Peugeot 106 - Oil leak and sludge in water

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Wed 29 Jun 2011 19:52
Peugeot 106 - Oil leak and sludge in water - Jess27

Hi, i bought a 1998 106 1.1 for a cheap run around a couple of weeks ago. it's got 83000 on the clock and got full service history. the problem i've got is that i noticed a creamy brown sludge in the radiator cap and the odd bit floating on the top. the lady we bought it off had the head gasket replaced and cylinder head skimmed at 78000 (2 years ago) and i have the paper work for this. the car doesn't seem to overheat and the heater works fine. there is no mayo on the oil cap or dipstick. i took the radiator cap off and started the car and the coolant level raised up but didn't bubble. the bottle does look very dirty on the inside, but i put that down to the previous blown head gasket. to add to this there is a oil leak and it's all over the sump. is it possible the head gasket could have blown again or could the sludge be from the previous hgf and they never flushed the system out properly. not too worried about the oil leak for now cos i done a 50mile trip and had no oil drips in my parking space after. if anyone could help, i would be very grateful

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 29 Jun 2011 22:31
Peugeot 106 - Oil leak and sludge in water - Peter.N.

If you had a serious head gasket leak it would be blowing the water out, if you are not loosing water it could well be oil from the previous gasket failure.

The oil leak could be anything including the head gasket but I think it unlikely. Possibly the rocker cover or sump gaskets. If it drives OK don't worry about it, if there is anything wrong it will let you know.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 29 Jun 2011 23:54
Peugeot 106 - Oil leak and sludge in water - unthrottled

Is there a shiny sheen on the top of the water? if not, it might just be rust in the coolant from running insufficient antifreeze. Very common as coolant is often topped up with water and over time the antifreeze becomes very dilute. All too often the rationale is: it's not cold, therefore I don't need antifreeze!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 30 Jun 2011 00:15
Peugeot 106 - Oil leak and sludge in water - Jess27

no, the coolant looks good to me. i got the turkey baster out, took some out and it was blue, not rusty. there was a tiny bit of mayo floating around and the cap was covered. i cleaned the cap and removed what i could see in the bottle. i guess i'll have to wait and see what happens in the coming days.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 29 Jun 2011 23:58
Peugeot 106 - Oil leak and sludge in water - Jess27

Thanks for that. i'll keep a eye on the levels. to be honest when we bought it she had it topped up too much and it's still well over the max, so i expect a bit to overflow. i do remember doing this to my citroen ax years ago and panicked to think i had a leak somewhere!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 30 Jun 2011 00:07
Peugeot 106 - Oil leak and sludge in water - unthrottled

To get the coolant level down, simply take the expansion tank cap/radiator cap off and blip the throttle. It'll soon overflow.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 30 Jun 2011 00:16
Peugeot 106 - Oil leak and sludge in water - Jess27

unthrottled- i may try that.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link