Renault Clio 1.6. Sludge in Oil Cap. Is this a blown gasket..

I have just bought a Renault clio (1.6 RXE 1999,50k miles) for £2500 from a local auction. I took it for a quick test spin on the hour trial & it seemed quite powerful, with no faults wrong. I picked it up today.

I have noticed that there is a smear of green/brown sludge on top of the oil filler cap, which also continues down the pipe into the rocker compartment, though the oil is clear and clean on the dipstick.

I have allways associated this kind of fouling with a worn head gasket, which is just about to go, but as the car seemed so powerful I didn't check the oil cap in the trial.

Can anyone tell me if this is the head gasket or just engines which have not done long runs (apparantly an elderly lady owned it before).

It's probably caused by condensation. Quite common in cars that do short runs, where the engine never really gets hot enough to evaporate the condensation that can occur overnight, or after standing in cold weather. I doubt it's anything to worry about. It should dissappear after an hour or two with the engine at full temperature. Mike. .

For what my opinion is worth. I would say the latter! HTH

Hi,

Thanks for the usefull information. I will be take the car for a long run over the weekend & see what the outcome is.

Thanks again.

Ian.

It could be 50/50, either a slightly leaking h/g or condensation from short slow runs.

You've bought it cheap, so if you do end up paying 150-200 for a new h/g all is not lost, just keep a very careful eye on the coolant level and temp gauge in the next few days.

If all is well, fresh coolant and again fresh oil n filter and a good motorway run would be the best treatment for it.

The oil may have been changed pre auction to cover up a leaky h/g, i've known alot more doctoring to be done mind!

Tim..