I have a problem with my car. It is a 1988 fiat UNO 60S (1.1cc) The problem being that when it is a cold time of the year (e.g. cold enough to snow) after about 5-10 minutes down the road the engine starts to struggle until I go down the gears and then the engine fails altogether. Once I have switch off the ignition I can wait for approx 30 seconds where I start the engine again and it will then run ok.

I have changed the sparkplugs and leads and also I have checked the distributer which looks ok.

The thing I have noticed is the breather pipe (between the crankcase and the air filter) is spouting out a creamy/yellowy paste. I am guessing this blockage is causing the problem but wondering what is causing the gunky stuff.

Any help would be great.

Thanks - Mark

Thanks for your question, Your problem is almost certainly caused by Oil Emulsification, this is damp in the Oil being emulsified causing the creamy frothy solution in your breather pipes, this along with the choke cuts off the supply of air and until the engine is really warm will cause a problem.

First, clean out the breather hoses/pipes, and second check what oil you're using, we haven't encountered any emulsification problems with the Comma Oil range we use and sell, in particular their "Eurolite" semi-synthetic, it may be worth draining your oil but first put an Engine Flush through again Comma make one - it's very good, put it into the engine while the old engine oil is still in it and run the engine for about 10 minutes, then when it's cooled down a bit (to avoid scalding yourself) drain it, then refill with a new Oil Filter, and you should see a significant improvement, your nearest A1 Motor Store sells the Comma range, if you dcide to visit them please mention our site as they are one of sponsors, and they help us to help you by giving us some finance.

Finally, and more depressingly, that creamy substence can be a sign of a head gasket starting to cause problems, if what I've suggested doesn't solve your problem, please get a "sniffer" test done by your favourite garage, this involves using a chemical to "sniff" the water in the Radiator and measure the chemicals in the water, the chemical in the test tube should change from Blue through Green to Yellow dependant on the seriousness of the gasket leak.

Hopefully that won't be a problem, please let us know, as we're building a library of questions and successful answers for our other friends on the net to benefit from, good luck, and a Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Regards Bill