Head Gasket Gone?

[02skn]

Just been outside to give the Aygo a quick going over with the bad weather forecast this week.

When checking the oil level i noticed a creamy mayonaise like substance inside the oil filler cap.

I have pulled out the dipstick and it seems normal, ie oil not mayonaise.

In the old days this would have set the alarm bells ringing that the head gasket has gone.

Has anyone else noticed this under the oil cap?

Might book a visit to Mr T tomorrow

[compressor mad]

this is imulsification of the oil cap it happens when a car is used for short journeys usually, as long as the oil on the dipstick is good oil you shouldnt worry

[02skn]

Thanks For reply. The car is used for both short journeys and longer motorway trips.

I check the oil most weeks and have never noticed this substance before.

Could the cold weather cause this along with the short journeys?

The car is two years old at the start of January. I think i will mention this problem to the main dealer when the service is carried out.

[GIDDLEPIN]

Yep....It will be emulsified oil, you would be getting water loss/pressurisation otherwise. ;)

[kav]

if gasket problem, then coolant fluid would have been low-low may be none left, and would activate overheating bulb....

short rides do not allow moisture inside engine, to evaporate normally and then escape through oil breather to air filter.

also, exhaust muffler will soon become a victim of this driving attitude, as moisture is attacking metal.

Best thing to do, when driving give the engine a chance to reach it's operating tempareture, take a longer road to reach home/work/shopping, so that all moisture NORMALLY found everywhere, will be evaporated and gone !!!!

pardon me for my poor English, working on them...

[02skn]

Thank you all for the advice, maybe the short trips are killing the car slowly.

Funny you mention the exhaust as we have already asked Mr T if he thinks its on its way out as rattles like a good un.

He said it was all normal.

8000 miles on the car. New clutch fitted already.not sure if this car will last to 50000 miles without a major fault occuring.

Will be looking for a new motor in the new year.

[reece]

How 'short' is a short journey?

[02skn]

How 'short' is a short journey?

Wife works about 2 miles from home. Its also used as the run about for the kids. Mostly short journeys.

I use it during the week to drive 26 miles each way to and from work, all motorway.

Only used by me if its raining and i can,t use my motorbike.

So really most weeks it has quite a varied life.

[zakelwe]

Thank you all for the advice, maybe the short trips are killing the car slowly.

Funny you mention the exhaust as we have already asked Mr T if he thinks its on its way out as rattles like a good un.

He said it was all normal.

8000 miles on the car. New clutch fitted already.not sure if this car will last to 50000 miles without a major fault occuring.

Will be looking for a new motor in the new year.

Some clutches had water ingress which caused them to fail, I believe if they have swapped it then it will be to a model which does not have this susceptibility so you will be ok,

The 3 pot engine causes a lot of vibration and some back boxes have been known to become noisy or blow, replacement back box then fixes this. It's very poor quality, mine has really rusted sat in my damp garage. The Remus stainless steel one looks like new still that is sitting next to it.

Yeah, they are not up to Toyota's normal standards on quality .. that's what you get when you buddy up with the French ! :D

Andy

[andytran]

Thank you all for the advice, maybe the short trips are killing the car slowly.

Funny you mention the exhaust as we have already asked Mr T if he thinks its on its way out as rattles like a good un.

He said it was all normal.

8000 miles on the car. New clutch fitted already.not sure if this car will last to 50000 miles without a major fault occuring.

Will be looking for a new motor in the new year.

Some clutches had water ingress which caused them to fail, I believe if they have swapped it then it will be to a model which does not have this susceptibility so you will be ok,

The 3 pot engine causes a lot of vibration and some back boxes have been known to become noisy or blow, replacement back box then fixes this. It's very poor quality, mine has really rusted sat in my damp garage. The Remus stainless steel one looks like new still that is sitting next to it.

Yeah, they are not up to Toyota's normal standards on quality .. that's what you get when you buddy up with the French ! :D

Andy

I totally agree...

I bought my wife an aygo for her 40th...

Its by far and away, the worst car we have ever owned. Sounds garbage from cold, gearbox is notchy, too mutch penny pinching, rattles, squeaks, easily chipped paint, etc, etc

I know you get waht you pay for, but I so wish Id bought a Fiat Panda/Ford Ka/Vx Agila or Hyundai i10.

