Moisture in oil/ head gasket leak

[carpy]

This is question for the motor heads. My personal vehicle(2004 Chevy Colorado 4cyl.), is showing signs of mositure in the oil. Milk like residue underside of oil fill cap. I drive only 2 miles to work everyday and lately the weather here in the mornings has been particularly cold (>30 degreesF). Could this residue on the oil cap be caused by the condensation being built up in the oil, from the short runs without engine warmup, (water immersion in oil), or should I be concerned about a head gasket leak...(coolant in the oil.) The underside of my oil fill cap is completely covered with the milky goo.
Edited to say no oil on dip stick, just on underside of cap. I'm also considering sneaking in a sample to our lab for analysis.
Are their any quick tricks to determine if it's coolant or just condensation?

[ November 30, 2004, 10:39 PM: Message edited by: carpy ]

 

[pitzel]

Even with 2 mile runs, you shouldn't be getting any sort of milky-ness in the oil or buildup on the cap. Has the coolant leven gone down? a used oil analysis would give you a definitive determination with respect to glycol ingress.

How much warranty left on the unit?

 

[Terry]

Carpy, more than likely condensation.

That Saab PCV designed system is much like BMW,Audi/VW in that it will use the filler cap area as a PCV filter/separator and collect trash and vapor residuals. Any moisture in the system will collect right where you are seeing it, under the cap. Your operating conditions are perfect for the formation you describe.

Monitor the coolant level and use oil periodic analysis to confirm. If you are still under warranty take to the dealer and he can use a coolant "sniffer" sensor to detect glycol on the cap or in the oil.


What part of Texas are you located ?

 

[carpy]

I am currently working offsite at a satelite office in Oklahoma(NW). My hotel is located less than 2 miles from office. I have my personal vehicle because I plan on visiting family in Colorado, and possibly taking a few vacation days to do some elk hunting on their ranch. I just checked with weather.com ,and the lows for this area have been 22 to 28 degrees here the last couple of days. Also coolant level in resevoir bottle is slowy going down,` but not sure if its because it's been so cold out here compared to Houston area. What do ya think?

 

[Terry]

Just the cold contracting the fluids and the fact that your poor Texas truck has to put up with that sinful weather ! Wipe the goo off and keep a eye on the oil and the underside of the cap.


If you get real nervous go by a GM dealer and tell them to sniff your filler cap ! When they see your tags they will understand.

Enjoy the Elk hunting, I wish I could be doing that and better yet eating ELK !!!

Yum.