Tan goo in the oil reservoir

Went to check my oil this afternoon and saw tan gunk on the oil cap and saw a layer on the oil in the reservoir. Is this just condensation or a sign of something more sinister? I've been driving the car pretty regularly this winter (at least once every ten days) so it hasn't been sitting all that much. Comments or advice appreciated. Your prayers if necessary.

 

Thanks. I'll check it out.

 

I checked the coolant level (it's been > 4 hours since I last drove the car) and it's above the bottom of the reservoir by about a cm. There was the sound of air pressure being released when I unscrewed the cap, so the system might still be tight (I'm hoping that's an optimistice sign). The oil level was down below its reservoir base, but there was no goo on the bottom of the reservoir, just around the neck and on the bottom of the cap. Is a pressure check still in order?

 

Thanks, I'm on it. I'll report back to this thread if it will help others in the future.

 

That's interesting; it may indeed be the case IF it can happen with only one event: I almost never turn the engine on and then off, but I only made a fairly short trip yesterday and then shut the car down. Then I ran an errand in another car and when I came back, I moved the 456 a few feet and shut if off without having warmed it up again so that it wouldn't be hit when my daughter and I were shooting hoops. When we finished the game a half hour later, I pulled the 456 into the garage (noticing the temp needles were all the way on the cold side) and let it run a few minutes to get up to around 120 for both oil and water and then I turned off the ignition and checked the oil. If it CAN'T happen with just a single incident like I described (and the oil was clean a few weeks ago when I last checked the level), then it sounds like I should get that pressure check.

 

Thanks for the info and good wishes. I'm shooting for a Wednesday appointment to get it looked at.

 

coolant pressure checked out okay as did inspection of cylinder heads through spark plug sockets. Must be condensation; Portland is located in a rainforest after all.

 

Nope. Much lighter. color of f-car sabbia leather.

 

In the winter here I like to wait for dry days which can be fairly far apart. Usually I don't let it sit for more than ten days and when I take it out, I run it for at least a half hour and usually more. When I take it to work, which I do 1-2x/week whenever the weather is good, it's an hour each way at left lane freeway speeds (no need to get specific-LOL). I haven't taken it out since I had the coolant checked, however, but I hope to find out this weekend. I may even take it out in the rain if necessary (boo).

 

Thanks to you and everyone else for all the advice. The oil and filters were just done less than 1000 miles and 3 months ago. The shop checked it out last week and gave a clean bill of health (see earlier post), so I don't plan on going into panic mode. I'll check the reservoir after my next drive (it may not be for awhile; soggy weather in the forecast for the next ten days).