gunk in tank ????

[leeroy99]

hi ive only had me 2001 e320 cdi,its got 132k on the clock with fsh,it drives lovely,but today ive noticed there is cream gunk in my header tank?
its not using water & doesn't seem to be oil in the water.
the only thing im scared of is if it mixing & nack me auto box?
the car itself runs cold takes a long time to get warm & then it only goes to about 40 on temp gauge.could this be the cause running cold or head gasket help please ???

 

[Sp!ke]

Do you do mostly short trips say less than 30 minutes?

Thermostat definitely worth replacing regardless I should add.

 

[leeroy99]

yes quite often just backwards & forwards to work ??

 

[leeroy99]

is the thermostat easy enough to change on the 320 cdi ? thanx for help

 

[Harlowcabbie]

Haven't physically done it myself but watched mine being done and yeah it looked really easy. If I ever need it done again I'd def do it myself and I'm definitely no mechanic.

 

[Satch]

White sludge in the rocker cover can be indicative of low temperature and yes 40C is way too low, but even if it ran cold all the time would not expect to find sludge in the Header Tank: some form of contamination I would think.

 

[leeroy99]

what kind of contamination tho??
thanx for the help I was just so worried incase head gasket or something,but the car seems to run fine no smoke or using water,or water in oil just has me sick at the moment!!
any help is much appreciated thanx lee.

 

[damgve]

Sludge in the coolant is usually emulsified oil.
If you have just got the car its possible the oil got there by a top up by a dirty container ive seen it before and spent ages trying to find something that isnt there!
I would change the stat flush the coolant and refill with fresh antifreeze.
If sludge re appears then look into it.
Not familiar with your model but oil coolers are often a cause of oil in coolant.

 

[leeroy99]

thanx very much,think I will change stat & flush see what happens.does any one now of the e320 cdi oil cooler problems ??
thanx again

 

[damgve]

Dont know of any problems but there are plenty for sale on ebay etc so maybe they are a common request.

 

[keastygtir]

Because of the short journeys it could be condensation build up