S40 V40: Sludge in dipstick but none under cap ?

[damov70]

Hi
I have recently purchased a 98 v40 1.8 & have a few questions.
Whilst checking the oil level after doing an oil &filter change a few days previous, I noticed this white creamy sludge on the dipstick although none under the oil cap. Do I need to drop the sump on this or is it something else ? The v70 I had, never had this problem and I ran her up to almost 300k miles.
Secondly I have quite a lot of water in the spare wheel area, I replaced the rubber around the boot but it still appears, where is this coming from and how do I fix?

Any advice or pointing me in the right direction would be very much appreciated.

Thanks
Damien

[skyship007]

I would contact the seller and try and get my money back, because although the water in the wheel well might just be the rear door seal or something simple, cream on the dipstick just after an oil change is probably a head gasket failure. The fact it happened so quickly after an oil change indicates it is a serious one and that means fitting a new HG and checking to see if the main bearings or rings have already been damaged, even before looking to see if the head was overheated enough to warp it.

If you can't get your money back, then consider selling it for spares or finding a good used engine. A used engine will often cost less than a full HG job if you shop around.

Does the engine have GDI or Volvo on the top cover, cos the GDI is not too popular and is probably not worth fixing if the HG has gone ??

[damov70]

It has Volvo on the plastic cover, just wandering are you sure its head gasket failure as having just driven home there is actually very little now on the dipstick ? There is no smoke from exhaust or lacking in power. Having searched through this forum I was wondering could it be a "pcv" problem as there are no oil leaks anywhere ??

[dmiller]

I don't know if these engines are the same but my old corsa would get the white mayo sludge on the dipstick if it had sat for a while and did some short journeys with out warning up, a good run would sort it out usually.

I always thought it was some kind of condensation that usually evaporated away when the engine warmed up.

Skyship your on fire today mate :-)

David.

[damov70]

Thanks for that, it doesn't make sense to me as I checked everything before buying and all was as it should be, I had to drive about 120miles back home and there was nothing either. Checked her a few days later and the sludge(Mayo) appeared. Did an engine flush changed oil & filter which seemed to have done the trick, yet 2 days later it was back again ????

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by damov70

Thanks for that, it doesn't make sense to me as I checked everything before buying and all was as it should be, I had to drive about 120miles back home and there was nothing either. Checked her a few days later and the sludge(Mayo) appeared. Did an engine flush changed oil & filter which seemed to have done the trick, yet 2 days later it was back again ????

Mayo under the oil filler cap can be caused by short tripping in damp conditions and it should go away after a good run, BUT if it's in the sump that's a different story and any traces of emulsified oil cause a big, sometimes terminal increase in bearing and ring wear.

Anti freeze causes ten times more harm in oil contamination terms than water, so it is possible if the coolant does not contain a lot of it that the water will evapourate on longer runs.
A blocked CCV valve won't cause this type of issue, BUT I would take a look at the oil filler cap O ring, because that can cause moisture to enter the crank case.

Has this engine got a K&N filter and is it missing the plastic engine underguards ??
In damp conditions a K&N that is mounted in a bad location can suck water or mud spray in and some of that will get into the oil.

Is the coolant level changing and can you confirm that the mayo(sludge) you have seen is coffee cream coloured ?? If it's just dark brown, that might be normal sludge!

If it was my car, then I would just dump the oil & filter (Just use something cheap, in case it's heading for the breakers) again and see if the mayo traces in the oil return, although it would be good to get the cooling system pressure checked (You could also try one of those test kits).

A 20 liter drum of Mannol 5/40 Acea A3/B4 is real cheap on Fleabay and you might need at least half of that to get the sludge out of the engine. Dropping the sump pan does help.

[DXMachina]

Originally Posted by damov70

I had to drive about 120miles back home and there was nothing either. Checked her a few days later and the sludge(Mayo) appeared.

Did the coolant level drop? if you are losing coolant it makes the possibility of an HG failure more likely, but general opinion is that isnt a common problem with these engines unless seriously abused.

Ages ago I had a weird case where I topped up a fully-synth sumpfull with semi-synth oil and had emulsion appear the day after, but it was gone after a week and never recurred.. I put that down to some weird chemical interplay between two different oils.

[Blue 8]

If you've not got water / oil in the header tank or sludge under the filler cap don't panic just recheck it when.your up the running temperature its most likely just condensation build up.

Water in your wheel well could be caused by a blocked drainage hole, I believe there is one in each corner of the boot shut rear lip check these are clear run a small amount of water down each and you should see it pour onto the road

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by DXMachina

Did the coolant level drop? if you are losing coolant it makes the possibility of an HG failure more likely, but general opinion is that isnt a common problem with these engines unless seriously abused.

Ages ago I had a weird case where I topped up a fully-synth sumpfull with semi-synth oil and had emulsion appear the day after, but it was gone after a week and never recurred.. I put that down to some weird chemical interplay between two different oils.

Yep, I'm curious about what the coolant level is doing, although your comment about mixing oils is interesting, as any oil that is either Acea or API rated should mix OK. A trace of mayo under the filler cap can be normal in winter if you short trip in damp conditions, BUT not on the dipstick!

Not wishing to be too negative, but the only time I've seen mayo in the oil, the engine or turbo was already damaged.

[DXMachina]

Originally Posted by skyship007

Yep, I'm curious about what the coolant level is doing, although your comment about mixing oils is interesting, as any oil that is either Acea or API rated should mix OK. A trace of mayo under the filler cap can be normal in winter if you short trip in damp conditions, BUT not on the dipstick!

Not wishing to be too negative, but the only time I've seen mayo in the oil, the engine or turbo was already damaged.

Breaking my own rule by replying to you.. again.. but

I had an instant charge of mayo on the dipstick caused by mixing a Halfords 10w40 semi-synth with a Castrol 5w30 fully synth. It formed in a single day over a distance of less than 10 miles, it completely disappeared inside a week over about 250 miles, and it never recurred

maybe a fluke but it counters the point that dipstick mayo is always a head gasket.