Unbelievable :(

[Jizmondo Scrotmondo]

Driving home from work and kept noticing that there was a fair bit of white condensation coming from the exhaust. My Spider sense tingled and once I pulled up I popped the bonnet and checked the filler cap and......mayonnaise

Straight on the blower to my mate who's a Dub tech and the Head Gasket is going Gutted

So, off to get head gasket, head bolts and cambelt kit in the morning. Will be checking the water pump and more than likely change that with the cambelt, oil change and coolant change to be done also.

Gutted about the gasket but at least it gives me the opportunity to do the other bits. Does my swede in!!!

[will]

Nice feeling when you get it all done though

[tonka12]

nothing to do with the cold moist air then if were just jumping to conclusions I think your blocks cracked

[Jizmondo Scrotmondo]

Worst feeling in the world when I discovered the mayonnaise though, My heart dropped. I'm a bit of a glass half-empty sort of person when it comes to cars......hopefully it will all be straight forward and it will be like driving a different motor when it's done.

Tonka, would the cold, moist air cause the mayonnaise? The car has also been running a bit lumpy over the last few days and doesn't feel right. There's no cack in the coolant, just the oil.

[tonka12]

condensation on the inside of the rocker cover drops into the oil and causes the [mayonaise] your describing.you mention no water loss.which if a headgasket fail usually means water getting into the cylinders and then coming out of the exhaust as steam.so is your car using coolant

[Jizmondo Scrotmondo]

I've owned the car just over a month. I checked the oil and coolant when I viewed it and it all looked ok. The oil was clean, the coolant was very low but clean and I topped it up over a week ago and it's still at the max level, that said, I haven't used it that much due to Xmas and being off work. There wasn't loads of Jizz (like my old K-series Rover) on the cap/rocker cover, just a bit on the cap.

[tonka12]

if the coolants still on the max mark it cant be the headgasket.just clean the cap off and take it for a good run.

[Jizmondo Scrotmondo]

if the coolants still on the max mark it cant be the headgasket.just clean the cap off and take it for a good run.

I will do first thing, hopefully I'm wrong and I can just get the cambelt done as planned.

[tonka12]

my jag is steaming out of the exhausts this weather.so if your not using coolant and the cream on the cap is nothing to worry about

[RobinJI]

A little mayo on the rocker cover of these engines is fairly normal, especially if you've not been using it much, or just for short trips. Definitely see if it persists before spending any more money, they're not engines that are prone to HG failure.

(Assuming it's the mk2 GTI in your sig)

[pantera2075]

+1 on all the above. If it hasn't had a good long run in a while mayo will accumulate in the top of the rocker area, it needs to be hot and run to get rid of the condensation that will inevitably build up up at this time of year inside the engine when standing.

Condensation can cause a steamy exhaust at this time of year too.

[Jizmondo Scrotmondo]

It is the Mk2 GTI 8v. My temp gauge isn't working but the heater gets toasty and the fan is kicking in so I know it's getting to running temp and it hasn't overheated either.

I work about 5 miles away which is two small trips really and yesterday was the first time I'd used it in 3 or 4 days. I'm taking it for a run soon and I'll report back my findings.

[MiniDan]

+1 for head gasket not going either.

Our Mk2 Jetta (when it was on the road still) was the same in the winter if it was just used to go to the shops and such. A good ol' run should sort it out

Could always do a compression test as well for peace of mind.

[littleaimz]

Liking all the advised, I have a similar thing with my XR2. Get a bit of mayo looking stuff on the end of my dip stick but only when its don't been used a huge amount. I was starting to worry but with the things people have said on here Its put my mind at ease a bit.
Hope it all turns out to be nothing for both out cars

[dodgerover]

Dec 31, 2011 12:58:17 GMT littleaimz said:

Liking all the advised, I have a similar thing with my XR2. Get a bit of mayo looking stuff on the end of my dip stick but only when its don't been used a huge amount. I was starting to worry but with the things people have said on here Its put my mind at ease a bit.
Hope it all turns out to be nothing for both out cars

My old £30 special xr3i had mayo on the dipstick and under the filler cap when i bought it, it went away and never came back after a decent run with the thermostat re-fitted.

[Jizmondo Scrotmondo]

I hath returned and the Mayonnaise has.........gone

I am a Moron. I used it for 3 hours today carting the Wife and sprogs about, popped over to my Veedub mate so he could look and......he said there was feck-all wrong with it (he hadn't had a chance to look at it, I'd only spoken to him on the phone)

It hasn't lost any coolant and has ran nicely all day.

Again, I am a Moron

Oh, and on a brighter note, the bonnet cable catch has knackered and the bonnet won't shut without messing about with it! I'll be replacing the cable in the week.
The previous owner really did neglect it, The number of silly little things I've had to put right and still have to put right is ridiculous.

[bortaf]

Dec 31, 2011 13:43:28 GMT dodgerover said:

Dec 31, 2011 12:58:17 GMT littleaimz said:

Liking all the advised, I have a similar thing with my XR2. Get a bit of mayo looking stuff on the end of my dip stick but only when its don't been used a huge amount. I was starting to worry but with the things people have said on here Its put my mind at ease a bit.
Hope it all turns out to be nothing for both out cars

My old £30 special xr3i had mayo on the dipstick and under the filler cap when I bought it, it went away and never came back after a decent run with the thermostat re-fitted.

CVHs are one of, if not the worst engine ever for mayo creation on short runs, earlyer they are the worse they are, terrable breather configuration on a heavy breathing engine is not the best idea ford ever had
glad to hear the OP is sorted and no problems

[Deleted]

Ive got an old astra that i drive from time to time, its my dads old car and he doesn't use it much the mayonnaise is normally just condensation from lack of use and short journeys only. Il take it for a blast up the country every few months and that clears the mayonnaise out

[cobblers]

Yeah, a bit of smeg on the filler cap is not the end of the world at all. The dipstick is a more accurate teller, as is a reasonable loss of coolant.

The oil gets full of water through the combustion process, one of the byproducts is water, most of which ends up out of the exhaust, but some makes it's way past the rings into the oil.

On a short run, the oil doesn't get hot enough to boil the water off, and it builds up. A good thrash will get the oil warm enough to dry it out.

Cars that use the filler cap as part of the breathers (Ford OHC for one) usually show a massive amount of curse word under the cap in normal use, which, for most Fiestas and Kas is short steady trips to drop the kids off at school to the supermarket, and the oil barely gets chance to get warm at all.

[MiniDan]

Dec 31, 2011 14:02:21 GMT Jizmondo Scrotmondo said:

Oh, and on a brighter note, the bonnet cable catch has knackered and the bonnet won't shut without messing about with it! I'll be replacing the cable in the week.
The previous owner really did neglect it, The number of silly little things I've had to put right and still have to put right is ridiculous.

It probably isn't the cable, more likely the spring.

If you pop out the VW badge on the front (assuming it's an original grille) and from underneath look up at the catch you'll see the spring.

I've had to replace a few in the past and it's made a world of difference