'Yogurt' Under Oil Cap... How Bad Can It Be?

[Danny Lee]

hiya, i went out to my motor yesterday and decided to check under the oil cap, just out of the blue, just in case

to my complete horror, there is the tell-tale sign of head gasket failure, the dreaded milky white oily crap under the cap!

iv been driving the car like normal and nt noticed anything abnormal, and cos i really dont have any choice im going to have to continue to do so, so i can earn my wages!

my qyestion is this, how much are we looking at to get the gasket swapped and s it honestly worth it? shud i be lookin for a new engine/car?

the worst thing is, iv JUST found the service logbook i thought was lost during my recent house move so can again prove the mileage (just over 50k) and was gonna try and sell the car to get an RSI of possibly a 16v (mayby sumthin else i really dont know) but i know i can sell the car with the current problem, so feel like i mite be throwing money away just to sell the car!

argh!! i really dunno wat to do, if i get the work done (depending on cost) then i will probly feel obliged to keep the car for longer so i can get my money's worth out of it!!

sorry if this post is a little all over the place! u just really dunno wat to do and cud really use some advice and opinions!

 

[philthy]

could always get ur hands dirty and do it yourself?!

 

[MrMark]

the stuff, is also a sign of short, start and stop journeys.

you loosing coolant?
oil level going down quicker than normal?
coolant off colour?
sweetish smell from exhaust?

 

[Danny Lee]

you loosing coolant? not that i can see

oil level going down quicker than normal? barly seem to lose a drop to be honest, have it service every 6k without fail

coolant off colour? looks kinda murky-brown but awlays has, culd be discolour bottle tho

sweetish smell from exhaust? hmmm, havnt noticed but will have a look later!

i do make a 10min blast to work adn back every day, and bein lazy i sometime drive to my mates whch aint far.. traffic can be bad on the high street were i live... hmmmm! gonna go check oil level methinks!

 

[MrMark]

that is probably the cause. i very much doubt that its your head gasket.

 

[Goody]

Hi i had the same problem i only done 40k
i took it to garage and i got i mate who is in trade as well and he says is nothing worry bout
its coz i make alot of short journeys
Souds like same as me mate if ya oil aint goin down and ya not loosing any coolent

 

[Danny Lee]

ok, iv just check oil level, its about 2 mm below top mark, and iv never topped up as iv not needed to since last service, goin abot dark ere now so checked the fluid with a torch and seems clear!

also, the sludge was just in the very center of below the cap has now gone, just a white ish residue!

wow... iv think i may have dodged a bullet here!

thanks SO much MrMark.. ill get it checked asap to be sure but iv always heard that milky stuff = raped wallet!

a little knowledge is dangerous to and idiot like me!

 

[MrMark]

youll be fine. a compression check (i think) will be your best bet, to put you mind at rest. but, that residue is from the oil not warming up to its optimum temperature during your short journeys. i bet if you look at a mates car, or someone you work with, it will be the same.!

 

[bmh.01]

Which engine is it ? If its the 1.2 Diet engine then its just a triat of the engine, the hg will most probably be fine.

 

[Danny Lee]

1.4 RT engine

 

[Martin_172]

mine had it really bad before i passed my test last year when it only got used by my dad to get to work 5 minz away every day its fine now, take it a thrash down a backroad or the motorway or something and it will be fine

 

[Fred@BTM]

its normal on the small renault engines, its due to short journeys and also because of the plastic rocker cover i believe