[RobertsStole2nd]

Everyone, thanks for the replies, though it seems there are differing theories. A couple of thoughts:

The picture in Wayne's post is exactly what it looks like on the cap, only more of it - it was really glopped on there.

The car is used normally, 40 mile round trip commute, trips to mom's house, that kind of thing. It is never driven hard, including during warmup. From what I've read on VW forums, oil consumption in the 2.0 is common. In fact, the owners manual states that some consumption is normal and expected. The oil has not been overfilled, and I haven't checked the coolant reservoir yet. The car runs fine, the temp gauge is always in the middle, and it only has 40K. My wife has never been great about checking the oil (the oil light has come on twice since she bought it), so I've taken those duties over, but I have a feeling the car has been run frequently with insufficient oil. Could this situation have a cumulative effect and cause the head gasket to blow?

So, what am I looking at here? What can I do to diagnose a blown HG? Anyone know a good VW wrench in the Boston/South Shore area? A dealer is out of the question...

Thanks again. A new car is not what we were hoping for after buying a house and paying for a wedding in the last 5 months. Plus i'm saving my nickels for SSI's.............

Todd