Sludge under oil cap - gasket gone?

dawny10

Hi all, I'm hoping someone who knows about these things can give me a little advice!

I am looking to purchase a little runaround for a few hundred quid and today looked at a 96 Polo. I was happy with everything else about the car but when I took off the oil filler cap there was a big glob (about golf ball sized) of sludge which I know means that there is some water in the oil, and you could also see some sludge looking down into the engine.

I know this can be a sign that the head gasket is going, but some websites seem to say that this can build up if the car is not used, and if the weather is cold. Apparantly the car has hardly been used for the last few months. There was no sludge on the dipstick.

Should I just walk away, or is there anyway I can identify if it is the head gasket? On my previous car (Fiesta) I did occasionally get a bit of sludge when the breathers got blocked, but nothing like this amount and only on the bottom of the dipstick, not on the oil cap.

Any thoughts appreciated!

anewman

If this is a car you are thinking of buying it's always easier to stay away when you see signs like this IMO.

What can tend to happen is on short journeys is that the oil never gets fully up to temperature in order to boil off water build-up in the engine.

Another sure fire sign the headgasket is gone is the oil looking a bit like chocolate milkshake.

Wig

I wouldn't touch it.

Also look for oily/dirty coolant in the expansion bottle

Condensation caused by prolonged non use/short journeys would not cause the oil to to look like whipped cream and would not cause your golfball of sludge.... AVOID

vikingaero

It depends on the car. My Dads old A-Class had sludge/mayo on the oil filler cap. I think this was a design problem as the filler tube was about 2 ft long and the condensation/oil just builds up.

blue_haddock

Its a well known thing on some cars for there to be a build up of mayo in the filler cap if the car hasn't been run much. Whether this is the case on a polo i dont know.

goldspanners

i know some older vw engines did get a bit of emulsified oil under the cap if they never got ran much and didn't see high revs,this could be the case for this one.
if your getting it at a good price then it could be a bargain,even if it does need the head gasket done.

my mate bought a dredded rover 214, famous for head gasket failure, so iwe bought it with it in mind that the head gasket was needing done, so we bought it for £500,it cost £400 to put it right doing radiator,water pump,beltseverything it needed. so total was £900 for the car with all the new stuff we were confident in, and at the time when we bought it there were similar ones for sale for £500-£600 more than this one so it worked out well for him.

dawny10

Its prob only worth around £600 so probably unlikely to bargain it down to an amount that would factor in a head gasket replacement!

Would taking it out for a long run get rid of it if it was condensation? And if it was the gasket what would happen on a long run, would it just start overheating or would the engine die immediately?

anewman

dawny10 wrote: »

Would taking it out for a long run get rid of it if it was condensation? And if it was the gasket what would happen on a long run, would it just start overheating or would the engine die immediately?

Overheating and misfiring is quite possible (check the temperature gauge actually works, some people will disconnect them in a car that overheats in order to pass off a lemon). A long run (>50 miles) would help dry it out but I would change the oil and filter first, preferably using a flushing oil before filling up with new oil.

goldspanners

dawny10 wrote: »

Its prob only worth around £600 so probably unlikely to bargain it down to an amount that would factor in a head gasket replacement!

Would taking it out for a long run get rid of it if it was condensation? And if it was the gasket what would happen on a long run, would it just start overheating or would the engine die immediately?

it should start to over heat with the gauge increasing, you might also notice a loss in power,white smoke from the exhaust even after the engine has heat up to normal temperature,a loss in coolant. but all might be apparent after a long run as anewman said,or could show up after 5 minutes.
if i wanted the car i would put in an offer of around £300 pointing out the potential problem,if they take it then fine, if not then find something else.
if you do buy it change the oil and filter, run it for a few hundred miles then change oil and filter again. hopefully this will show less emulsification.

harveybobbles

This time of the year its mainly condensation build up.