Hi , Ive just changed the oil on my accent , 1.3 , "r" reg. I noticed a small white deposit on the underside of the oil cap.

I havent noticed this before, and am worried about possible water leak somewhere. The car gets driven very conservativley, never being revved much and just 7k per year.

Or is this a common thing that I should not lose sleep over :)

thanks for any advice


mh

Hi Mark;

What's the year and mileage? Were there any indications of emulsion in the oil that was drained out? i.e. - grey, brown or white streaks in the oil? How long was it since your last oil change? (I mean in months, not just k)

Most vehicles tend to build up some emulsification over time from water condensation in the engine and it tends to show up on the filler cap. It can happen more so with vehicles that only go on short hops because the engine never gets hot enough to drive all the moisture out of the crank case.

Also, you should be getting the oil changed every four months or so regardless of your mileage. After this time the oil will start breaking down on its own.

If you haven't done one in the past two years or more, I'd recommend an engine flush with your next oil change. The usually involves draining the oil, adding a solvent based cleaner, running the engine for a time, draining again and then replacing the oil and filter.

It would also be worth your while to have an engine compression test and cooling system pressure check done - this will tell you if there is an internal leak such as from a blown head gasket.

So my advice for what its worth is get the pressure checks done, if there isn't any obvious problem then go for the engine flush in three months or so.

A minor leak doesn't mean you should have to spring for a new head gasket as there are various oil and coolant additives that will slow down minor leaks.

thanks gordo

it sounds like just condensation in the engine, last change was 8 k ago , the car , i think is either '97 or '98.

thanks for your advice

mh

SOULLINK: Please do not quote the whole post above when replying to it - this clutters up the forum

This post has been edited by soullink: Jan 21 2005, 04:32 AM

Good post gorbo. Alittle moisture will cause a ''white emulsion ''to build up under cap. You should worry if you see this stuff in your crankcase after you have checked your dipstick. I would just keep an eye on it for now, and change oil and filter.