Milky oil again!

[jenk]

Had a problem with moisture in the oil about 6 months ago, thought it was the head gasket but had it checked and it turned out it was a blocked breather system. Got the garage to sort this out while they were doing my water pump.

Its happened again, milky oil cap and abit on the dip stick
In the week i only drive to work which is 2 miles down the road, i no that dosnt help with the short journeys an all. It never overheats but is actually keeping abit too cool i think

Can anyone give me abit of advice, can something else be wrong to cause it?

cheers guys

 

[g60jet]

check the oil cooler they are know week spots on VAG motors. basically they corrode and the water can get into the oil via the filter housing

 

[jenk]

had the coolant tested before for signs of some kinda gas (head gasket test). If its the oil cooler will this be detected by this test? Its really starting to anoy me now

cheers mate!

 

[g60jet]

try changing the oil filer cap and the dipstick funel top. could be not that well sealed.

 

[jenk]

Will check everything for leaks etc.

could i have a dodgy thermostat? took her for a monitored run last nite, staedy 60mph driving and some more aggresive. oil temp never rised above 76 (normally 90) degrees and water temp was just above quater of the way usually half way. Outside temp was 3 degrees.

cheers for the help

 

[Tallpaul]

it's the short journeys. the engine not getting up to temperature means that any water that condenses is not being evaporated. This will be causing long term damage to the engine, not just because of the water but also the engine will not be getting properly lubricated and so will suffer excess wear. Plus you will always be running rich which isn't good.

If you can't do longer journeys (like go out of your way to and from work to warm it up, or just cycle to work so the car isn't being used) then you need to change the oil very frequently.

Ultimatly doing 2 mile journeys 10 times a week is about the worst way to treat your engine!

 

[jenk]

ur definatly right about the short journeys! i always take her for a good blast as much as i can, like last nite.
oil, filter etc. will be changed the weekend.

My concern is the engine not getiing to temp when im on a good drive, motorway etc. temp should be at ahlf way always yeah?

 

[Tallpaul]

the engine will be getting to temperature - an unavoidable by-product of internal combustion, it's simply that your coolant temp sensor isn't reading what you think it should.

This is most likely a fault with the sensor (they seem to fail alot).

Could also be a blockage or air-lock in your coolant system. ie the water isn't circulating the engine so isn't heating up, mind you this would be very bad as your engine would actually be over-heating!

i'd still be more worried about the short journey thing. Dunno how long you plan to keep the car for (or how many miles it's done) but you are significantly shortening it's lifespan. It's obvious from the emulsion in your oil that the long journeys you're doing are not keeping the oil clean, so all the things mentioned in my previous post will be having an adverse effect.

 

[jenk]

Even oil temp has been staying low lately (75ish degrees). surely over cooling can have an effect on the evaporation of the moisture from the oil?

the last thing i want to do is to ruin the engine, looks like the push bike will have to come outa the garage.

 

[Tallpaul]

does the car feel down on power?

if not then you can be fairly sure that the engine is getting very very hot!

the fact you have alot of moisture in your oil might be affecting it's temperature? no too sure on that one.

It's unlikely that your coolant system is actually working too well, the loss of heat from an engine reduces it's efficiency, if it were possible to practically cool it more-so than the water does normally, the engine would work better and we'd all be getting 50mpg.

The simplest fix is obviously the sensors themselves, but it may be something do to with the circulation of your oil and water - which ain't good.

i'd check:

oil and water temp sensors
oil breather (just because you had that before)
blocked oil filter
blockage/air lock in you coolant system
headgasket - run the engine with the cap off the coolant expansion tank, see if the level noticably rises and falls in a regular pattern, this *might* indicate a blown headgasket.

get it on VAG-COM and check for any fault codes.

Finally, get a mechanic to look at it!

Good luck.

 

[jenk]

Cheers for the advice mate.

Car dosnt feel down on power and is idling fine etc.

Weekend ill check and change everything thats needed, had this problem before and it was down to blocked breathers so all i can asume is its the same again (i hope).

Looks like it mite have to go in the garage again

 

[chriskaztaz]

Hi mate. If you had emulsification due to a blocked breather system, did you give the engine a damn good treatment flush before new oil/filter? Wynn's engine flush worked wonders for an ex motor of mine, white smelly stuff no more!!
As for engine temp, sounds a typical fault with thermostat. Rubber seal around outside of stat becomes detached, jamming itself into fissure of stat stopping the unit from closing,thus preventing correct heating/running temp for engine.

Worked for me!!