White residue under oil fill cap

[JoelB]

I was checking my oil yesterday and noticed a small amount of white residue under my oil cap. I'd say the film covered and area the size of a penny. From reading around here it seems this indicates moisture not being burned off properly, or that the car basically isn't warming up enough. For the time being I've ruled out a coolant issue as the car has less than 5000 miles on it and is only 5 months old. It's a 2016 nissan versa by the way. No DI or turbo or anything fancy. Although it does seem to have a sandwich plate between the oil filter and the block with coolant lines running to it.

I work 5 miles from home and it has been wickedly cold the last few days, getting as low as -27F. I've extended my route to 7 miles on a little bit faster road to try and get more heat into the car each day. And usually every other week i take it out on the highway for about 20-30 minutes to clear it out. I'm also running PPPP which was the lowest cst at 100c i could find in the 5w30 realm. My thought being that it would flow better at colder temps and maybe help it warm up a but faster?

My real question is how worried should i be about this buildup? Could this lead to shortened engine life? Is there more i can do to help fix the issue?

 

[tig1]

No worries, and will not shorten engine life. This is condensation, and my guess would be the oil fill hole stands a few inches above the valve cover.

 

[bioburner]

Move somewhere warmer. Would not worry about it for the short term as you know its cold out, $#!m cold out. Probably want to consider the oil changes as in severe conditions. Feels almost balmy out this AM with it above freezing. Cold front won't hurt to slow down the cold air flow through the engine compartment. Helped a lot on the little Transit and stuck a dog food bag behind the grill on the Xterra and was commented on it being a good idea Friday

 

[69GTX]

If you're using a 5w-30 PP, that's rated down to -35C (-31F). Could use a 0w oil which is rated to pump/flow at -40F.

The 100c rating of your 30 grade doesn't have any bearing on startup/warmup viscosity of your motor oil. A thicker 30 grade might actually put more heat into your engine. And there are 0w-30's out there to choose from...most of them on the thicker side of the 30 grades. PP Euro LX is the only Pennzoil 0w-30. Based on the cost/VOA I'd just assume use the M1 or Castrol products. There are a few strong 5w-30 grades too among the M1 and Castrol products.

 

[ecotourist]

Not to worry. It's almost certainly a cold weather effect. Once the weather warms up (and if you can find a way to take a few longer trips) it will disappear.

 

[JoelB]

I did consider a 0w-30 but got all nervous about warranty and went 5w-30. The oil fill is elevated above the valve cover maybe 2 inches. The cap itself is shaped kind of like a had with a raised area in the middle, this is where the residue collected. Are these elevated by design to catch the excess moisture?

Bioburner it certainly is nice having this heat wave. 34F today is a 61 degree increase from Sunday. Gotta love Minnesota.

 

[Kuato]

Just go for a nice hour long drive once every couple weeks.

 

[LeakySeals]

Did you have to add oil? Wondering why you opened the cap.

Can you snap a pic?

 

[supton]

Thicker oil is harder to pump, and more viscous, thus thicker oil should heat up faster. Weird, eh? that's why the OEM's want to go to thinner, less waste. Regardless: going either way on oil grade isn't going to help you (much). Driving more, getting the engine to temp, and then holding it there, will boil the moisture out. Maybe that 20-30 min drive should be extended a bit longer, at least for the time being.

 

[Bgallagher]

Originally Posted By: ecotourist
Not to worry. It's almost certainly a cold weather effect. Once the weather warms up (and if you can find a way to take a few longer trips) it will disappear.


+1

 

[Panzerman]

I wouldn't worry about it being a newer car. Did it have its first oil change yet? When I bought my Dodge new, it had 29 miles on it and according to the production date, SAT somewhere 8 months before I bought it. Alot of short trips and start ups. Condensation would be high. Also 5w30 is fine. Know how many cars been starting on 5w, 10w and 15w for years in cold weather. I swear some people think 0 weight and 20 weights were the re-invention of the wheel. Irony is they weren't even created for cold weather, but cafe standards and small improvements in mpg. Remember that, cold starts were never a issue.

 

[LotI]

Wisconsinite here, I had mayonnaise under the filler cap too. Go for a 30 minute interstate romp and it will heat up enough.

My Accord only turns ~1500rpm at 55mph so it takes about 20 miles just to open the thermostat at -15F

 

[Delta]

Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
Did you have to add oil? Wondering why you opened the cap.

Can you snap a pic?


Some of us have this really strange OCD thing going on...

My Jetta would do this when I only worked 15 min from work. That combined with a really good cooling system would muck up the cap. Where I live now it's a minimum 40 minute up and down the mountain into town. Hadn't had the problem since.