Odd Coloring on Oil Cap - Possible Gasket Issues?

Yep. You need to drive it at minimum 10 miles AFTER the engine warms up. Your exhaust/muffler will appreciate that also. Gotta burn that moisture out. Does water drip out of your tail pipe?

 

I know the thread is old, but I thought that I would pass this along. Two easy tests to determine if the moisture under the fill cap is water or antifreeze mix.

1. Smell it. Often you can smell the sweet component in the antifreeze.

2. Dip a clean finger in the moisture and taste it. Just a dot on the tip of your tongue. If it's sweet, you have an antifreeze problem. The go rinse your mouth out with some water then a good bourbon to kill any germs that were in the water.

 

Blaming the dealer and/or Toyota for everything, even if it is just normal, is the TW way. Someone will always be there to back you up, confirming that your fears are justified, that the situation is probably worse than you realize, and that your truck will self-destruct just beyond the warranty period.

 

I had a similar cap a few months ago, dealer pressure tested and no problem with the coolant system. Brothers a diesel mechanic and also said not to worry, water/condensation from weather and/or short trips. I’ve had a few seals failing (timing chain cover, water pump assembly, valve cover). So I’ll be keeping an eye on it!

 

No one was blaming Toyota or the dealer for this...

 

It’s from condensation which is normal...if it bothers you install a oil catch can on the pcv valve...I did only because I take a lot of short trips an my oil cap still looks like the day the truck was new currently at 36k. There are some haters on here about catch cans so be prepared but my experience tells me it does what it was designed to do.

 

rust

 

Used this trick to determine if there is water in the oil on my older vehicles.
Drive your Tacoma around till the engine coolant and oil is up to operating temperature.
Then pull the dipstick and let a drop of oil fall onto the proximal exhaust manifold, or if not available into a pan on the stove's hot plate/burner.
If it smokes, all is well. If it bubbles and "boils", there is coolant or water in your oil.

 

No way, really?

 

Skip step 1 and the first part of step 2. Start with the bourbon. Use enough, and the problem will go away.


Or at least you won't care about it.

 

That is ONLY for experienced mechanics with their own pliers and hammer.

 

I installed a Catch Can so the liquid inside that gets caught looks like that/coffee with cream in the winter. Now, in the warmer weather, it doesn't look like that. I take short trips as I live and work in the same town.

 

yeah really. The water jacket of the motor and the inside of the radiator. not all parts are aluminum. its wet and not air tight. surface rust happens. its why you need to flush the fluid every now and again.

 

I thought antifreeze had anti corrosives in it? I have an 02 accord that I've flushed maybe....3 times max? Not rusty at all, that's a trip.

 

It’s totally normal, due to cold weather and short drives, condensation builds on the oil cap.

Installing an oil catch can won’t help much, what will help is taking longer trips and letting the engine reach operating temps for a while so all the moisture in the engine can evaporate.

Replace the PCV valve should help too. It’s cheap and super easy to replace.

I run an oil catch can on my 4.0 and replaced the PCV valve at 80k miles. Still get that coffee cream looking thing on the oil cap but that’s because my commute to work is a 2 minutes drive.

Check your coolant and see if you have the infamous pink milkshake. It’s rare on Tacoma’s but still worth checking.