Water Contamination under fill cap??

[GreasyG]

I caught my heart in my throat late this afternoon...this looks like water contamination to me (milky residue under the cap)... should I get an analysis (long wanted to--but never have) or should I get it in for a compression test or some such??

 

[dumkid]

Some cars do this normally

 

[xgmad]

Thats just normal condensation man

 

[wwillson]

It's condensation finding the coolest place in the engine to change phase back to liquid. Short tripping and cold weather greatly contribute to this.

 

[walterjay]

I have had that happen on a couple of my vehicles over the years. Never had a problem.

 

[nickaluch]

My short tripped beater happens every winter. Check the antifreeze make sure it's full possible head gasket but doubtful

 

[cheesepuffs2]

As others have said, this is completely normal. I've had this on and off for years (I suppose following the change in season) with multiple cars.

 

[GreasyG]

Thx folks - I have never seen this in my almost 50 years of changing oil...of course, as mentioned, this car gets very few miles and mostly short trips which is a new thing for me, but I had never seen it happen in a known 'healthy' vehicle...in other words, I've seen it but only on vehicles with a known head gasket leak.

Thx again all!

 

[ron17571]

I would wipe it off and take the car for a drive long enough to get it really warmed up. Then look again. Maybe an oil change would be a good idea. I think it's really nothing to worry about.

 

[Lubener]

I don't believe that's anything to worry about. Make sure the engine's breather and PCV systems are working OK. If that checks out, I would believe short trip driving is likely to blame. I have had the same indication before and it was not from coolant.

 

[demarpaint]

It's normal in the winter, especially when short hopping and/or with cars that have long oil fill necks. The car probably needs a good long highway run.

 

[PontiacHO]

Seen this a lot especially in cold weather with short trips. Does engine get to operating temperature during your trips?

 

[Hermann]

It's Mayo season !

 

[bilibako2]

I've doing oil change on my lady friend 04 toyota 4runner since she bought now at 244k I seen that on oil cup on oil change' probably of engine not running hot enough I told her drive on highways once in a while.Her 4.0 V6 had that long spout oil filler.

 

[bullwinkle]

Check your thermostat, might not be reaching full temperature. Then take it for a couple nice long, hot runs-it’ll be gone.

 

[tnt_motorsports]

both our 2002 Dodge Durango with the 4.7L and our 2005 Jeep with the 3.7L did this pretty extensively. I found a CAI helped but did not totally get rid of the problem. I just got in the habit of wiping the cap every couple of weeks.

Just my $0.02

 

[ATex7239]

Every Dodge 4.7L or 5.7L V8 I’ve owned has done this. Synthetic or conventional didn’t matter. Nothing to worry about.

 

[ka9mnx]

When I lived in a cold climate, it was condensation. Now in a warm climate, it was a blown head gasket (but it looked much worse than plain condensation!)

 

[SHOZ]

Self draining catch can near freezing.....

 

[CR94]

It's normal in the winter, especially when short hopping and/or with cars that have long oil fill necks. ...

Right. Crankcase gases in the long neck cool off, allowing water vapor to condense there. My '72 Subaru did that badly in cold weather, for that reason.