wife's VW is a POS
 

I've owned about a half dozen VW's over the years and they've generally been great - cheap cars that drive better than most and last a while too (in college, i sold a vw rabbit diesel with 310K to my uncle for $150 and it ran another 75K). Well...the streak is over. my wife's 2001 Jetta GL 2.0 has been a nightmare, but this latest problem has me confused and worried. I removed the oil filler cap tonight to add some oil (it has been consuming oil about 1/2 quart every 1000 miles or so. not bad for the 2.0 from what i understand), and on the underside of the cap and inside the filler neck is this yellowish stuff, with consistency like foam, only a little thicker. what is going on here? why would the oil be foaming, if that is what it is? and, there was a trace of this stuff on the dipstick as well. i've never seen anything like this. i posted on a VW forum, but they tend to be a little moronic over there, and I though the tech geniuses on the PPBBS could offer some insight. is this engine toast?
Thanks
Todd

Perhaps coolant is mixing with oil. Head gasket? What does the coolant reservoir look like? Or maybe you are overfilling the oil a little and it is cavitating to foam in the sump?

The 2.0 is generally a better motor than the 1.8T or VR6, so it is a little surprising.

German cars aren't what they used to be.

Good luck

E

It might be running hot. Change the oil and consider using a full synthetic. Or, if your rings are that shot, you might be getting enough blowby to muck up your oil. Either way the oil should be changed pronto. And like kaisen says you may also have a head gasket problem. Does this car use the new orange coolant?

If the car is used only for short trips, it could just be condensation. Go run down the freeway for a while and get the engine good and hot.

It could also be condensation from the cold weather. Many 911 guys get this same thing this time of year, Drive the car until it's good and hot and then see if the stuff is still there or if it's boiled off.

Check the tech forum! This is perfectly normal. Happens with 911s a lot. I think it's an oil/water emulsion that will go back into solution when the car is fully hot.

RE-read your post. The oil consumption on a water cooled motor worries me a bit.

Where'd you hear that?

I'd be worried about 1/2 quart per 1000 miles. I have a 1.8t and it doesn't consume any oil between 5k mile oil changes (56k miles). my mother's cabrio has the 2.0 and it doesn't consume any oil either (78k miles).

Since I work at JiffyLube, I've seen this yellowish foam stuff on a TON of cars, at least 2 or 3 a day. What it is is some kind of oil/water mixture that occurs from running the engine when it's very cold, ie, start it up, and you're off to the races. I hear the solution is to let it idle for 2 minutes or so in the morning before driving it.

You have nothing to worry about.

Doesn't oil consumption vary with how hard you drive it? In the first few weeks I had my Golf, I drove the piss out of it, and it used some oil. Now, after a full synthetic oil change, I've only put my foot into it once and 1000 miles later, not a bit lower on the dipstick. The harder I drove my 944, the more oil it used. I don't care what car it is, if I'm constantly slamming the throttle to the floor and genereally driving it hard, I expect it to use oil.

Check it after a good long highway drive, chances are it'll be gone. Typical moisture condensation in th oil during winter I bet..

I can't say my Volkswagon has been very reliable. Its currently sitting dead on the street in front of my house. I have had 2 batterys go bad in 3 months...dealer tells me nothing is wrong. Riiiiiiiiiight......

Wish it was half as reliable as my 82 Porsche.

The key to owning a reliable VW is stay FAR FAR FAR away from any VW / Audi dealer.

Change the oil yourself, and look at it in the bucket. The oil and coolant should seperate, if that is indeed the problem. If not, go back with a quality synthetic and new filter, and make sure the car is warm before shutting it off.

what next?
 

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

You definately have coolant mixing in with your oil. Could be a blown head gasket, a leaking oil cooler seal or gasket, or as was the case with my 944S2, a cracked head.

BTW: My wife's 2003 New Beetle Turbo with the 1.8T has been absolutely trouble free with about 15,000 miles on the clock. NO oil consumption, or overheating - it's been a great car.

-Z.

Z-man, thanks. Like I said in my first post, I've always had great luck with VW's and have always liked them. This one though, not so much. Hope you have continued good luck with the Beetle.

So, is there a test for a blown HG/cracked head? compression? oil analysis?

If your coolant is low, you pretty well have an answer.

You can pull the spark plugs and check for a white-ish residue or rust. You are looking for evidence of coolant/water being in the cylinder.

After that, a mechanic can scope the inside of the cylinders for you - they can see if there is evidence of a blown head gasket.

Draining the oil can also reveal what's going on - if it looks like milk shake - you've definately got mixing going on.

IF it's a cracked head, a compression test won't tell you too much - these are done when the engine is cold, and it's really when the motor is HOT that the crack opens up, due to the expansion of metal under head. They can take the head off and 'magnaflux' it - if it is determined that there are no other problems.

If I were a gambling man, I would wager that you've got a blown head gasket.

Good luck,
-Z.

Z - what about the comments from Moses and masraum

"I think it's an oil/water emulsion that will go back into solution when the car is fully hot. "


"It could also be condensation from the cold weather. Many 911 guys get this same thing this time of year, Drive the car until it's good and hot and then see if the stuff is still there or if it's boiled off."

could this cause the milk-shakey oil?

Pressure test the cooling system. If there's a blown hg, it will not hold pressure. Last final test for me was to drive over to a local shop and have the mechanic put the smog test sniffer in the oil cap opening - if it detects exhaust gasses (mine did) then hg is toast.