Could this be just condensation? No white on dipstick and this morning is very chillie, not using water and runs fine, I do get a lot of white steam in the mornings, but I assume this is normal.

which filler cap? water or oil?

which filler cap? water or oil?

 

oil

The car has just had an engine rebuild which included hg's, must be just condensation, I hope

I'm guessing it's oil cap as he's referring to his dip-stick.

 

How bad is it? In most cases, it's just a bit of oily/water emulsion (mayo) that collects there as a result of a lot of short journeys. It's winter now, so condensation levels inside the engine will be increased as external and component items become cooler.

 

It's a normal occurance in cars where people drive the car for about 5 minutes a day and leave it. It's not a good for the engine by eny stretch of the imagination, because the engine doesn't have chance to burn off the water content and it tends to collect in the breathers or filler cap area.

do you do long or short journeys?

check the water cap also ..if its greyish waxy deposits could be start of head gasket problems ....

check the water cap also ..if its greyish waxy deposits could be start of head gasket problems ....

 

Checked the water cap and all is clear

do you do long or short journeys?

 

Short journeys, may give it a long run today

as Funky said its usual in this winter weather with short journies , let the engine warm up and cool down if your only doing little runs it will help

 

after the rebuild did you get the cylinder heads re tourqued once it was bedded in

dont think you have any need to panic yet mate :)

as Funky said its usual in this winter weather with short journies , let the engine warm up and cool down if your only doing little runs it will help

 

It'll do just as much harm having a cold engine sat there idling for 10 -15 minutes. Idling engines make me squirm. Warm up can be done efficiently with a good drive. Cool down (turbos) should be off boost. Not a 10 minute idle. It's why I hate turbo timers. You're protecting the turbos, but you're not doing a great deal for the rest of the engine. Driver intuition and forward planning are the best ways to warm up and cool down a car sufficiently :)

 

Personally, I'd get an old beater if I was doing short journeys.

as Funky said its usual in this winter weather with short journies , let the engine warm up and cool down if your only doing little runs it will help

 

after the rebuild did you get the cylinder heads re tourqued once it was bedded in

 

Only another hundred miles or so to go and it will be run in, will get then tightened then

Yep i hate an idling engine bbbrrrrrrrrr you need to warm the engine up a fast as possible i dont mean by thrashing it just by normal driving. The quicker it warms up the less wear.

I never just let it idle, I just drive it off boost untill she is up to temp and before turning it off, I drive off boost for a few minuites.