fine in the dipstick actually. It may actually be condensation after all.. I've just never heard of this happening.

[Liam_]

As above, you'll probably find the little bit of mayo you have is on top of the rocker cover baffle plate. The oil underneath the plate that lubricates the rocker gear etc should be mayo free.

If it worries you that much, remove the rocker cover and wipe all the gunk off the top of the baffle plate and the underside of the rocker cover. Also check the oil breather pipework isn't blocked. I did this with our 1.1 and we didn't have any more problems with gunk under the oil cap.