What is in my oil filler neck

That looks like the guy next to me last time on the indoor shooting range! I don't go there anymore...to many yahoo's. I don't want to guess what that was he was holding!

 

As post #9 and 13 said short trips - hope that's it.
Clean it out, change oil and run it on a good drive getting hot. You may have to clean it out again as a small quantity of water may still be in there on engine internals and get deposited by the timing chain up in the filler neck and oil cap. Check your radiator when cool and see if any mess in there. Worst case is head gasket. See you bought it used last year so who knows what/how the previous owner drove it and the maintenance that was really done. Add a bottle of Heat or additive with methanol to remove any possible water in your gas also. Do the easy stuff and go from there as best odds are too many short trips and not fully warming up.

 

At this point OP needs to weigh in with more details to confirm or rule out short trips (compounded by cold climate) as being the potential root culprit.

 

Mine looked like that a few years ago when it was really cold,and I only drive 6miles to work. Wiped it out best I could and went for an hour drive to get her nice and warm. Now,if you have that on your dipstick,you've got a problem.

 

What's the oil look like?

Oil catch can.

 

Short trips, moisture never has a chance to burn off.

 

Reminds me of this girl I dated in High school.

Seriously, short trips? Op needs to provide a few more details.

 

As a Canadian who lives 4 minutes away from work I'm all too familiar with this. Always have to clean out the milkshake crap on the filler neck on oil changes. Nothing to worry about though, it's exactly what post #7 said. I did get a few oil analysis' done for shits and there were no issues with condensation in the oil

Here's mine lol

 

do you have a misfire code?

could be head gasket leak. or water/humidity in the intake

 

Pretty much every one will find gook like that in the oil fill cap. Short runs stop and go.

 

Happens if you only drive short distances mostly. There isnt anything wrong with the vehicle.

 

Excessive moisture. Can happen from, short trips without letting the engine reach and maintain operating temp for extended periods, could be a thermostat issue, or water intrusion

 

Do you change your oil every ~4k mi?
Or do you only drive ~4k mi a year?

 

OH MAN! THAT'S GROSS! That goop in my humble opinion seems to suggest a leaky head gasket.

 

When you only travel short distances and dont get out on the hwy much it doesnt heat up enough to burn off the water vapor. Its normal

 

Just drive it and get up to temperature for good distance. Pretty sure it will be mostly if not all gone.

 

Short trips that's been stated. Run it for a longer trip here and there it magically disappears.

 

All these confident replies that "its just short trips, dont worry, go for a long drive" seem a bit misplaced in their level of conviction.

Probably the better way to characterize the situation is this:

• A) Highest likelihood (? 80% or more ?) is that it's just due to short drives & engine / oil not heating up enough to drive out condensation moisture. Fix: Go for more long drives at highway speeds (? 30 minutes or more ?) to heat things properly and drive out accumulated moisture.

• B) Less likely ( 20% ??) but far more serious would be any situation where coolant (water/glycol based fluid) is leaking into the engine & contaminating the oil. Failed seal or gasket somewhere.

Best way to quickly assess: drain a few ounces of oil from the oil sump & see what the color of the oil is. If it looks any shade of "milky", from light tan to dark brown milkshake, a B) situation is probably the cause & should be further investigated and fixed soon.

 

https://youtu.be/71itwBP7akA Take a look at this vid. Just a possibility

 

This is a good vid -- instead of taking the trouble to drain ounces out of the oil pan, just pull the dipstick & inspect the oil color & consistency that way.