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nocartax
Samba Member
Joined: November 05, 2013
Posts: 34
Location: England
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 Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 12:53 pm Post subject: Oil filler cap spooj / gunk |
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Hi..my daughter's '72 1600 gets a sort of milky / foamy spooj type substance in the oil cap area. - i could expect this with a water cooled car - but air cooled?..
We are in the South of England, and it's her daily driver with about a 20-30 minute commute.
Any ideas?
Cheers
Tim. |
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djkeev 
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Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 31987
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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ps2375
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Joined: April 24, 2014
Posts: 2468
Location: Meridian,ID
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| Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 12:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Moisture in the crankcase. Normal in cooler weather, especially in a humid area. Short trips don't help with not getting up to temp for long enough to "burn" the contaminates off. Change the oil more often or have her drive it longer. |
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nocartax
Samba Member
Joined: November 05, 2013
Posts: 34
Location: England
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| Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 1:04 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks chaps, so i guess we need to change the oil more often. Thats Ok. Any breathers or anything else?
Cheers
Tim. |
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HRVW
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Joined: May 01, 2011
Posts: 2531
Location: Rosarito, Mexico
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| Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 1:04 pm Post subject: |
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 It is the brand of oil your using.
If it were a climate thing then all the cars would have the same issue but DO NOT thus the brand of oil.
Having been a engine builder in a coastal city would on occasion see a car that had the same soapy/foam substance mentioned. I narrowed the problem to a particular brand of oil the people were using in my area.
There will be some disagreements here but proof is in the pudding.
Edit: Had customers that lived 30 ft from the beach sand that had NO problem while another did.
When listening to a running motor would remove the oil cap looking for any blowby and then casually asked how long they had been using a certain brand of oil. Question was asked, "How did you know that?" I explained my conclusions having been on the same street in business for 17 yrs.
Such is life.
Last edited by HRVW on Sat Oct 31, 2015 2:20 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Mudpump
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Joined: May 11, 2007
Posts: 750
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| Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 1:05 pm Post subject: |
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| common issue on ACVW's. Frequently also shows up in the breather hose. Looks ugly but doesn't hurt anything |
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runamoc
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Joined: June 19, 2006
Posts: 5521
Location: 37.5N 77.1W
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| Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 1:19 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| shows up in the breather hose |
Usually occurs in ACVWs that don't have a thermostat. Now we can hear from folks that live where the humidity is 0% and will post to tell they don't need one. You will need one to get the engine/oil temps high enough to 'boil' the water out of the crankcase  |
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BarbBee
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Joined: December 06, 2014
Posts: 16
Location: uk
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| Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Hi, I'm on the south coast uk too. I've not found a change in oil brand made any difference tbh. My a/c's have always been dailys and I had the same problem when only doing short trips, plus at this time of year when it goes damp in the evenings (like this evening) it can be more of a problem than the summer. Have her take it out for a good drive at the weekend and just wipe out now and again as needed. It shouldn't build up that quickly |
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VWCOOL
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Joined: June 02, 2006
Posts: 1821
Location: Down under
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| Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 2:29 pm Post subject: |
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As others have said, it's not harmful - just indicative of a little moisture in the oil rising and condensing under the cap.
Moisture is a normal by-product of engine operation
Do you have the breather hose fitted from the oil cap area to the air cleaner? |
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nocartax
Samba Member
Joined: November 05, 2013
Posts: 34
Location: England
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| Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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| VWCOOL wrote: |
Do you have the breather hose fitted from the oil cap area to the air cleaner? |
Yes. it is there. It pretty much looks like ice cream in there at the moment. My cork gasket looks like shaving foam. |
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miller0358
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Joined: November 07, 2007
Posts: 1200
Location: northford,ct
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| Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 3:49 pm Post subject: gunk |
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| Same thing happens when people think it's a good idea to start the motor for a few minutes when the car is stored for the winter. It creates condensation that doesn't have enough heat to evaporate. You always need to get to operating temperature and then some to take care of this problem Jeff |
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gt1953
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Joined: May 08, 2002
Posts: 13782
Location: White Mountains Arizona
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| Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 6:15 pm Post subject: |
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Honestly I was waiting for this post to show up as it always does this time of year.
Simple solution is to drive the car on the hyway one way for 30 minutes and turn around and drive back. White foamy gooy stuff will be gone.
Having a thermostat and flaps helps out a bunch.
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Bruce
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Joined: May 16, 2003
Posts: 17168
Location: Left coast, Canada
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| Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 7:15 pm Post subject: Re: Oil filler cap spooj / gunk |
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| nocartax wrote: |
We are in the South of England, and it's her daily driver with about a 20-30 minute commute.
Any ideas? |
Look under the right cylinder bank. Do you see a bracket with a brass bellows? I'm guessing no. That is the cause of the foam you're seeing. Many years ago, some lame brained mechanic decided that it was so hot in the UK all the time that your engine needed maximum cooling, even in the winter. The result is your engine is now over cooling. The foam you're seeing is the messenger of the problem. Install the thermostat and in her 20 min commute the engine will get up to full operating temp, which will prevent the foam at your filler cap.
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Volks Wagen
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Location: Germany
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| Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 10:13 am Post subject: |
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I agree with Bruce.
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nocartax
Samba Member
Joined: November 05, 2013
Posts: 34
Location: England
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| Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 12:44 am Post subject: Re: Oil filler cap spooj / gunk |
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| Bruce wrote: |
| nocartax wrote: |
We are in the South of England, and it's her daily driver with about a 20-30 minute commute.
Any ideas? |
Look under the right cylinder bank. Do you see a bracket with a brass bellows? I'm guessing no. That is the cause of the foam you're seeing. Many years ago, some lame brained mechanic decided that it was so hot in the UK all the time that your engine needed maximum cooling, even in the winter. The result is your engine is now over cooling. The foam you're seeing is the messenger of the problem. Install the thermostat and in her 20 min commute the engine will get up to full operating temp |
I will have a look. Good advice. And i wouldn't describe any weather in the UK as hot.
I recall seeing a bellows type thing undneath but paid it no attention. Is it this? |
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Maddel
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Joined: February 12, 2013
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| Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 1:47 am Post subject: Re: Oil filler cap spooj / gunk |
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| nocartax wrote: |
| ...I recall seeing a bellows type thing undneath but paid it no attention. Is it this? |
Taken from emu88's gallery:
By the way, the crankcase breather is missing the "duckbill valve" in this pic... 
Also make sure the flaps connected to the thermostat work correctly. |
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nocartax
Samba Member
Joined: November 05, 2013
Posts: 34
Location: England
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| Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 2:46 pm Post subject: Re: Oil filler cap spooj / gunk |
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| Sorry. Blatant bump up to remind myself to check this. |
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