Oil Condensation - Typical in Cold Weather

[chefwong]

I just did a OCI and noticed on the underside of both my oil cap and oil filter cover *bmw*, that there was a slight white residue underneath. The oil does get up to temp 80% of the time driving and that 80% also covers a nice long drive home when the car is used. The other 20% is local errands, etc.

So if I take the 20% of the driving into equation and suspect that oil condensation was because of this.....shouldn't the 3-4 days I drive and bring the oil to temp get rid of the condensation ?

 

[forcedtalon]

This is normal in winter since the temp of the engine oil sweeps are severe from below freazing to 190*F . If the pcv has any miles on it change it out as well as the air filter since both will help the crankcase breath better helping the problem you see.
Its all so very important to get the oil up to temp for awile to get any water out of the oil causing the condensation you see but is not harmfull.
When the engine gets up to temp and then cools down in very cold weather is when condensation will form inside the engine usually on the top of the valve cover since vapor rises.

 

[Blue99]

If the PCV valve has not been changed within the last 2 years, a new replacement may help with this condition.

Another factor that promotes formation of this condensation is the plastic extension tubes that are a common component with today's valve cover oil caps - the tube serves as a condensation "cooling tower".

No reason to be concerned, just wipe it off & monitor during the warmer weather for any signs of a head gasket coolant leak.