Strange Oil Color

Condensation.


Started happening the first winter after the invention of the internal combustion engine.

 

Any coolant loss?

Ace

 

It is definately water based. Not enough to tell if its coolant or condensation.

Does it smell like coolant?

 

Yes Condensation.

 

Coolant smells like oil.
Oil looks milky.

mmm milkshake... sounds like he busted his headgasket?

 

It is condensation as stated before.

Cold weather and the engine may not being driven long enough to drive off the moisture, which is normally there from moisture in the air and combustion.

Don't worry about it too much. Short drives will make it worse, even long drives may not drive it off from your oil fill cap, but the rest of the engine is fine. Change oil at the normal intervals.

 

Do you live where the Humidity is high? My 06 Dodge ram did the same thing.I was told don't worry unless you have Fluid loss.

 

I only see oil at the fill cap. What about the oil on the dipstick? Does that look milky?

 

Even in Houston, it can get cool. I suspect short drives where the engine isn't up to full operating temp is the more likely cause. Nothing to worry about, just wipe it off.

Coolant isn't the source of the condensation IMO because your oil looks okay on the dipstick.

However, if there is oil in the coolant, get it looked at asap.

 

Is the vw only driven for short runs (motor oil does not reach operating temperature)?
You mentioned that your warranty is expiring soon.......just to be sure that you don't have a real problem here (bad head gasket) I would drain the motor oil and have a look at it.
Pretty cheap way to verify what is going on here / have peace of mind.

 

Old trick: pull out the dipstick and hold a lighter under the oil on it. If it spatters, it's got water mixed in - much like a frying pan. That would be bad news. Some mayonaise like this on the filler cap is probably not a bad thing, especially if the car is not driven for longer distances. Never hurts to notify and ask the dealer though so the complaint is registered before the warranty period ends.

Oh, and be careful - modern dipsticks sometimes aren't metal anymore but plastic. Said it was an old trick... Don't try this on a plastic dipstick.

 

LOL!

 

I wouldnt stress about it.

 

Common. As previously mentioned, caused by cool weather, and short trips. Some cars are more suseptible than others. My gf 2007 Toytoa Tundra does it, although less so with synthetic oil. But she typically drives only 3 or 4 miles each way to work. A friends 2000 Durango V8 does it with synthetic too. Same, only drives 6 or 7 miles each way to work.

If it concerns you, ask the dealer...but probably not much can be done. It is normal with "some" cars driven short trips in cool weather.

 

This is quite normal for many cars. 4cylinders moving up and down inside an internal combustion engine at 2000rpm moves a lot of air. As the engine is breathing the oil saturated air mixes with the humidified ambient air and coagulates at the top of the motor.Not a big deal.

 

According to weather.com Houston expects a low of 54 tonight.
If I still lived in Chicago and it was below freezing and I only used the car for short trips I MIGHT be comfortable with seeing that much condensate on my oil cap.

If I were you I would absolutely, positively take the car to a dealer and have them look at it. Get something in writing that you suspect there is coolant in the oil and they say there isn't.

That way if at 60,001 miles it becomes obvious that there is a big problem somewhere you will be covered.

Definitely not worth the risk of just assuming it's condensation.
Since I have lived in California the only time I have seen an oil cap like that was on an engine with a blown headgasket.

 

A much more significant source of the condensation is from combustion. They hydro part of hydrocarbons (gasoline and diesel are two) combines with the oxygen part of air to make water (2 hydrogens and an oxygen = H2O) and give off a bit of heat. Most of the exhaust goes out the tailpipe and on a cold day you can see this brand new water condense in the air. A small portion of this exhaust gets by the rings and the water portion will condense on someplace cool. That's why the condensation in the OP's engine is at the cool filler cap but not visible on the dip stick in the hot oil. If you drove the snot out of it and got even the filler cap portion of the engine good and hot it would go away. And it's not a big deal if that minor amount hangs around.

 

If you want to eliminate the possibility of a blown head gasket, pick up a block test kit and test for the presence of combustion gasses in your coolant overflow tank when the engine is running: http://www.arrowheadradiator.com/head_gasket_or_combustion_leak_test.htm

They run around $45-$50 from well stocked NAPA dealers, or you can order them from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NPDL76/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B004FELK6A&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0JDCBA9FD8D0PD136AGV

 

Sorry...couldn't resist.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZxuWg9mXXo[/ame]

 

Signs of headgasket and or coolant loss into the oiling system:
Coolant in oil unkown at this point because you don't know if it's coolant in the oil or just condensation.
Over heating?
Running rough?
Low coolant no per you.

I would be willing to bet if the car is not running rough, is not over heating, and the coolant level is low you don't have a blown head gasket and this is condensation.

Drive the car longer/harder to get the engine oil to operating temp for extended periods of time, short trips in cars where they do not get to operating temps long enough to boil off the condensation in the oil is a large factor in sludge build up.

 

Uh-- I gather the car is still under warranty.
Is there a copay if you take the car in to be checked?

If the answer is no, it is a no-brainer to me.
Once I had Toyota Supra that was just about to go out of warranty.
The power steering pump seemed noisy to me so I had them check it.
They said it was OK.
A few thousand miles later after it was out of warranty it was obviously failing and I took it back to them. They replaced it BECAUSE I had taken it to them before it was out of warranty.

If your car were already out of warranty I would do the various things mentioned by others here, because its going to be on your dime either way. But its still in warranty, so why not take it in?

 

Due to what others have said.

A byproduct of combustion is H2O, that's why it's so important to drive the car to full operating temp if you're going to start it. A long drive at operating temp will burn off the contaminants.

If car is in winter storage, best to leave it sit until it can be driven. Fill the fuel tanks and put a battery maintainer on.