[ivad32]

Last week I took my 4-month old, 4060 mile V6 PreRunner truck to the dealer for an express oil service. Today I popped the hood to poke around and check the color of the new oil (just wanted to make sure they actually changed it). When I removed the oil filling port cap, this is what I found (look below). My first guess is this material may be water in the oil. Any thought?

 

[SP Jon M3]

That does not look good!!! Looks like water in the oil. Blown head-gasket?

Check the dip stick as well to see if has any oil/water mixture. If the dip stick looks fine, then it could be just condensation, but that does look awful milky.

EDIT: I have 55k miles on my '05 V6 and have done all of the oil changes since about 15k miles. I've never seen my oil cap and filler look like that (hot or cold).

 

[ivad32]

As you mention, I did pull the dip stick and there was no evidence of a milky substance.

 

[davecarrr414]

how many miles?

cause some vehicles have poor pcv valve systems and it causes moisture to build up on caps like that. ive seen it alot on some other cars. i wouldent worry about it unless you see it on the dip stick

 

[ivad32]

cause some vehicles have poor pcv valve systems and it causes moisture to build up on caps like that. ive seen it alot on some other cars. i wouldent worry about it unless you see it on the dip stick

As I mentioned in my original post, there was 4060 miles at time of service. Now there are 4150. Also, the dip stick is clean.

 

[6shooter]

that's very common, especially if you have humid conditions. not a big deal.

 

[GTCOMA]

I'm afraid you have Rootbeer in your oil.

But seriously, that looks odd, I've never seen anything like that.

 

[Hans Moleman]

i have seen condensation in oil before but in your case it seems pretty extreme. It looks like you have a blown head gasket or something

 

[racer1x]

There has been quite a few cases of moisture in the oil fill cap, but yours has to be the most I have seen. If you make a lot of short trips(5-10 miuntes) and do not let the engine heat up condensation will build up there. I would clean it out and not worry about it , if the oil on the dipstick is fine.

 

[jorgem2]

Last week I took my 4-month old, 4060 mile V6 PreRunner truck to the dealer for an express oil service. Today I popped the hood to poke around and check the color of the new oil (just wanted to make sure they actually changed it). When I removed the oil filling port cap, this is what I found (look below). My first guess is this material may be water in the oil. Any thought?

Run the engine warm with the cap off and look for steam or vapor or smoke coming out. that would be a bad sign. check the diptstick with the engine hot if its clean and there is no vapor coming out clean the mess and see if it returns. also check the tailpipe for steam or smoke and the radiator for missing coolant.
those are symptoms of a blown head hasket or cracked head, but it coulb be moisture buildup I just never seen it that bad.
If your oil level is higher than normal and your coolant is lower than normal then surely there is a problem

 

[Adventure North]

This has been covered before. It's because of the long plastic filler neck and cap, when it's cool outside the difference in temps between the engine and the plastic filler cap/neck causes moisture to condence in the cap and neck leading to that foamy yellow goo. It's normal and will not hurt your engine. It's just in the cap and neck, your crank case gets plenty warm enough to burn off moisture in the oil protecting the engine. If you take short trips you're more likely to see that, but agian it's normal I wouldn't worry. My truck does it as does my dads Tundra as does every other Toyota that has that long filler neck and sees cold weather.

Edit: Here is a pic my dad emailed me a long time ago, he was concerned as well and wanted to know what I thought. He now has over 200,000 KM's on his Tundra and every winter it's the same story. Again I see the same thing as have others, don't sweat it too much.

 

[Splicer]

This has been covered before. It's because of the long plastic filler neck and cap, when it's cool outside the difference in temps between the engine and the plastic filler cap/neck causes moisture to condence in the cap and neck leading to that foamy yellow goo. It's normal and will not hurt your engine. It's just in the cap and neck, your crank case gets plenty warm enough to burn off moisture in the oil protecting the engine. If you take short trips you're more likely to see that, but agian it's normal I wouldn't worry.

Mine does it too; wife drives it to work daily (short trips). I just wipe it out at every oil change. No worries.

I saw a post once (but can't find it) where a guy solved his same problem by machining a piece of metal that fit into the filler tube, and had a lip at the top so it couldn't fall in. Seems like a good idea.

 

[ivad32]

There has been quite a few cases of moisture in the oil fill cap, but yours has to be the most I have seen. If you make a lot of short trips(5-10 miuntes) and do not let the engine heat up condensation will build up there. I would clean it out and not worry about it , if the oil on the dipstick is fine.

This maybe the anwser. My commute is 2.2 miles and the temps last week were between 25 and 45 degrees. I will clean it and monitor closely.

 

[mt1961]

I've changed my oil 3 times so far and my oil filler cap looks similar to your every time.

 

[Eddie 70]

This maybe the anwser. My commute is 2.2 miles and the temps last week were between 25 and 45 degrees. I will clean it and monitor closely.

There is your answer. Take your truck on a 30 minute drive on a regular basis. I found the same thing in my cap when I changed the oil the first time in my truck. I attributed it to the short test drives the truck was recieving while setting at the dealership. Now that I have had the truck for several months, the moisture in the cap is gone. My trip to work is 31 miles each way so my truck gets up to temperature and stays there for a while. As a matter of fact I am due for my 5000 mile oil change. I will post back what I find. I have only checked the cap a few times after the first oil change and found it cleared of the milky substance.

 

[Deekman]

mine does it too, 11,000 miles and its done it from day one, no big deal

 

[lotust]

that's very common, especially if you have humid conditions. not a big deal.

DItto this. Its normal in some climates.

 

[ENUFSEDTOY]

Info

well i have seen that before on my buddies 05 ex cab ,his first oil change as well and now 20,000 miles later no problem.,, i also seen it alot on due to the fact i work for lexus ,and its most people doing short trips and the car/truck not warming up ...

 

[bnacat]

Shmegma---some have it, some don't.

 

[PiercedTiger]

Huh.... I had that on my tercel back when it was going through a quart of oil each week. I figured it was a blown (or bad) headgasket and traded it in. Dealership told me to bring it back for trade before I did any engine work. At $3,500 for the car it wasn't worth putting another $1500 or more into engine work. :lol: So I never found out the real problem. I drove it at least 10 miles to work each day.

I have 26,000 miles on my truck, have done all but 1 oil change myself and never had that. :whatthe:

Then again I rarely make short trips. I have a half hour commute to and from work, and drive at least 5 miles to my inlaws. Once in a while I drive half a mile to a gas station or small grocery store, but most of the time it's at least 10-20 miles. Maybe that's why I never see it.