ZX TD Condensation in oil filler

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gjb02
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ZX TD Condensation in oil filler

Post by gjb02 »

On opening the oil filler cap, I find small traces of moisture. I don't think its a head gasket problem, is it just a XUD indicative fault? when I first got the car the cap was covered in emulsified oil, which I subsequently cleaned off. The breather hoses are clear. Can anyone confirm it is just a little condensation.
Gareth
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Post by JohnD »

Hi Gareth - If your car only does short runs with little chance of getting thoroughly warmed up, it could be that it's condensation. Tell us more!
gjb02
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Post by gjb02 »

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
Hi Gareth - If your car only does short runs with little chance of getting thoroughly warmed up, it could be that it's condensation. Tell us more!

<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>Hello John, thanks for the quick reply. It all depends on what you regard as 'short runs'? I haven't gone much further than about 20miles yet, its a fairly new purchase. I had a feeling it might be something along those lines, it's just nice to have confirmation. Cheers.
Gareth
Dave Burns
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Post by Dave Burns »

Iv'e never seen this condition in a diesel engine before, only in a petrol.
Have read that a petrol engine produce's a gallon of water for every gallon of petrol burned, and I have alway's assumed that to be the reason the exhaust last's much longer on a diesel than a petrol.
Have often seen water dripping from the exhaust of a petrol car, never seen that on a diesel.
My ZX td does only 9 miles to work where it then goes stone cold, then it does the 9 miles back again, there is no trace of emulsified oil in my engine, if there were I would treat is as suspect in a diesel.
Dave
gjb02
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Post by gjb02 »

[/quote] Dave, I think the symptons I am encountering may be residual to a previous problem. As I mentioned before the car is quite a new purchase, as yet it hasn't had a good service, nor a good long motorway journey. It does however appear to have had a recent head change, having spoken to the garage where I bought the car they confirmed that it had,'...now that you mention it!!'.
Was that the problem, did the person who undertook the head change bother to clear the oil breather pipes after, or change the oil with a damn good flushing agent beforehand? Due to someone else not carrying out simple post maintenance husbandry, I may have incorrectly diagnosed a problem, that doesn't exist. Either way over the coming weeks I can see you and I will no doubt uncover many other bodges, that will require assistance/answers. Cheers for the help, so far!
Gareth
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