Mayonnaise build up on 20k mile clio

[B93]

Hey there,

Whilst doing an oil change on my '02 ph2 1.2 16v a week ago, I noticed some build up of mayonnaise around the oil filler cap. Since the car has only 20k miles on it, i kind of assumed that it was just condensation build up because of small journeys throughout the car's life, so I wiped it off and thought nothing more of it. I have just checked again, and there is quite a lot of build up again, maybe even more so than before. The build up seems very quick, so could the head gasket have gone despite the low miles? It doesn't show any other signs of failure, no white smoke, no leaky coolant, and I have never seen the temp gauge go even a millimetre above the middle of the gauge.

By extension, if it was the head gasket, how easy is the fix - I have some experience working on the car, but other members of my family are much more experienced mechanically and could help if it was a fix that could be done at home

Thanks for any help/advice anyone could give!

 

[Goodj]

hows the water in your expansion tank looking?

 

[B93]

hows the water in your expansion tank looking?

Pretty much mid way between the minimum and maximum lines - the coolant is sort of a murky blue colour, but i couldn't see any kind of oil in there

 

[Goodj]

have you taken it on a long run at all, or just more short trips?

 

[Louis]

Take it for a nice long drive and then check again. Doubt it's anything to worry about.

 

[B93]

I'll take it out for a longer journey later today. After the oil was replaced i drove it for probably about an hour to check for any leaks, but beyond that it is only really doing 4 mile journeys. Anything I should be looking out for during the drive, beyond the typical head gasket related symptoms?

 

[Goodj]

white smoke, overheating.

In these cold days for 4-mile sprint isn't going to help matters, especially if you lean on the throttle at all.

 

[Louis]

Just take it for a hard drive, get on that limiter once warm, does no harm. I really doubt it's hg. They have plastic covers on these, hence the condensation build up. HG's are rare.

 

[Goodj]

Just take it for a hard drive, get on that limiter once warm, does no harm. I really doubt it's hg. They have plastic covers on these, hence the condensation build up. HG's are rare.

cant emphasise that enough.

 

[Louis]

Common sense no?

 

[Goodj]

Common sense no?

You wouldn't be surprised.

The amount of people that just jump in, start up and then go redlining, it's not a small figure.

 

[Knuckles]

20k since 02?!

Wow. Must be immaculate

 

[Louis]

20k since 02?!

Wow. Must be immaculate

20K miles on the limiter from cold.

 

[Goodj]

20K miles on the limiter from cold.

21k at 6k revs,

 

[Louis]

Just checked it's mot history and it has never failed an MOT! That's good going.

 

[bloke]

the breather system on them is awful, strip and clean, shove it back together and quick 20 mile run. you'd be surprised how much condensation builds up in oil from a cold start.

 

[Knuckles]

20K miles on the limiter from cold.

Isn't that what cheap, non sporty cars are for? Zero maintenance needed and they can take untold levels of abuse.

 

[B93]

Thanks for all the help, I took it out yesterday with family following, and after about an hour there was no sign of any smoke, and no overheating. Imgoing to assume I was just worrying too much! As for the 20k miles, the previous owner (until mid-2015) was an 80-year-old lady who said that she 'put it to bed in the garage at 9 o'clock every night', so that really tells you all you need to know about how she drove it Also, not only has it never failed, its never even had an advisory (yet... Kind of suprising given that I'm the driver)

Anyway, cheers for all your help

 

[Louis]

Thanks for all the help, I took it out yesterday with family following, and after about an hour there was no sign of any smoke, and no overheating. Imgoing to assume I was just worrying too much! As for the 20k miles, the previous owner (until mid-2015) was an 80-year-old lady who said that she 'put it to bed in the garage at 9 o'clock every night', so that really tells you all you need to know about how she drove it :smile: Also, not only has it never failed, its never even had an advisory (yet... Kind of suprising given that I'm the driver)

Anyway, cheers for all your help

Old lady... Thrown over every curb, parked across the line in every car park, ground into every gear :wink: Only joking mate.

Reminds me of this though.

 

[B93]

Knowing my luck, my car was probably used as a practise car for that advert!