I've been asked to check over a 10-year old Polo 1.4. It's been owned by the same person for the past 9 years, and been driven a mile down the road every weekday morning, and back again at night. Under the oil filler (camshaft cover) was about half a yoghourt pots worth of the thickest, creamiest mayonnaise I've ever seen. The oil had an opaque, muddy water appearance. It's been regularly (main dealer) serviced. When I drove it, the temperature gauge wouldn't go above 70C, so presumably the 'stat's keeping the engine cool. It's done about 50k miles (heaven knows how).
What, if any long term damage would this be likely to have caused?
The back tyres (presumably original) have a fair amount of tread, but there's a continuous crack all round the side wall just below the tread. MOT fail?
Unfortunately I know both seller and potential buyer.
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Head gasket at best or knackered head/block. Has thermostat been removed to keep temp down?
Tyres will (rightly) fail MOT.
Sounds like one for the scrapyard to me : o (
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Treat this car to a oil & filter change!! the mayo is moisture built up by not getting hot enough it need's a good run now and again.
The thermostat is probably stuck open just replace. as for the tyres cracking side walls can be dangerous when cornering they can blow at 9 yrs just replace, thats my recomendation!
A good service all round new filters, check the brakes,steering, suspension etc at 50k thats nothing!! good luck..
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Mayo does not always mean HG failure although many people would have you believe it does. I have read alot of stories recently about these engines doing short journies and there being mayo under the oil fill cap. Rather ironic that a car meant to do short trips could suffer from this sort of thing. As previous poster stated change oil and filter and then take the ar out for a blast every so often a good 30 mile trip should do it as everything gets up to temp nicely. It may be HG failure but if the temp does not rise whilst driving around and it uses not water or oil it is more than likely to be condensation causing the build up due to short journies.
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the mayo only happens when the oil gets in contact with water, check the dipstick, if the oil is creamy then youve gotta gasket on its way out!!! (get this changed and do an oil and filter change at the same time).
as for the temperature, if your driving the car, then it tends to stay quite cool (around the 70 mark) only when you leave it just ticking over or driving slowly in traffic that the engine will heat right up then the fan should kick in at about 90 deg, try leaving it ticking over for a while, it may take some time for it to heat up though.
deffinatly change the tyre as it WILL fail mot on it as it is a pottential hazard!!!
"good luck and happy driving"
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id try a oil and filter first and a good run before you start getting too woried about these hg failures, see how it is after 30mls, you can do a compression test? but i suspect it is just condesation for not been used enough!!
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Clean t all out used a decent 10/40 and assuming you are not loosing water form the header tank then go for a 50 mile drive New tyres, pull the drums off and check for Slave cylinder leaks. Repack the bearings and adjust with a new split pin. Regards Peter
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Hi There,
I had the same problem with my daughters 1.4 Polo a couple of years ago.She was only driving a couple of miles a day to work and by the end of the week there was lots of emulsion at the top of rocker box and on oil filler cap.If she used it on a long run there was no problem.After seeking advice from my mechanic I cured it by removing the lower front grill (two screws ) and fitting an oblong piece of plastic behind it and refitting.This reduced the amount of direct airflow onto the radiator allowing the engine to warm up a lot quicker especially in the winter months. Had no trouble after that .
I also did the same thing with my wife's old micra which is used mainly for short trips and noticed a vast improvement in oil appearance (lastest a lot longer before discolouring ) .In fact I never removed it even in the summer and the car never overheated even on a long motorway trip and last winter I blanked off the lower section of the front grill on my Honda Accord Coupe but drilled small holes approx 3mm in the plastic every 2 inches as its a 3 litre vehicle .Car warms up quickly and doesn't overheat.
I would suggest that you give it a try. Blank off the centre section of the lower grill but leave a small section open either side (say 4 ->5 inches).
Let me know what you find.
Cheers
Colabora.
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I advised the prospective buyer not to buy the car!
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