Gunk in coolant and oil

[iain1977]

hello folks :-)

I was about to sell my Golf so decided to service it first . I noticed some gunk on the oil cap and in the engine so had a look in the coolant tank and the liquid was quite brown , on dipping a screwdriver in the bottom of the coolant tank had a lot of sludge . I`ve had a look online and got various possible causes from blown head gasket to general dirt/rust coming from radiator , i thought the gunk in the oil could be down to the fact that the car barely gets used and doesn`t cover a lot of mileage when it does , so thought it best to register here and ask in the hope someone else has any info ! the car is a 1999 mk4 gti 2.0 engine code APK , its covered just under 100,000 miles and has been regularly maintained and serviced . it is not overheating at all and runs fine . I hope its not going to cost a fortune to fix but need some advice so i can be armed with some facts when i go to the garage to get a quote . Typical it happens when i`m about to sell the damn thing but i`m glad i noticed so some other poor sod didn`t buy it and get lumbered with the problem .

[dom]

It could just be coincidence and the gunk in the oil is due to short journies and the sludge in coolant is just because the system needs a flush.

That said, it does suggest head gasket to me, especially being the 2.0

Get a compression test done to be sure.

[navmk4gti]

The 2.0 known to get sludgy under oil cap if driven on a lot short journeys. Give it a wipe and just keep eye on it. As for coolant bottle get new one for tenna and change over. I had a filthy coolant bottle when got my car changed over and just kept eye on it. Its clean and no oil mixing in coolant so all good

If you see coolant starting get dirty fast and oik mixing then head gasket

[iain1977]

cheers for the replies guys ;-) the only reason i thought it might not be the headgasket is its never over-heated or anything . i`ll have a look at these options anyway see if any of it helps , not looking forward to a potential huge bill just when i`m trying to sell it :-(

[iain1977]

Quick question , how much water/coolant does the system hold in total , and what percentage of each should that contain ? going to get a flush done and change the oil see if that helps . and would you recommend using a radiator flush product to try and clean anything stuck in the system ?

thanks ;-)

[dom]

I think it's about 3l, I used a 50/50 mix when I last changed mine.

[navmk4gti]

Bottle and half of coolant and rest water should see you right. Get coolant from dealers

[Mark b]

Mine is a 2L and I've have the sludgy stuff been told its condensation I gave it a wipe but still there a little but just got back from London and gave my car a good blast and seems to be clearing up as I only really do short journeys mainly to work and general running around

[iain1977]

nice one thanks for the replies guys ;-) gonna get a new coolant tank and do the flush and an oil change hopefully that`ll clear things up and i can get her sold !

[ant_gti]

im surprised to see no one has mentioned the oil cooler,does the mk4 2.0 not have one?