K Fiesta Mayonnaise

Since you are not loosing water into the sump, the source is you are making it as a byproduct of combustion.Normally the heat in the engine is sufficient to evaporate the excess out through the breather if your engine does not get hot enough it condenses and emulsifies with the oil forming the mayo which collects usually around the oil filler. You can try using a thinner oil which can help but most common reason for this is the thermostat is not allowing the engine to heat up properly. I don't think Fiascos are specially prone to mayo ( we had a 1.4 L reg till a week ago) but some of the earlier ford engines were and an easy answer was a cover to insulate the rocker cover and prevent condensation

Derek

XR3i Fords way of saying noooooooooo you are too old for this

Doing nothing but short runs. 10 miles is not a long run. You don;t reach running temp in 2 minutes - the water only does.

First thing I would do is change the thermostat, second thing is get an oil change, third thing is go for a decent drive, a good cruise down a Mway where you can actually reach 70 would do, make a day of it.

What exactly constitutes running temp? My Git gets the oil temp up to 80odd degrees celcius after 7 miles or so, much quicker in traffic.

The problem is that the engine needs to maintain a nice high temperature for some time in order to boil off the water etc. that accumulate inside.

The OP should get a new 92 degree thermostat, an oil change with good oil, a new oil cap and preferably use the car for longer runs and/or change the oil at least every six months. It may also be that different petrols will produce different results, but I have no proof for that, only anecdote.

mrcheerful

Well said. Better than my attempt.

On the subject of choice of oil

.... VX serviced car, VX oil put in - gunge on filler cap, weekly clean

Drain oil, replace with Magnatec - no gunge, no weekly clean

Goes in for service, oil changed for VX oil - gunge on filler cap, weekly clean

ho hum

Stat did fail, magnatec in engine - no gunge and no weekly clean

now had serviced last week and stat replaced - waiting to see if I've got gunge this week

Usage - 30 mile each way each day motorway commute

Also sprach "Doki" :-

We went on holiday in Lynmouth/Lynton once. Starting at the bottom of the hill with a stone cold engine it would be a full operating temperature by the time you got to the top.

I'm not surprised. I'll always remember a sign at the top, for those going down. It said.

Steep Hill Motorists advised to engage low gear. Cyclists advised to walk. Then underneath some wag had scrawled. Pedestrians advised to crawl. Mike.

If this is the ohv engine ,remove the gauze in the filler cap as it blocks up and prevents water vapour being sucked away by the engine vacuum in the air filter.

My observations on this are that it can take 10 miles to get every part of the engine up to working temperature. But even with the oil at

80C it's a long way below boiling-point, so we're talking about evaporation. And in that 10 miles, more water-vapour is added from the combustion process.

So to get rid of what's there, you need the 10 miles as a starter, and I've had up to 30 more (at motorway speeds) to get rid of the rest.

How do I know? Every time the engine got to full working temp, a few minutes later the engine lost power and then cut out. Until the mayonnaise had gone....

Driving at 30 mph won't put enough heat into the engine, you need a good clear run. And a scarf for the filler neck....

We have a Fiesta as a runabout and suffer the mayo on short trips, but give it a good long run at 60-70 and it will go away for a while.

Jim

Many thanks for all the advice.

During summer I go the long way to and from work on a Fireblade....but the motivation is just not the same in an old fiesta.

I'll start with the oil cap and insulation of the rocker cover.

Thanks again

AndyM