hi there. i am new to this site, i just got back from a car dealers and i am thinking of buying a 2002 c200k sports coupe. it looks great maybe a alittle too good for a car with 74 k miles on the clock. one small problem though there appears to be a thin film of white creamy gunk under the oil filler cap. when i asked the salesman he replied that there is nothing to worry about, just a bit of condensation and not a blown cylinder head gasket as i thought. Is this chap right or should i stay well clear. Any thoughts or suggestions much appreciated. many thanks

paul

 

Yes and NO, ne is right if it is humid where you are and the engine has not been run for a while, otherwise its the head.

If you buy it then you need them to give you a specific warranty on the Head Gasket.

Best of luck dude.

 

well it is bloody freezing here, not been much warmer than 10 C in the last 4 months. the car has been sitting on the court for a while though. would this be a common fault or is this the start of everything else going **** up if it is the gasket.

i dont want to spend my money on a car that is constantly in and out of the garage

many thanks

paul

 

10'c - Count your blessings, a friend of mine in Poland said it was -25'c (yes minus -25 Degrees C) - she complained of hard nipples all the time

 

Almost always means a head gasket problem. Sometimes a crack in the water jacket somewhere.

Be sure the coolant is full, warm up the car, remove the radiator cap, watch. You are looking for a steady stream of bubbles. It may take awhile for the coolant to settle down, so be patient. Sometimes it is only a single bubble ten or fifteen seconds apart. You may need to watch for five or ten minutes or so.

Rarely, it is no big deal, why chance it?

 

cheers for the info. just been on the phone to the mercedes dealership service department and they said defo condensation and not cylinder head gasket and so did my local garage. it is just a thin film under the cap and the dipstick is clean.

many thanks

paul

this means i might have to buy the dam thing. trying to find insurance cheaper than £100 a month is the next task.

 

A small amount of gunk under the oil cap could just mean that its only doing short journeys, the car is running but reaches the end of its trip before the engine has time to fully reach normal operating temperature. The colder the weather the longer for the car to warm up properly. I totally agree with getting it checked out though, best of luck and nice car by the way!!

Finchy