[wAr.h3ad1]

vauxhall 2001 corsa 1.2 sxi 72k HELP

aright ppl iv just got a 2001 corsa 1.2 sxi 72k ... got abit of a prob if eny1 can help me its collecting mayo under the oil cap smoking white smoke its steam when i put my hand over pipe you can feel moist the water does not seem 2 be goin that much at all the heating in the car if ferly cold not getting that hot the temp is half way and gets a very little more sometimes but goes back 2 the middle at okay temp no engine light is coming on .im thinking the head gasket if try some seal steal ftuff and the smoke stopped for a good bit but dnt seem 2 of worked lol ppl saying it can be condensation as i am not drivin it alot i run it for about alf hour a day can eny boddy help or know what it might be ? thanks

 

[gb33]

Its likely you've got the breather pipes all clogged up. Here's a pic showing you which ones they are (the ones coming out of the rocker cover that go to the intake). Use a pair of pliers and gently remove the clips and pull the two pipes off and clean them out. Also clean out the openings where the breather pipes are plugged into the rocker cover and on the intake.

Once cleaned, the engine should have an easier time getting rid of moisture in the oil. Also, you need to have at least once per week that the car is driven for an entire hour or longer without turning the engine off so that the engine gets hot enough to boil off the moisture in the oil. Constant short trips like 5-10 minutes here and there where the engine cools off in between will only cause trouble.

 

[wAr.h3ad1]

cheers pal. iv just been out and checked it the pipes have got some mayo in but not alot ther is a lot on the rocker case intake on the small pipe

 

[wAr.h3ad1]

do you recon it cud be head gasket on this .. looks like alot of mayo in that rocker case

 

[gb33]

The head gasket usually doesn't fail unless the engine has overheated at some point which causes the head to warp.

Check your coolant level in the overflow tank when the engine is completely cold in the morning and whilst parked on a level surface. Maybe even mark the exact level on the outside of the tank with a piece of tape.

If the level doesn't drop noticeably when measured cold over a few weeks, then you're not losing any coolant.

Another thing is that there's a vulnerable spot on these engines near the water pump, which bolts to the timing cover. The timing cover has a rubberized metal foil gasket where it bolts to the engine block. This timing cover gasket has a spot where on one side there's coolant flowing through it, and on the other side there's oil. Sometimes this gasket fails at this spot and the coolant finds its way into the oil. This actually happens much more often than the head gasket going on these corsa engines.

But first, check to see if you're losing coolant over a few weeks. If your coolant stays level and the engine runs fine then the only thing you need to do is maybe change the oil and keep it from mayoing up again by doing a long trip at least once per week.

 

[wAr.h3ad1]

right thanks for the help mate ill make a mark 2mz then drive it and ceep it on idl for 2 hour il; do same thing over a week an check the level ill look into the weak spot and ask mi uncl 2 see if he knows anything about it .. im just tryin 2 find out the problem before we do the big job in changing the gaskets if thats wot it turns out 2 be hope it aint thanks agen mate ill let ya know about how it goes

 

[Walksall]

From how you describe this, the answer you have been given is just about sure to be spot on.
At this time of year in particular, you will get a lot of condensation in the engine which will emulsify the oil mist, leaving the deposits that you describe.
Condensation in the exhaust system can take quite a long run to dry it out completely.

Regards