Mayo in the oil??????

[Holepunch]

I'm a long time lurker, and could do with some assistance.

I saw today what I believe is my ideal car.  It had all the options I'm after, drove well, no unusual noises etc etc.  However after the test drive I took a 5th look under the bonnet, removed the oil filler cap and noticed a small amount of runny mayo under the rim.

I'm hoping this is caused by condensation due to the car having stood idle for a few days, but is there any known issues that might have caused this, ie head gasket failure?

Thanks in advance.

BTW its a 2006 with 43k on the clock.

[ifti]

Mayo under the oil cap is usually an indication of a head gasket that is on its way out.
I would avoid TBH.

[Holepunch]

Thanks for the quick reply.  Is this a common problem?

Ta

[matthewsimone]

gti's suffer with this mayo like substance under the oil cap 99% of the time its nothing to worry about its usually caused by the car being stood standing quite alot or that the car has only been used for short journeys ie 2 or 3 iles to and from work etc which isnt allowing the engine to get to correct full opertating temperature i no a few guys that get this and all do loads of short stop start journeys nothing to worry about imo wipe it away and get some fresh oil and filter fitted mate and would ignore the first reply you had about this, mine has had a bit of this since i bought it a few months ago and runs/sounds spot on no smoke etc done quite a few miles in a few months aswell and pulls like a train has 41k on mine btw

[Ed30DSG]

Mayo under the oil cap is usually an indication of a head gasket that is on its way out.
I would avoid TBH.

That's bad advice, you will find this on most cars which have been used for short journeys or have stood for a while.

Oil in the rad expansion tank could be related to a head gasket / overheating problem.

[matthewsimone]

he never mentioned the expansion tank tho did he he only talking about the oil cap problem mate which is common on gti's

[Holepunch]

Thanks again for all the responses.

The expansion tank was clean and the car was on the longlife service schedule?

If I do end up buying it tomorrow (probably will)  I'll post some pic's.

[ifti]

OOps sorry - I always thought it was a good indication that the gasket was on the way out!
Didnt realise it occurs when the car is only used on short journeys - never really seen it since I always do longer journeys in my car.
Apologies for the confusion.

[Hurdy]

Mayo in the top of the oil cap can also be attributed to not fitting the cap on fully allowing air in and condensation to build up over time.

[KentBladeboy]

The guy that bought my GTI was concerned with the same issue, he found that VW had supposedly modded the oil filler cap with a better seal, and was replacing it.  Not sure if it was an accurate statement by the dealer.

Anyone else heard this?