Lots of milky condensation in oil cap and filler neck

I'm not going to sweat it too much. I watched the oil drain from the case and there was no indication of water in it. I'll get it tested next time through Blackstone to be sure. I would have done it this time, but I had already drained the oil when I popped the cap off. I'll check the PCV valve, maybe just replace it. It's a cheap part anyways.

 

You will not see water in the oil. The water is trapped in the coffee colored jelly like substance.

 

I checked mine yesterday. I have the milky condensation on the filler tub & cap also. I checked coolant in recovery tank & radiator after it cooled and it was fine. I also checked the oil through the filler and dip stick. It looked OK too. Also, use Mobil 1.

I cleaned it and took a short trip maybe 5 miles and let the engine sit until cool again. There was a small amount again. Cleaned it and took a much longer ride 20 miles and checked it this morning and it was OK. Checked the oil through the filler tube as the engine idled and it looked OK too.

OK this is my DD and it's a one way distance of 4 miles most days with extended driving (20+) miles maybe once a week. But I've been doing this for 20 years and NEVER had this on either my '95 Tacoma 6cyl, '02 Camry 4cyl, or my '05 Solara.

If its the extended filler neck I thinking of wrapping it in insulation and see what happens.

Are others in warmer climates seeing this also?

 

Not neccessarily. Like I said, I'm not gonna sweat it. I'll keep an eye on it, get the oil tested and go from there. I'm sure my 6 mile commute, 1 mile trip to the gym and the cool weather are not helping. Add the fact that I work graveyard, so my truck's longest trips occur at 11:45 at night and at 8:15 in the morning. Not exactly the warmest part of the day.

I should add that a lot of the crud on the cap and filler tube in the picture was crusty and not sludgy (if there is such a word.) That to me would indicate that it is build up over time, perhaps since the truck was new. I just checked it again and there is a good amount of sludge but not nearly as bad. No funny smells, the oil on the dipstick came out clean and the coolant level is fine. I'll get the oil tested and keep you guys posted.

 

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So Toyota's next commercial will show this picture and say its NORMAL!

 

I noticed this milky stuff on the oil filler cap during my last oil change also. I'm glad it seems to be normal, thankfully, mine doesn't look anything like the one above! That would have really scared me!! lol

 

I just wrote in 2 days ago in Tech Chat about this same problem. The milky stuff on mine is only under the cap and at the very top of the filler neck. If coolant is in your oil, most likely the entire filler neck would contain the stuff and you'd see it on your dipstick. Plus, my oil looks normal when drained and in 2 years the coolant has never been low. I have about a 20 min ride to work but only about 12 of those is at normal operating temp. I think this is only an issue because we see it. In the cold, an engine develops condensation overnight when the oil is sitting in the pan. On short trips the water most likely also circulates through the engine but we don't see it. Don't get me wrong, it's still not good for the motor. If they made the neck out of metal it would prob heat up more and we wouldn't have this issue. I'm going to do 3 things:

1) Warm it up more adequately before driving
2) Periodially completely clean out the cap and filler neck
3) Go from 5k oil changes to 3k oil changes.

 

#4 I'm going to wrap the filler tube in fiberglass pipe insulation and see what happens on short trips.

 

Yeah, I would be lying if I said it didn't scare the shit out of me. But I don't think it's anything serious. Just a build up over a long period of time.

 

So the 2nd gen Tacomas don't have PCV valves??? Surely it must have something in it's place. Anybody know what it's called and where it is?

 

OK, I admit it. I was alarmist and mistaken with my earlier posts.

My apologies to the OP.

I did some checking with other people in colder climates, and build up of the brown snot on the 710 cap is to be expected.

Now, to me this is something never seen where I am and what I have experienced.

I live in a warm to hot climate, and I never see anything like this as a normal.

Personally, my 02 is driven mainly short distances within my town. I don't use my Tacoma for commuting, so it doesn't have a steady diet of extended run time. (only 31k on the odo) I use Mobile1 oil, and a Wix filter. Never seen gunk like described in the other posts...

So, is this symptom a result of only colder climates mixed with short trips only? Driving habits?

So again, I stand corrected.

But I am still interested in what the consensus is on this.

 

Now that could be just coincident but that white residue showed on my cap after goign to Mobil 1. Now after readign bunch of post sayign "I have Mobil 1 and white stuff on my filter" I am starting to think maybe oil is playing a part role here. I will change to Rotella 5-40 for summer and see if that happens again.

 

I live where it's cold and moist. I take lots of short trips. This happens on all three of my vehicles, one of which is at 230k miles right now, so no need for gloom and doom.

The remedy is simple. Take a long trip every now and then to boil off the condensation. Also, shorten your oil change interval.

 

Honestly I have bad feeling about Mobil 1 (somebody is mixing something in it) . so I am itching for Shell Rotella.
My only problem was that old one (before T6) was not very good at cold temperature but T6 should be better. Plus with more cleaning additives maybe will prevent that.
As for Mobil 1 5w-30 suv my cars run like $it after 3000 miles (noisy mostly) once I put fresh oil it stops. That never happened. I switched my other cars to 0w-40 and Rotella 5w-40 and noise dissaper. then again I got 5w-30 from dealer for hecks and I have no noise either so I am thinking I bought bad batch of oil from Wallmart.

 

If you were to look this stuff would be all over the inside of the valve covers - least it was on a old jeep I had once

 

Mobil 1 is way over rated

 

I checked mine out today. This is after about 1,200 miles since last oil change. And like I said before, it doesn't really matter how long you drive because at least 1,000 miles or so have been pretty long trips ( 2hrs.) on the highway and the mayonnaise sludge did not burn off!





I don't like the looks of this stuff. Coolant level is not changing at all either.