think the zed is dead baby...

As an Old air cooled VW and Porsche driver, I always had that creamy gunk under then oil cap. Note, there was no water cooling or other means to get moisture in the engine. Seems to me that maybe the crankcase ventilation system (PCV) is clogged up and cannot properly vent the moisture in the engine. If his wife drives short distances, the engine doesn't have time to warm up and get rid of all that moisture. I later built a 2110cc VW with crankcase ventilation and no creamy gunk under the oil filler cap.

Just my two cents worth before you go and spend a lot of money.

Ghianut
 
ok guys taking this all on board and i cleaned the cap up and have been on a 100 mile trip(to get fish and chips ,but they are the best in the land!!) and it looks like there is no gunk so far,but will be keeping a close eye on things
and the coolant level looks ok :D
 
Re Surfacing an old thread here.....

Did anything ever come of bingboybri? Or have you attributed it to condensation in the oil?

Mine is definately losing coolant, filled up last week, warning light on again today, just checked under the bonet and coolent has gone from high to low level on the float indicator, yellow crap under the oil filler cap, I'm absolutely devastated ony had the zed 2 months, and just had to bail on a last minute holiday next week as i think this will be costly!

Can anyone recomend a good independent garrage in the north west, preferably near cumbria as I'm in Barrow in Furness?

Has anyone had this happen to them would like to know indicative costs etc (no scaremongering though please!)

Could I get away with taking out an extended warrenty, (eg from tesco) leaving it for a few weeks and then sorting with that?

Thanks in anticipation
 
Hi,

Im no expert on this but from my lotus days......... The gunk and the coolant loss could well be head gasket. Dont be too down though because its a regular job for alot of places.

Theres something you can try like having the engine running with the coolant cap off as there could be an air lock not helping with the coolant system......

Fingers crossed.

Cheers

PaulN
 
I've heard of several owners having gunk on the filler cap that wasn't due to a gasket leak, but rather condensation, so it 's not necessarily that. A punctured/corroded radiator or a bad seal on a hose could account for the coolant loss so it'd be worth checking for that before booking a head-off job.
 
I would not jump to conclusions, rather take it to a good garage and ask for a diagnosis. Most engines have yellow or dark brown residue under the oil filler cap. The traditional sign is more of a salad cream (an emulsion of oil and water) In my experience once an internal problem starts on an engine it will deteriorate real quick.

Head gaskets are a common area to point to when there is no visible loss, but I've had rads that only leak once hot and pipes that have dripped only when running onto the exhaust so it could be simple.

I would avoid running it hard, keep it topped and get it all pressure tested and a cylinder compression test done.

Tesco insurance and claim :rofl: Don't you think such companies will be a bit more than aware of such frauds
 
Thanks for replys, I'm a bit reassured now, was in a blind "what have I wasted my money on" panic this morning!

I spoke to the service manager at the stealers this afternoon who said along similar lines. Said almost 100% not head gasket, probably a leak on a flexible on the coolant system or radiator, "yellow crap" on filler cap coincidental and due to the reasons stated earlier in the thread (my drive to work is about a mile each way)

Going to get the radiator cover off this weekend and see if i can see any obvious leeks, as I'm reasonably confident in sorting it myself if it's a flexi hose or the coolent tank as per shipkillers thread
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=9385
If its the radiator or I can't see anything will have to get it looked at, which brings me back to.....Good independants in the North West, anyone?

Re the warranty I've always wondered if you'd get away with it, especially if you left it a while before "finding" any problems after signing up. I have a mate who drove to newquay on holiday, big problem with the auto box on his accord while he was there, local garrage quoted lots so whilst he was there he joined RAC recovery waited a week and on the last day got a ride back to sheffield on a flatbed to get sorted at home.
 
tomTVR said:
This is what mine looks like

Image0062.jpg

any help?
Click to expand...


Yes. Follow all the advice from above.... Clean the cap and take it for a good run. I've had plenty of cars with that and they were all condensation.
 
As said antifreeze smells and tastes sweet, a compression tests are fairly quick and will answer the HG question.
 
no fit state said:
tomTVR said:
This is what mine looks like

Image0062.jpg

any help?
Click to expand...


Yes. Follow all the advice from above.... Clean the cap and take it for a good run. I've had plenty of cars with that and they were all condensation.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I took your advice and it seems to be ok now, no 'mayo' at all.

There is visable condensation on the oil filler cap though.
 
Mine looked like that once, and I nearly had a kitten, after previously owning a Lotus with a K series engine, in which the heads on those and all K series engines are disgraceful for a road car. Had mine pressure tested and turned out everything was fine. If you get that substance on your dip stick then worry, but that's fine.
 
Just as an update to my problem, mine has just been in at a main dealer. Turns out the problem is an oil breather pipe getting blocked up preventing the condensation escaping (or at least that is my understanding), My car has just ticked over 100,000 though so could be something to watch out for of other higher milers. Problem is exacerbated by the cold apparently. Not an urgent fix but any amount of water in the oil cant be good for lubrication.

Part is about £30 and 2 hours labour.

The chap said HGF on these engines is almost unheard of (to my relief!)
 
My zed seems to be getting through a lot of coolant, have to top it up every 4-5 weeks or so. I've never had to do this with a car before so it seems a bit strange to me.

I have the steam coming from the exhaust, even when warmed up. It never gets driven longer than 20-25 mins or so at a time. So this could possibly be condensation....

My main concern is that it is burning oil as well as getting through some coolant. It seems to burn oil faster than it does coolant, is it normal for a zed to burn oil? It's a 3.0L if that makes any difference. I had read that the CCV could cause excessive oil consumption?

I'm taking it for a cylinder leak test, I really really really hope it passes lol spoken to several dealers and they refuse to agree it could possibly be a head gasket, stating that the engine is bulletproof lol I hope so!
 
Marc-j said:
I'm taking it for a cylinder leak test, I really really really hope it passes lol spoken to several dealers and they refuse to agree it could possibly be a head gasket, stating that the engine is bulletproof lol I hope so!
Click to expand...
Let us know how you get on... :(
 
Had a thorough check today all around engine bay and im pleased to say ive found a leak.

There's a pool of antifreeze below expansion tank which I must have previously mistaken for rain water. A quick dab with some toilet paper to see the colour of the liquid and it is indeed antifreeze. Panic over :D
 
why not do the cheapest thing first change engine oil and filter and give her a good long run stand it over night and crack the sump plug undone a few threads and any water will drip out if its in there
 
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