Houston - We have got a Mayo probelm.......

[kam-325i]

Ok, Mayo found on underside of oil cap this morning during my weekly checks, Cleaned it of, hoping it to be condensation from overnight. Went for a little drive to get engine up to temp, Mayo is back.

Is there any way to tell if it is the head gasket or a cracked head without taking head of ?

Its a M20B25....

[Ant]

if the mayo is H/G related the coolant level will be dropping dude

dont pull the head just yet , monitor the situation longer term 1st

[m-dtech]

mine is drinking water but thats due to a leaking water pump ...

oil umm i have not checked for some time....

[gcorky]

if its the usual cracking place take rocker cover off and watch for water coming from cam bearings.have you oil in coolant tank?

[ProfDMW]

you have my sympathy - I discovered the same thing with my C2.5 touring yesterday! I'm still hoping it might not be the H/G - but in fairness that's me in denial! Mayo and dropping coolant means a 99% certainty of a head problem (so I've been told!).

[kam-325i]

if the mayo is H/G related the coolant level will be dropping dude

dont pull the head just yet , monitor the situation longer term 1st

I am losing water. lots. No over heating thou......

The mayo has only appeared since this morning....

[kam-325i]

you have my sympathy - I discovered the same thing with my C2.5 touring yesterday! I'm still hoping it might not be the H/G - but in fairness that's me in denial! Mayo and dropping coolant means a 99% certainty of a head problem (so I've been told!).

I know i have a head problem, i just want it to be the headgasket, that is an easy fix....

[ProfDMW]

same with mine - no overheating, I just noticed a significant drop in the coolant level. Since I'm not using the car over the winter (white car, salt roads, and my C2.5 don't mix!), I'll just add it to the list of things that I wanted to get sorted by the summer - it just pains me that the cost that i had in mind for a gentle referb of the car has probably doubled!

[kam-325i]

The common crack in the head, where does it show ?

Is it between the block face and rocker?
Can the crack be seen from the camshaft bearings ?

Should i be able to see water coming thru the bearings?

[stevetigger]

if the mayo is H/G related the coolant level will be dropping dude

dont pull the head just yet , monitor the situation longer term 1st

I am losing water. lots. No over heating thou......

The mayo has only appeared since this morning....

My old Sport had a water loss and mayo, It never overheated so I drove it for months like that! All I had to do was fill the water once a day! In the end, It was the gasket but because I drove it for months with it in a bad state the engine was completely fooked!

[kam-325i]

Mine's not losing that much water, i might have to fill the expansion tank back up once a week.....its just that the mayo problem has appeared this morning.

[stevetigger]

Like ant said, just watch it for a big longer then!:thumb:

My problem started with once a week fill up!

[Simon]

If the mayo is getting thick, I'd avoid driving it, seeing as your loosing water too, then it's a certainty it's head/gasket problem and it's going to have to come off.
The usual place for the crack is along the camshaft journal, to see it properly you'd need to remove the cam.
I'd say get the head removed, get it tested, and go from there, I know the feeling though, been there, done the job myself though in the end, and saved a wedge avoiding labour costs.

[kam-325i]

UPDATE:

After finding the mayo this morning on the oil cap, although it was more like a chocolate brown colour, i cleaned the cap, checked water, and went shopping, this is a 5-6 mile drive mostly at around 50-60Mph, Parked on car park, rechecked cap, the same stuff there again. Came home, parked up on drive and the car was left for a good 5-6hours, i have just checked the oil and water again, to see how much water had been lost during the shopping trip, and there is no noticable drop in the water, and no mayo on the oil cap or dipstick.......could it of just been condensensation ? It was VERY foggy around these here parts last night.....

[Simon13]

don't bury your head in the sand get on top of it before it's too late.

5-6 miles is probably not a long enough journey to make more of a judgement imo

I've been there aswell on my old M42 318iS. Touch wood the 325i so far has been fine

[kam-325i]

Ive been wanting to change the headgasket for about 6 months, but never had the money or time.

I wont ignore it, as i dont wont to lose the car.

When i do change it, i will be doing the cam belt and water pump at the same time, and also checking the head for signs of corrosion around the water passages that ared "rumoured" to cause the craking.

And ive got a 120 mile round trip to Derby to do tommorow

[stevetigger]

Ive been wanting to change the headgasket for about 6 months, but never had the money or time.

I wont ignore it, as i dont wont to lose the car.

When i do change it, i will be doing the cam belt and water pump at the same time, and also checking the head for signs of corrosion around the water passages that ared "rumoured" to cause the craking.

And ive got a 120 mile round trip to Derby to do tommorow

Take a boot full of water and a couple of cans of Oil!

[ste00]

hire a car for the 120 mile trip,

also get ur eng compresion tested (u can get the testers for about Ԛ£30 if u want to do it ur self) should showup valve / head / hg problems,

[kam-325i]

UPDATE:

I have just got back to the office after the 120 mile roud trip, god that A38 is crap....To many road works...

I've checked the engine again and this is what i have found:

No signs of any mayo on dipstick or oil cap, nor any water in the oil, but i have found a small, the tinest amount of oil in the water.

So does it look like the head gasket has a leak between an oil and water passageway ?