I was checking the Oil in SWMBOs 2008 Mini Cooper today and noticed a lot of 'mayonnaise' on the underside of the the oil filler cap.

I've always understood that this means the head gasket is shot. However, it's not lost any coolant or oil since I last checked and theres no steam coming from the exhaust and it's running well.

I've read a few posts on the web stating that short journeys can cause this problem - SWMBOs jouney to work is approx 7 miles.

The oil on the dipstick looks clear and clean and there's no oil in the coolant tank.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

Thanks

Yeah condensation from short journeys when cold. Take it a nice motorway blast

Should get rid of it

dont panic i also thought this also exact same thing as you but thankfully the techs on the forum advised me it was just condensation due to short runs and low temps.

Does it look like this

Thanks for the fast reply Big Jase.

Scribbler, it looks exactly like that. Almost good enough to eat!

I'll give it a good run tomorrow, which means I'll have to trust SWMBO with the vRS!

Thanks again.

Clean as much as you can with a towel / paper cloth then go for a big blast

already strapping on my lead boots..........

Go for a run and get it nice and hot. When home remove oil cap whilst engine cools. Should remove most condensation this way.

Well, after a run up the M1 this morning with no problems the filler cap now looks like this.......

Before setting of I cleaned it up as much as possible with a rag and some WD40. Before cleaning the entire filler cap was full of mayo.

Is it worth changing the oil and filter as a precaution?

Thanks to everyone that replied.

I wouln't think it was vital to change the oil (unless it's due a change soon then you could do it early).

Just make sure it gets a run now and then where it can get up to operating temperature and that will burn off the moisture in the oil.

Used to get this on my Felicia when i did short journeys.

Phil

Nothing to worry about and no need to change the oil/filter. Perhaps use it for longer runs on a w/e if you do any to burn off the moisture?

for peace of mind maybe get some K-Seal.

http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/200694676332?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&cbt=y

We'll be using it for some longer runs on a regular basis in future.

for peace of mind maybe get some K-Seal.

http://compare.ebay....&var=sbar&cbt=y

Or not.

There is no sense putting any gunge into the cooling system when it's not needed.

And no, I'm not 'anti-K-Seal' or 'anti-additive'. I just wouldn't advise putting what is, essentially, gunge into a working cooling system - OP pointed out no coolant or oil loss.

I'll probably not bother with the K-Seal. But I think I will get the mechanic I use to do a gas sniffer test on the expansion bottle to rule out head gasket or engine block problems.

Or not.

There is no sense putting any gunge into the cooling system when it's not needed.

And no, I'm not 'anti-K-Seal' or 'anti-additive'. I just wouldn't advise putting what is, essentially, gunge into a working cooling system - OP pointed out no coolant or oil loss.

I used some on my MG ZR i had previously. Obviously these cars are notorious for head gasket problems. I had the "mayo" on my cap but only a fraction of it compared to the photo above. The car went on fine for another 2 years & 25k miles until i sold it.

I used some on my MG ZR i had previously. Obviously these cars are notorious for head gasket problems. I had the "mayo" on my cap but only a fraction of it compared to the photo above. The car went on fine for another 2 years & 25k miles until i sold it.

I didn't say that people don't have success with it, just that I wouldn't recommend it. Bearing in mind the fact that the OP hadn't mentioned any problems, there's not the preponderance of HG issues there is with some models, and that he'd since posted a picture showing that the muck hadn't reoccurred after a clean and decent run, it would seem pointless to add any gunge.

It is worth considering, also, that your ZR may have carried on for another 2 years and 25K *without* adding any K-Seal...

Dont add any radweld k-seal etc

Its all a load of crap! Fix the issue

And the op's issue is lack of use. So use it for longer

Dont add any radweld k-seal etc

Its all a load of crap! Fix the issue

And the op's issue is lack of use. So use it for longer

A slightly less diplomatic way of putting it perhaps, but I agree

I don't have anything like that, but had small amount of green crap? Same kind of stuff which gathered in the oil catch tank pipes so is it safe to assume its just the short runs I've been doing of late? Oil mixing with the water vapour.

Just to update this. I got my local garage to do the gas sniffer test on the coolant expansion tank and it was negative, i.e. no head gasket leak.

The mechanic said that all Minis are prone to gunk on the filler cap. They had a Cooper S in the garage at the time so we looked at the filler cap on that and it was also full of gunk.

I changed the oil in mine as a precaution and plan on giving in longer runs. The oil looked dirty despite the next service not being due for 8000 miles or 12/2013 according to the on-board display, the last oil service was in January 2012. After changing the oil the service display changed to 16000 miles or 12/2013 - so it knew I'd changed the oil.

Oil is every 12 months no matter how few miles had been done. So it was due anyways

I always stick to 10k changes as this longlife servicing is a pile of rubbish imo

got the gunk in my fabia 51 reg 1.4mpi

nothing to worry about just short journey to work mainly

Hi All

I have the same problem with my VRS 2.0 , but have another problem when I was cleaning the cap and had the engine running it was running like a bag of crap, put the filler cap back on and it was running ok.

Should it do this ?

Hi All

I have the same problem with my VRS 2.0 , but have another problem when I was cleaning the cap and had the engine running it was running like a bag of crap, put the filler cap back on and it was running ok.

Should it do this ?

Yes, as removing the cap it's essentially creating an air leak in the intake, it's all linked. Some cars (not Skodas) won't even run at all with the cap off.

Hi All,

 

I think I have the same problem/issue with condensation. Last week I cleaned my oil filler cap as it had a grey residue on it, is this the same issue?

Do I need to get it checked out? 

 

Once I cleaned it a few days after I noticed condensation again.

 

The car is regularly serviced by a Skoda main dealer.

 

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.