Oil problem

[tigmol]

I noticed that the oil in my car is all thick and gunky looking. A neighbour said that water has been getting in and that the head gasket will have gone. The car's a Vauxhall Astra 1600, 1999 S reg. It is not overheating, but sometimes sounds a bit rough when you first start it. There seems to be no other problems, could it be something simpler that's wrong with it?

 

[nstreet]

Take the oil filler cap off, if you can see a lot of creamy coloured residue in the cap and/or in the filler pipe, then you have water contaminating your oil and its possible that the head gasket has gone.

 

[Porker]

You also state that it sounds a bit rough when starting. That sounds like your hydraulic tappets taking time to get the oil in them. As previous poster has suggested, emulsifying of oil and water in either your oil or your water may indicate the head gasket has gone. You don't always get overheating in the first instance.

 

[softlad1971]

Do you only do short journeys? If so, the engine may not be getting hot enough to evaporate any moisture in the engine.

 

[tigmol]

The oil does look milky and I do quite a few long journeys with no overheating. I think I'll see a mechanic asap!