Lots of milky condensation in oil cap and filler neck

Hey Smart Guy
The system is not a sealed lubrication system. There are vents and with vents are a possibilty of moisture....
If the oil is frothy throughout, yes there is a bigger problem. Not the case here.

 

Sludge stuff used to build up on the inside of my oil filler cap when I was only driving 7 miles each way to work. After I moved and started doing 30+ miles each way, the junk inside the filler cap hasn't come back at all. I use synthetic but I doubt it mattered much for this.

I'd agree with the guys about needing to get the engine up to temperature regularly to burn out some of the byproducts that build up. I would assume there are various places where different types of junk could build up if you don't get things hot enough to burn through it once in a while. I can remember hearing my uncle talk about taking grandma's old car out on the highway to blow out the build up (but he may have just wanted to play in someone else's car).

 

It happens to mine and to my moms expedition it is the short trips.You heat the oil enough to cause condensation but not enough to burn it off..dont worry. If you are not loosing anti-freeze then you dont have a leak.

 

http://www.*************/engineoil_bible.html


Toyota sludge problems

For their part, Toyota have the dubious honor of having the most complaints about sludge buildup in their engines - 3,400 at the last count. At the time of writing there is a class action suit going on against them. Details can be found at www.oilgelsettlement.com

 

It is long filling tube, dont believe me ask somebody to show you. (beats me why Toyota made that way) Its a plastic tube that simply does not get enough heat unless you run engine on a long trip. I know what OP is asking about, I get that milky thing from time to time too.
First time I saw it I thought I had blew head gasket asked friends who are Toyota mechanics and they all said yep normal not to worry about.

 

Mine has it. I wouldn't be worried. I only drive 3 miles round trip eachday. So it never warms up.

 

I get it in the oil filler cap really bad too ever since I switched to Mobil One. BTW, twice a month I take the truck 400 miles at 70 mph on the highway--IT ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT BURN OFF! I have short trips to work during the week, but you would think that after several long trips on the highway it would burn off. It doesn't. But I don't think it's hurting anything. When I drain my oil at 4000, it still looks extremely good. No signs of the crud in the oil. It's just in the underside of the filler cap. Is it poor design? What?

 

The main byproducts of the perfect combustion of gasoline are carbon dioxide and water. All piston rings leak some by. Water boils at 220F engines try to run cooler than that in most areas. Take a non contact temp gun and shoot some temps under the hood.

Milky oil is another issue. Yes, GM intakes are notorious for leaking. A sharp tech with a known pattern failure will look for signs of a root cause. It is simple. If you have milk and always add a smidgen of coolant at a couple services in a row, look deeper. If the coolant is and stays full.....................you get the picture.

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/technical-chat/72253-white-gunk-oil-filler-tube.html?highlight=gunk

 

What he said. Spot on.

Someone else mentioned 20 minutes of driving to fully warm up. I generally agree with that, though I'm not sure even that's enough in cold weather.

And yet another suggested long warm up before driving off. I do not agree with that. Idling uses the least fuel of any operating mode and will result in more oil contamination. Note that what you see is condensation. What you don't see is the unburned gasoline that washes lubrication from cylinder walls and mixes with the oil. That's at its worst with a cold engine and the engine remains cold longer when idling vs. driving.

Chris mentioned more frequent oil changes. Short trips in winter constitutes severe duty and you will see that the factory recommends more frequent oil changes for severe duty. Hmmm, actually I do not see any reference to more frequent oil changes for severe duty, but it is a common and well founded practice.

 

ok theres a sure fire way to see if its coolant. when you see little droplets of "condensation" get a little on your finger. then taste it. thats right taste it. dont swallow it. if it has a sweet flavor its coolant. you can also smell the cap. does it smell like coolant? if your not sure what coolant smells like take a wiff from the over flow bottle. this will help you determine if its actually coolant or just "condensation"

 

than we all have problems it is normal. not necessarily sign of head gasket issue.

