some engine questions

[Martin_172]

right guys, just had a look at the underside of my oil cap and i have mayonnaise like "stuff" i remember hearing about this but cant remember what it was any help?

also the coolant was going down really quick but its not done that in about a month but its not doing as much miles anymore

and lastly its going thru oil quite quick ( ive been told this is common with high milage cars though (120,000 miles on the clock)

cheers in advance

 

[Lagerlout]

Head gasket?

the mayonasie is usually coolant/water in your oil. Not a good sign.

 

[Friction]

cylinder head gasket

only really the labour that costs, the gasket itself doesnt cost much at all.

1.2 16v with 120k on the clock?

 

[Martin_172]

yeah ex driving school car.

ive got a mate whos a mechanic whos fitting me my new clutch in a couple of weeks so ill likely just the head gasket done too.

i used the search function after i posted this and found a thread saying that it was caused by the oil not being warmed up properly and a good thrash would sort it. because ive not passed my test the cars not moving at all apart from getting started and left running for about 20 mins once a week, could this be the problem?

 

[Lunner]

Yup head gasket, that is absoloute b****cks, a good thrash will not solve it, infact it will do more damage, prolly looking a few hundred quid labourt to do the gasket, the gasket is about £30ish, and the head bolts around £10 each iirc, so about £130 parts?

Dont quote me on parts prices, oh and you may as well have a new cambelt fitted at the same time, and give the valvers etc a good clean out and de-glase the engine bores, every little helps

 

[Martin_172]

cheers for the info. do you know what service the cambelt should be done at? as its always had its regular services.

 

[16v_jon]

the 1.2 16v always gets mayo on the top cap its just the fact that the oil doesnt get hot in there , my girlfriends 1.2 with 12k on the clock gets it cos she drives like a granny. If your not sure get a compression test done on it that will tell you for sure.

 

[Alan]

Quote: Originally posted by 16v_jon on 08 September 2005

the 1.2 16v always gets mayo on the top cap its just the fact that the oil doesnt get hot in there , my girlfriends 1.2 with 12k on the clock gets it cos she drives like a granny. If your not sure get a compression test done on it that will tell you for sure.

Mine doesnt have any mayo in it and its on 21.5k?

 

[16v_jon]

yeah cos you drive it right through the rev range , if i remember correctly the oil breathers on the 1.2 16v are not too good either so that could contribute to the problem, fred knows all about this he has had every problem on his 1.2

 

[Alan]

Quote: Originally posted by 16v_jon on 08 September 2005

yeah cos you drive it right through the rev range , if i remember correctly the oil breathers on the 1.2 16v are not too good either so that could contribute to the problem, fred knows all about this he has had every problem on his 1.2



Yeah it sees at least 4.5/5k in 2nd, 3rd and 4th most days, i never really rev it over 3.5/4k in 1st though.

 

[Friction]

Quote: Originally posted by Lunner on 08 September 2005

Yup head gasket, that is absoloute b****cks, a good thrash will not solve it, infact it will do more damage

i remember said post, and have the feeling it was maybe fred who said it, with regards to the cylinder head gasket being fine and it just being a build up of moisture.

Id be worried about having an ex-driving school car - the fact its got 120k on the clock would scare me more.

 

[Fred@BTM]

ok, ignore what everyone has said

mayo under the cap is 100% normal on a 1.2 16V engine

its due to thr plastic rocker cover and inlet manifold


no need to worry, take it for a 2 hour thrash, and then check!!!!

 

[Martin_172]

cheers mate! its good to know, thought i was going to have to waste my colour coding money there

Friction, the car was my mums (shes an instructor) so ive looked after it for the past 3 years since it was brand new and i know its always been serviced properly etc etc the things never seen over 3,500RPM. but yeah a 120K renault engine can be a scarey thought!

 

[MATT BLACK]

oil caps do suffer from condensation & oil deposits mixing causing browny white creamy goo to form on the inside