gunk around the oil lid

Naked Lepper

kinda brownish stuff around the oil lid under the bonnet

does that defo mean the head gasket is screwed??
if so is there anything that can be done to prevent it breaking + any estimation on how long milage wise i have left?

Stephen

uh-oh...

Is the gunk mayonnaise-like?
I'd get it to a mechanic asap.

WildWater

Yep sounds like your gasget is buggered:eek: Get thee to a mechanic:mad:

Naked Lepper

the gunk didnt seem to be too chunky or anything, it just seemed to be a little off colour and stuck to the lid

im really worried cause i need the car for work and stuff and i dont have the cash to buy another one! dont know what to do..

johnny_adidas

get it to a mech straight away, all is not lost and it can still be sorted. just dont drive the car hard on the way. if the engine overheats, thats where the really damage is done. have a look in your coolant tank as well, there may be creamy mayonaise in there also if the head gasket is gone.

BrianD3

This question crops up regularly and people always jumps in and say "your head gasket is probably gone". Not true. A small amount of mayonaisse on the underside of the oil filler cap is much more likely to be due to condensation from the engine. Especially common in winter or if the car is driven mainly short journies.

It might be an idea to add this to the FAQ.

johnny_adidas

Fair enough it may not be the head gasket which is gone but if it is condensation then it would suggest you need an oil change/service. In cold weather a lot of condensation can take place. This is bad enough in itself, since water is not noted for its lubrication qualities in an engine, but even worse, that water dissolves any nitrates formed during the combustion process. Not only do you suffer a high rate of wear at start-up and when the engine is cold, you suffer a high rate of subsequent corrosion during normal running or even when stationary.

i personally wouldnt be willing to take the chance and not bring it to a mechanic to get it checked it out

edit: generally if its the head gasket you'll noticed your oil level increasing and your coolant level decreasing

Gary ITR

Could also just be in dire need of a service too. Unless you're overheating and loosing water I wouldn't jump to the conclusion of the head gasket... That's not to say it's not the head gasket either:o

Naked Lepper

it was due a service about 8000 mile ago

i put some new oil into it last night - the tank was baisically empty!

my mate said he would change the spark plugs and air filter for me

i have only been using it for short journeys and it is pretty cold out - it always starts 1st time and there is no black smoke from the exhaust

i havent noticed any alarming noises from the enginer either and it seems to be driving well

still a bit freaked - and im not too keen on going to a garage, im afraid that regardless of the issue, that the mechanic will just tell me it needs changed anyway... anyone know any good places that will check it honestly etc?

rebel.ranter

I noticed this on a couple of Audi TTs recently (friend looking to buy one), it was the sawe with herself's A3. Anyone else notice this on their Audi?
I agree it could be just condensation. Worth getting checkd out by a Mechanic though.

Anan1

Naked Lepper wrote:

kinda brownish stuff around the oil lid under the bonnet

WHat does this brownish stuff look like? Is the coolant level ok? I'm assuming the oil level is now ok? To be honest, unless you've got what looks like mayonnaise on the cap and/or are losing coolant, I wouldn't have any reason to think your head gasket's gone. What kind of a car is it?

cpoh1

Naked Lepper wrote:

it was due a service about 8000 mile ago

i put some new oil into it last night - the tank was baisically empty!

my mate said he would change the spark plugs and air filter for me

How could you do this to a car???

If the dipstick was not showing any oil and you were driving it like that for a while then trouble is only around the corner and you only have yourself to blame for your negligance.

Naked Lepper

its a 106

the only reason i knew there was no oil left was the red warning light came on a few times - mind you it just seems to come on at odd times like when turning a corner etc

and to the person asking how i could do this - its my first car and i have only had it since may so im going to put it down to that.. didnt even notice until the light came on

cpoh1

Naked Lepper wrote:

its a 106

the only reason i knew there was no oil left was the red warning light came on a few times - mind you it just seems to come on at odd times like when turning a corner etc

and to the person asking how i could do this - its my first car and i have only had it since may so im going to put it down to that.. didnt even notice until the light came on

If the red warning light for the oil came on then most of the time its too late for the engine as its suffered some major oil starvation. No lubrication leads to massive wear on the internals. A headgasket is the least of your porblems if this is the case, rebuilt bottom end or new engine altogethor depending on the price. You *might* be lucky depending on how long you drove it in this condition.

And by the way being new cars is no excuse for leaving a car 8000miles overdue a service, you cant have thought this was acceptable???

Anan1

Naked Lepper wrote:

its a 106

the only reason i knew there was no oil left was the red warning light came on a few times - mind you it just seems to come on at odd times like when turning a corner etc

and to the person asking how i could do this - its my first car and i have only had it since may so im going to put it down to that.. didnt even notice until the light came on

Not checking the oil on an old car is a pretty stupid thing to do, and you probably haven't done your engine any good. That said, there's no sense in crying over spilt milk and all that. To help you with your present situation - what does this brownish stuff look like? Is the coolant level ok?

Naked Lepper

I will have to check it again tonight after work because i only got a quick minute to look at it last night and it was in a dark underground car park

So basicially what people are telling me is that the car is screwed?

Anan1

Naked Lepper wrote:

So basicially what people are telling me is that the car is screwed?

No. What people are telling you is that what you did was stupid beyond words. Stupid people, however, can sometimes be very lucky.;)

Naked Lepper

checked with my mates 306 at lunch time and he has similar brownish oily stuff around the cap and he had that white mayonaise looking stuff as well
although his oil was still black

checked my oil and it was also black but with just a light brown oiley stuff around the cap

hmmm

comanche

Naked Lepper wrote:

checked with my mates 306 at lunch time and he has similar brownish oily stuff around the cap and he had that white mayonaise looking stuff as well
although his oil was still black

checked my oil and it was also black but with just a light brown oiley stuff around the cap

hmmm

Pity Iceland don't own garages - you could have gotten two for the price of one!

Your mate way watch for symptoms of head gasket as well - have a look in the expansion tank to make sure that there's no oil in there!

Naked Lepper

comanche wrote:

Pity Iceland don't own garages - you could have gotten two for the price of one!

Your mate way watch for symptoms of head gasket as well - have a look in the expansion tank to make sure that there's no oil in there!

And a quote from another forum from some person i dont know;


is it a greeny-yellow sludgey type of thing on the inside of the cap ?

^ yeah kinda, its more of a light browny colour sludge but i have been told that it could possibly be down to moisture in the air rather than water in the oil tank-
i checked my mates 306 and the engine layout is basically the same and under his oil cap he had the same sludge to a lesser extent but he had white mayonaise looking sludge there too - which i heard is also a sure sign of a head gasket on its last legs



^^ white usually is a sign of the head gasket...

my mk1 306 has the off yellow/grey/green sludge... that IS just moisture... I promise! (and it's also very common!)

Get it checked if you're worried but I wouldn't go as far as to say it's ready to go mate! far from it!

Hobbes

cpoh1 wrote:

How could you do this to a car???

If the dipstick was not showing any oil and you were driving it like that for a while then trouble is only around the corner and you only have yourself to blame for your negligance.

I did that on my first car. No one told me too. Assumed red oil light meant it was a ready for a top up. poor thing.

Guy:Incognito

Hobbes wrote:

I did that on my first car. No one told me too. Assumed red oil light meant it was a ready for a top up. poor thing.

Thats why cars come with manuals.