creamy gunk around oil cap

Cool running, lack of enough correct oil changes for the use, blocked breathers, head gasket fault. Astras tend to have this fault quite often and it may be nothing to worry about, but without investigation you cannot tell. It does not tend to happen overnight though.

I haven't seen that emulsification effect for decades. Does it do a lot of short runs?

You've clearly not owned any Vauxhalls for that period; Astras, and particularly Corsas, suffer badly from it.

Chris

Not really many short runs . Mainly used for work which is a 14 mile run each way. I have looked on the net for this and the gunk wasn`t on the dipstick just around the cap. The coolant is at the maximum mark so will keep an eye on that . Wiped it off and and out on a couple of 10 mile runs today and tomorrow so hopefully that will get the engine hot enough. Thanks for all the replies

Stepson had a Corsa from new that did this. He kept going back to the dealer, who insisted "they all do that sir". Eventually they contacted Vauxhall who authorised a sample of the oil to be taken. This sample was tested by an independent lab, who found it to be within normal limits.

The white stuff remained for the two years he kept the car, and didn't cause a problem (Although he had plenty of others with it!)

When was the oil last changed? Do you know what was used? It might be worth doing/getting done an oil and filter change, using genuine Vauxhall oil, and see if it improves.

Chris

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Do Vauxhall make oil now?

Put a tin foil hat on the head/cambox. Blank the top 1/4 - 1/3 of the rad in cold weather.

yep, GM branded, very high quality and if you are in the trade club it is very cheap too.

They tend to have long filler tubes and the top is so far from the engine that they just don't get hot enough to boil the condensation away in the winter. Provided the oil itself is ok it's fine.

not on any corsa or astra that I have seen, the oil filler is directly into the cam box. old peugeots had the long filler tube that gunked up.

Correct, I switched from Vauxhall to Ford when my friendly local Vauxhall garage had their franchise removed and Horns were left as the monopoly dealer.

Then Quicks became Bramhall Quicks, and then Evans Halshaw, and Horns became Evans Halshaw . . . . :-(

I doubt that they literally make it, no. Any more than Ford et al.

The point is that buying from a dealer pretty much guarantees getting exactly the right specification, which might have some impact on the OP's problem. It's often not as expensive as might be thought either.

Chris

Wise man ;-)

Chris

Oh.... fishcakes... a senior moment there. I'm thinking about my v6.

To be honest, I had written off my Cavalier (in 2000), and I test drove a Vectra, a Mondeo Mk2, and a VW Passat. The Mondeo won on driving enjoyment, the Passat had every feature but I thought it was a dull drive.

My local garage, having lost the Vauxhall franchise had gone to Nissan, and I thought the Vectra from Horns wasn't as good to drive as the Cavalier, which I had from new.

Now a v6 corsa could be fun, the 2litre red top lump is outrageous in a Corsa. Most of the V6 vauxhalls that I have seen have been terminally broken, but the good ones seem very quiet and smooth.

Mines a 2.5 Omega but there's a ticking from the nearside bank. I suspect a hydraulic lifter but it's a lot of work to lift the cams off to have a look. I may well do so next year when I change the cambelt, will see how I am when the time comes. It could always be an exhaust manifold gasket but you have to take the head off to get to the one on that side unless you remove the engine :-)