Brown goo in the oil reservoir

There was minimal amount of similar goo on the underside of the oil tank cap of my F355 when I first inspected it but after purchasing it, cleaning the cap, replacing the oil and give it a few good drives there was no more of this.
The car had been driven only around 600 miles in the last year and was perhaps stored in a slightly moist environment.
To me it is clear now that this goo was thankfully only a build up of moisture, and just goes on to show that our cars should be driven regularly just like any other type of cars.

If in your case the oil remains clear and if there are no obvious signs of headgasket failure then I would just clean this and keep driving the car to check if it keeps coming back. When a headgasket fails the coolant burned in the combustion chambers can sometimes clean up the carbon build up on piston crowns and that can be observed simply through spark plug holes.

I guess you did not replace the oil yourself as it would be interesting to know if that goo was already present before the oil change, and if yes why the guy who serviced the car did not clean this up, go for a test drive and check if it would keep coming back or not.

 

The oil pressure sender is known to be temperamental as its connectors tend to collect oily dirt because of its location and give inaccurate readings.
I got similar readings to yours when I purchased my 550 but things went back to normal after cleaning the connectors on the sender. At cold start up oil pressure at idle should align with the white line to the right on the gauge (corresponding to 8 bar I believe) then settle near the 2 bar line to the left side of the gauge when the engine is fully warmed up, again at idle.

Even tightening the oil filters to the specified amount can cause oil to slightly drip through the gaskets because there is huge pressure in the circuit down there and the oil may still make its way on the connectors of the sender located right behind the oil filters and occasionally mess up with the readings on the gauge, at least in my experience. A rubber boot can be used to cover the sender and prevent the connectors from collecting crud, there is a standard Porsche part that fits but at this stage I couldn't be bothered fitting one because I just know what to make of the occasional bogus oil pressure readings safe in the knowledge that my engine is in full health.

 

Drive it, and hard.

If you are sure thats not coolant, then its a high amount of water vapor within the crankcase that has been whipped up and mixed from not getting boiled out of the oil. Clean out as much crud as you can, Get the car warmed up, especially the oil and go for a long drive. Do that regularly, or at least get it fully warmed up whenever you do, not just short starts.

 

Im running Wayne's (Technistrada) probes too... no issues and well built

 

Can you please explain more in detail? Any reason for changing the originals ?

 

The Technistrada probes?

Supposedly better product at a significantly cheaper price than stock parts. I didn't replace my SDL ecus.

For me, I found out the 456 uses a different probe with a smaller bung that he doesnt offer. So when I had my high flow Cats made, I had them use the bing from the 550/355/360 so I could start with fresh probes on a new exhaust system. Left my old ones stored in place on the car and tucked away under panels, so a future owner can return to stock if wanted.

https://technistrada.com/

There were a bunch of threads on this awhile ago

 

Someone on the 308/328 forum is having the same issue.... Consensus is get out and drive it, get it warmed up each time

Water in the oil? | FerrariChat

 

Thanks for the info and clarification. I have Hyperflow sports cats on my 550 and especially when going down long degrades, the SLOW DOWN light comes on occationally. Not a big deal, but a bit irritating. Will these probes solve that? I mean I have considderd to fit those dummy plugs to fool the cat EcuS, but then if I have a leaking injector, I won’t be able to get a warning from the exhaust ECUs.

 

This is a typical color for condensation in/on oil and typical for cars used only for short distances or very low load where the oil doesn't warm properly.
Take Aerosurfers advice and drive it, long and hard. The goo will disappear when the water evaporates.

 

I wouldn't do the dummy plugs if you still have cats.

Do you get the light on both sides or only 1? I would start by swapping the ECUs left to right and see if you can replicate when the light comes on. If it changes sides, i would suspect its the ecu. If its the same side then its the probe or you have an actual problem

 

On a 550, it is not two lights. It just says «SLOW DOWN» in red text on the center LED display. I have not worried a lot about it.

 

ahhhh…. I forgot about that. Whoohoo for early 456 with dual everything lights.

Still, if you can identify when and where you are most likely to get the lights, unplug one side and do a few runs, then unplug the other and do a few, etc.

 

STP do an engine oil flush additive, run the car to get the oil hot, then add the STP and fast idle for 10/15 minutes. Knock engine off and drain oil-leave an hour to drain and renew oil and filter.

 

I was told that there is an "extender/adapter" for the O2 sensors that should be used along with Hyperflow cats to avoid just such an issue. I believe that because the Hyperflow cat is less restrictive, the O2 output changes more quickly as a result. The spacer relocates the sensor away from the increased flow to regain a more "normal" output profile. Someone else may be able to chime in here to confirm - or provide a better explanation...

 

Ok, thank you for the strategy. I had a failing coil pack on right side a few years ago. Engine ran and got fuel on all twelve cylinders, but ignition only on the left side. I got some real exhaust back fire (unburnt fuel ignited i. The exhaust because the exhaust from the two banks cross over in the center muffler/resonator. After that, I found some parts of the catalyzer in the right muffler, so I guedd I have one and a half catalyzer… This SLOW DOWN light appearing is more present after the incident with the faulty coil pack. I guess I get either new catalyzers or just remove them competely.

 

++1. My 308 in Houston, TX would gunk up if I idled it too long and didn't take it out for an "Italian Tune-up." An hour of heavy pedal, high revs and grear shifting and she was in top tune.

 

Sounds like you had a too rich idle mixture.

 

Do you have milk chocolate oil now? Or just the coolant is milky cream? I


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How is the crankcase breather arranged, is it a suction to the air intake like a 430. If so are the pipes clear and does the vent system have a metal mesh filter in the lines ( can become blocked and need washing out on some engines, but i dont know your engine)

 

Some makes of oil foam worse than others and this can lead to the residue you are seeing. Shell oils are some of the worst. Tried the one with the cavallino on the container when I first got mine and it was terrible about foaming. Changing oil to another brand may cure it.