 

My truck does the same thing... frothy goodness under the oil cap but no trace of water in the oil draining out. As long as you aren't losing coolant and you don't see water in the oil draining out, don't sweat it.

 

if a plastic oil cap is the problem couldn't it be replaced with a metal cap and walla the problem should go away right?

 

Normal. My Suzuki had a clear clutch cover and it would be milky white until everything warmed up then I could see the clutch spinning again.

 

What Chris said... it really is not a big deal... if it's only at the cap. Everyone can argue all day long what they want, the only real way to know for sure is drain the oil... see if it's all milky (then I'd be concerned you're getting coolant mixture, but only then). The safest thing you can do if you're concerned is send a sample to Blackstone as Chris suggested, they'll tell you straight up after analyzing the oil.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it all that much, again unless when you change the oil it's all milky.

 

This is what my cap looked like after my first oil change. I bought my truck used with 48k miles. The truck has extensive maintenance records indicating that it was never serviced by the owners so they probably never saw this. It is very possible this is 5 years and 48k miles worth of gunk. You can see the filler tube in the background. It freaked me out but after some research it appears this is a common condition.

 

WOW!
(and not in a good way)
OK, I think I can safely say that is a little bit more than what most members were expecting. When I change oil there is a little, looks like like someone spit on the cap... I wipe off, no worries.
Now MAYBE, this is what it looks like if for 5 years and no one bothered to wipe it off.

 

First the picture of the oil cap posted by BBY2KS2K is definitely an indication of a problem. Oil with that appearance is not from driving short distance trips with a cold engine. An oil cap should never look like that.

Milky colored oil under the fill cap may be normal if you exclusively make short trips especially at low temperatures. This milky oil under the cap is not just under the cap it in the entire engine interior. But it can also be an indication of a minor or more serious problem. First the minor stuff. The PCV valve on your engine is the component that is supposed to prevent this from occurring. The PCV valve vacuums the air from the interior of your engine. Every time you shut off your engine the interior walls of the engine forms condensation on them just like a cold soda can. This condensate in your oil will make the oil acidic if it is not removed. When you run an engine at operating temperature the condensate in the oil vaporizes to steam and the PCV valve re burns the steam in the combustion chambers. Check the PCV valve and make sure it has an adequate suction on it. A lot of folks say OH just remove it and shake it if it rattles it's OK. Wrong if it rattles it signifies it is not totally occluded but it could have buildup around the valve decreasing the amount of vacuum it is pulling. Decreased vacuum equals decreased water vapor being removed from your engine. It is a good idea to change your PCV valve every 2 years especially if you make a lot of short trips. You also have to check any hoses or piprs connected to the PCV valve as the may be blocked also.

Now the serious stuff. Milky oil can also signify a coolant leak into the oil. If coolant is leaking into the oil it is via the head gasket or a cracked head. Usually it has no symptoms other than milky oil. First check if you are consuming coolant and if you are how much over how many miles. In a sealed coolant recovery system you should consume zero coolant.

Second check to see that the coolant recovery bottle is percolating or have the appearance of the engine overheating (boiling) when the cap is removed. Do not remove this cap when the engine is hot you can burn yourself severely. This is caused by exhaust gases leaking into the coolant water jacket giving the appearance of boiling coolant when it is not boiling. Exhaust gases get into the coolant via a cracked head or cylinder block.
If everything checks out OK and the oil is still milky change your oil more often every 3k miles. Using synthetic motor oil does not make the oil milky.

Synthetic motor used in an engine that used conventional motor oil in the past will make the synthetic have a darker appearance earlier into the life of the oil change This occurs because the synthetic motor oil is actually cleaning the interior of the engine via it's different surface tension qualities versus conventional motor oil. After several oil change this will go away because the engine interior will be cleaner.

 

Hello I my name is Got Tacoma read what I posted today about the appearance of your oil cap. It may be of help to you in resolving your milky oil problem.