Smoking hot oil observation and ?s

[LeakySeals]

Today was the first really hot day here in the Boston area. My dash computer reported air temp at 101F in highway traffic. Shortly after getting home I decided to top off the oil. When I took the cap off to add oil smoke was rising from the filler hole. Something I've never seen (usually dont add oil when the cars that hot)

Questions

Was my oil flashing/evaporating?

Is that oil smoke what makes my throttle body, IAC and MAF dirty after thousands of miles? (I assume that vapor works it way back out the PVC and up the intake)

Its the Camry in my signature, oil is Mobil 1 High Mileage 5w30

Thanks!

 

[dave1251]

Something may not be right. I drive in conditions like this very often. The only time I have seen something like this was when my thermostat was stuck close and blew the head gasket in my Mustang. Trust me the boiling point of motor oil was reached that Sunday morning it looked like the opening to a tar pit coming out of the oil fill neck.

 

[SatinSilver]

I think because its really hot in there. Much hotter than the outside temp. Just like when you take a lid off a boiling pot of water. No worries. Have a lemonade and relax.

 

[artificialist]

Sometimes there may be enough blow-by to create that smoke. Given the mileage of your cars, I would do a compression check.

 

[LargeCarManX2]

Just vapor....

 

[jsnyder49090]

I wouldnt worry you where probably using the air right?And was it hwy or city if it spent any time idling i would think its normal.May want to check your pvc system though just in case.

 

[Loobed]

Originally Posted By: LeakySeals

Questions

Was my oil flashing/evaporating?

Is that oil smoke what makes my throttle body, IAC and MAF dirty after thousands of miles? (I assume that vapor works it way back out the PVC and up the intake)




1) I don't know

2) I think the throttle body gets dirty from the exhaust gases that go back into the intake manifold at low RPM. The PVC may also cause a little carbon.

 

[LeakySeals]

Originally Posted By: jsnyder49090
I wouldnt worry you where probably using the air right?And was it hwy or city if it spent any time idling i would think its normal.May want to check your pvc system though just in case.

Just finished bumper to bumper highway traffic for an hour. AC and fans were on full blast when I shut down. Other cars Ive heard the fans continue running even though the car was off. Not the case with this one so the internal temperature must have skyrocketed.

PVC and coolant changed about 10k ago, oil has approx 4k on it. Has bad valve seals, burns 1qt every 4500-5k.

 

[bourne]

its normal , oil absorbs fuel/moisture and when it gets really hot , these boil over. Thats why during winter you might see some white foamy stuff under the oil cap, its just condensation not getting burnt off if you are doing a lot of city driving and the oil isnt getting upto full operating temps. I think throttle body gets dirty from the exhaust gases that sometimes make their way up the intake manifold afaik.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: satinsilver
I think because its really hot in there. Much hotter than the outside temp. Just like when you take a lid off a boiling pot of water. No worries. Have a lemonade and relax.


Exactly, there may have been high humidity and yes ordinary moisture can get into the crankcase through ambient humidity (perhaps you've had a lot of rain recently.

No worries.

I would NEVER add oil to a hot engine.

 

[cb_13]

It's PCV not PVC. PVC is plastic pipe. PCV is Positive Crankcase Ventilation.

 

[The_Jeff]

I've seen that smoke now and even when it's below freezing. And I do believe it is the stuff that cakes stuff like throttle bodies.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

My cherokee was doing this on Saturday. All day 4 wheeling trip - running from 7am to 6pm - lots of idle time, lots of revving, etc.

The engine was good and warm and all of the moisture that built up in the oil from sitting all the time and rain, high humidity was burning out.

 

[teddyboy]

I must protest your use of the phrase "smoking hot" in this thread. That phrase should be reserved for certain members of the female gender.

 

[Charlie1935]

Originally Posted By: teddyboy
I must protest your use of the phrase "smoking hot" in this thread. That phrase should be reserved for certain members of the female gender.


X2!

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
Just finished bumper to bumper highway traffic for an hour. AC and fans were on full blast when I shut down.


Reminds me of when I was listening to Car Talk radio program the other week. A caller said his 09 Ford Edge started to overheat on a hot day in bumper to bumper traffic. One of the mechanics advice was to make sure there is a full car length in front of your car to help with proper air flow to the hot engine. Instead of being glued to the tail of the car in front of you. Good reminder I thought.

 

[jek]

Yup just chill...it's normal...i just bought a brand new vehicle and observed this.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: jek
Yup just chill...it's normal...i just bought a brand new vehicle and observed this.


It's blow-by plain and simple, most engines will have this trait when it's very hot, oil viscosity can be contributing factor... A poorly functioning PCV system can also be a factor...

 

[lexus114]

Well your certainly using a top notch oil anyway.

 

[NateDN10]

I've seen this in the Cobalt as well - open the oil fill hole after a longer drive and you see some vapor. I have assumed that it's blowby - all engines have it to some degree. Since my engine burns about a pint over 9000 mile OCIs, I haven't worried about it!