The aygo will be gone before the end of 2010 and good riddance, its an awful car. Never again.

Andy

[zakelwe]

I do think Toyota shot themselves in the foot somewhat with the Aygo and reliability, it won't help their reliable but dull image. Actually I think the Aygo has a lot more character than most other modern Toyota's, so it is a case of unreliable but fun :D

I think Hyundai will be taking over from them at this rate, like Samsung took over from Sony ...

Andy

[andytran]

I do think Toyota shot themselves in the foot somewhat with the Aygo and reliability, it won't help their reliable but dull image. Actually I think the Aygo has a lot more character than most other modern Toyota's, so it is a case of unreliable but fun :D

I think Hyundai will be taking over from them at this rate, like Samsung took over from Sony ...

Andy

Totally agree mate, the car has character and looks great - its just the penny pinching which has totally ruined it!

I know its built to a budget, but every other comparable car manages to have two door switches for the interior light!

Andy

[DONFRAMAC]

I do think Toyota shot themselves in the foot somewhat with the Aygo and reliability, it won't help their reliable but dull image. Actually I think the Aygo has a lot more character than most other modern Toyota's, so it is a case of unreliable but fun :D

I think Hyundai will be taking over from them at this rate, like Samsung took over from Sony ...

Andy

Totally agree mate, the car has character and looks great - its just the penny pinching which has totally ruined it!

I know its built to a budget, but every other comparable car manages to have two door switches for the interior light!

Andy

My wife's 1st Aygo, a '55 reg +,5dr, gave no trouble except the usual water pump and radiator and rear hatch latch. The new, '58 built '59 reg Platinum 5 dr, has had this mayonnaise problem. One reason for the chill on the oil filler was the deletion of the rubber water-seal under the driver's side bonnet-lip, which was only needed for the diesel version. The lack of this bit of tubular rubber also let water in, onto the clutch lever, which has rusted. We asked for, and got the seal (identical to the passenger-side one), and fitted it. The car is a town-trip duty, and is parked facing the prevailing wind.

I kept a close eye on the radiator expansion tank level, and clarity, and the cap mayonnaise/dip-stick.

The oil-cap does still accumulate gunge, but a regular clean helps; the dip-stick only has a touch of the stuff. The pressure-relief cap on the radiator header tank dribbled, and was renewed, with no further problems. The door-locks and driver's door-stay are now needing lube. (frost has overpowered the electric solenoid remote unlock recently;-- used a gas lighter to heat the outer plate of the lock, then used the key manually.

[bobbo7070]

Totally agree mate, the car has character and looks great - its just the penny pinching which has totally ruined it!

I know its built to a budget, but every other comparable car manages to have two door switches for the interior light!

Andy

You sum it up perfectly Andy, in attempting to shave a few quid off production costs they've made what could have been a fabulous car flawed.

I wanted to get a Yaris as a second car, but the wife fell in love with the super cute looks of the Aygo and that was that!

I've had it just over a month and the wife still says she loves it, even after a swimming pool appeared in the drivers footwell, we realised it only had one interior light switch, it had no sound deadening worth a toss, yada, yada, yada...

A few mods later; set of door switches, interior light delay, proper sound insulation on the floor and inside the door shells, and it's like a different car.

It looks really cute and cuddly though (bit like the wife! ) and it's fun to drive, I wouldn't want to use it all the time. It's just so unrefined, but I can't fault the mpg and as the wife's a nurse that works in the community and racks up the miles it fits the bill perfectly, but I'll be keeping an eye on the filler cap for mayo.

(Smug booger with superb late spec T180, oh, yes!) :D

[02skn]

Since i first spotted the Mayo inside the oil filler cap i have made the effort to check it every other day.

Since Sunday the car has been used only by me on my daily drive to and from work, 55 miles of mostly motorway and A roads.

Checked the cap on Tuesday and it had mayo on it again. Just finished work today and i checked the cap while the car was still hot.

Guess what, still mayo on the cap and a fair bit at that. This can't be right.

Car is due its second service at the beginning of January so this will be mentioned to the dealer.

All in all not very happy with the car.