back in the fold

hello!! i had my first golf in 1990 (gli cab 1980) Since then I have had various Audi coupes, and impezza sti. I'm now selling my latest motor and am on the verge of renewing ownership with a 1990 gti cab. All very exciting!!

The car looks very clean. Unfortunately, I always find the excitement runs away with me and i'm not very thorough in my investigation! All the joins look good. No old spots of rust. Ride is good, so is the roof. The only thing that troubles me is white gunk when you open the oil cap. What is this usually indicative of (gasket?). should I worry? (81K on the clock)

thanks for reading my ramblings!! oh yes, 319 squid fully protected (beats my current premium of 800!!!!)

Welcome. I'd be a bit concerned about white gunk. Usually means water is mixing with the oil. Could be simply a new head gasket, but could also mean water channels have rotted through. Either way it is indicative of poor maintainence especially on an engine thats only covereed 81k. What does the seller say about it? What sort of service history does the car come with? Be a good point for knocking a bit off the price. Good insurance quote.

Cheers

The white gunk or ?mayonnaise? can also be a sign of the car being used for short journeys and never getting fully warm. Condensation forms in the engine and the water mixes with the oil producing the white stuff. My mates mother had a Ford Fester and she used to go to work and back about ? amile each way and it always had it. Not quite as bad as blown gasket but running engines like that doesn?t do them any good??.   :cry:

he did say he does really short journeys, so i would like to go for the condensation idea!!!!!

i knocked him down to ?1400 and have asked him to get 12 months mot on it which I said i'll pay for. If he faffs around, then I know its best to walk away.

i've been on ebay looking at how cheap parts are for these babies…whats the worst that it can cost me?