Is this the start of HGF ???

The Oily Bits S1 Specific Topics
1

was doing a bit of maintainence over the weekend and topped the oil up - on the inside of the cap is some whitey/greenish slime [image]http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pmyhill/IMG_3733.jpg[/image]

last time i checked i cleaned it and its come back (only recently had an oil change)

anyone got any thoughts ??

2

I wouldn’t say so if that is all there is. You can get condensation form inside the engine when the car stands and this mixes with the oil and gives the very small amount of ‘mayo’ that you have there. If there are no other symptoms (presurised header tank, loss of water / oil) then I wouldn’t wory to much about it.

Sean…

3

Given the design of the HG and nature of construction of the engine, water in the oil from HGF with no other accompanying symptomology is extremely rare. Check that the PCV is unblocked, if there is a blockage in the crankcase breathing then crankcase gases can condense inside the engine cavity and will eventually find their way through evaporation and boil off to the cam cover. Crankcase gases will always contain a significant volume of water since this is a natural by-product of hydrocarbon combustion.

Older engines that may have signficant blow-by produce more in the way of combustion gases in the crankcase.

Dave

4

Thanks for the replies so far - I appreciate all of them as I have a very limited knowledge about engines.

Please can I ask though that everyone post there own opinion on the problem but not argue with other peoples thoughts as I dont want any arguements/fights to start.

Thanks again so far for the responses.

5

If that’s all there is, I wouldn’t worry about it either. Just keep an eye on water level in the header tank.

Bernard

6

never heard such nonsense

Really? you should try reading your own posts . I wouldnt expect King_t to agree, in fact you should find it quite comforting that he has objected, it means that the content and advice is pretty much spot on.

My response is based on experience of hundreds of engines in all sort of circumstances.

Check the crankcase breathers…

Cheers

Dave

8

There is no doubt that the condensation in the cap could be HGF.

However the volume shown is minimal and could well be simply a problem with the PCV. Hence my advice to check the condition of the crankcase breathing system. Ando thers good advice to keep an eye on coolant levels.

I have seen a lot more engines than most on this board and have seen this type of problem before many many many times. Before making propheses of doom, it is sensible to check the simple stuff first. In my considerable experience this prevents throwing large sums of money and great effort at non existant problems.

If the problem gets worse then it will be a lot easier to diagnose and the time for correction will be obvious.

Dave

10

After working for many years at Ford dealers as a technician, the CVH engines used to suffer from oil emulsifying due to shortish journeys and blocked breathers. You would be amazed at the amount of condensation inside an engine on a cold morning
It would certainly be worth checking and cleaning them first