Found mayo

[Dazco]

Did a bit of work on jambo today. Replaced engine oil and filter, gearbox oil, spark plugs, dizzy cap, rotor, had starter motor off and replaced bush. When I took the pancake off and filter box I noticed some mayo in the breather pipe that comes from the oil tower mounted between the fuel pump and alternator. Took the pipe off and there was a good amount of mayo in it. I also took the tower off and cleaned some bout of that, it was all near the top of the tower. The bottom where it goes into the engine block looked clean as did the oil when I drained it. The coolant looks clean as well , so I'm hoping its just down to condensation. Anyone got any other theories. I might be able to get some pics up later.
Daz

[kevtherev]

if the engine has not been used for long runs this happens in cold weather

[Dazco]

Cheers kev, I was hoping that was problem or cause, I've only been doing short runs recent so thank god for that. You just made my night

[CovKid]

The Beetle was prone to it too. These babies do like to feel the wind in their hair for prolonged periods.

[Dazco]

Ill have to get out more.

[CovKid]

Sounds that way. One of the founding principles of the flat four is that it could cruise down the autobahn pretty much flat out, all day. Indeed the whole 'reliability' tag often associated with Volkswagens extends from that and was fully utilised in subsequent marketing for other models. VW America really went for it in their advertising.

The mucus you're finding is because you get condensation inside the engine and its not getting hot enough to vape off properly. These engines are. after all, still the basic Beetle lump but with water pumped through the block rather than being reliant on passing air. You'll often find that these engines only really reach their maximum potential when you've been driving a while and everything is running fairly hot. They run beautifully then, very responsive. Its nothing to worry about and usually a good run will sort it but I've seen cases where vehicles did short trips for months on end and the oil had to be replaced a couple of times to completely clear it. Thats one of the reasons why I still lean towards a good, but budget oil in the £12 bracket. LIDL do an excellent one!

[Dazco]

ill have to keep an eye on the mayo building up and keep the breather clean. Ta cov

[kevtherev]

I can vouch for the regular oil changes...cures more ills than you can imagine