Changed my oil last night and noticed I had some buildup in the oil cap.



Everything I've read tells me this is normal for living in an area with a lot of moisture(Northwest) and short trips where the engine does not get warm enough to burn off moisture. This was on about 1/2" of the filler tube but below that it was clean. It wiped off and cleaned up easily with a paper towel.

Appreciate any input.

somegeek

 

yes that is from short trip driving and high moisture. but by no means is is a good thing. it can lead to sludge and clogged oil passages and internal corrosion.

 

That's nothing. It's just moisture.
You should check the underside of the fill cap on just about any late model Dodge truck... 10 times worse than that.

 

I checked mine this weekend and had buildup on the cap and in the filler tube. I just cleaned it off. Because that is the high point on the engine I hope that the oil butter collects there and the rest of the engine is clean. If over time it collects elsewhere that could be a problem in the long run. Lucky for me my truck has already been a problem child with the vibes, brake rotors, steering nibble, poor throttle response, bad gas mileage (5.4l) etc etc and I don't plan on keeping it past the warranty period anyway.

 

That's normal in cold weather combined with short trips. The filler cap isn't the hottest place in the engine, and doesn't have oil splashing on it for extended times.

This combo allows allows condensation to form on the filler cap and neck, while the rest of the motor is spotless.

It's a very common phenoma for any motor that runs in the colder climates.

Now,when you see this garbage on the dipstick, now you need to worry.

 

Yeah mine was like that. All over the inside of the filler neck too. I changed my oil for the first time this past weekend on my 04 (don't worry, it was leftover and I just got 5k miles on it since new in August). That damn original filter was one there. Finally got it off with a filter wrench...

 

Hence one of the reasons to change the oil at the suggested intervals! Why most manufacturers list around town short trip driving as part of the shortened interval for oil changes (harsh conditions).

 

I had the same thing happen to me in the winter months because I lived about 3 miniutes from work and never really left town for any longger trips. Now I have to drive 15 miles one way every day it went away. Try taking it on some road trips couple times a week or have longer warm up times maybe?

 

Right on. Thanks for the replies!

somegeek

 

Yeah, I had to use a chain wrench to get mine off. Thought for sure I was going to brake something.

 

Extended idle times will only make it worse. It takes quite a while for oil to reach a temperature that will cause water to boil even when the engine is under load, and it certainly doesn't help having the 7 qt sump that the 5.4L has.

Just be cause your motor is running at 180F (coolant) after idling for a while doesn't mean that the oil has reached this temperature.

A good 10-15 mi (minimum) trip every so often should help out.

 

good point, never looked at it that way

 

Looks like the oil cap on my toyota after blowing a head gasket.... but superrangermans's explanation is plausible. I thought the residue was caused by antifreeze mixing with oil. Or is it aluminum rust? Water doesn't do that.

 

oil takes 45 mins to come up to temp, idle is where the oil is hottest so a long idle of at least 45-50 mins will solve this.

 

I had the same thing in my truck, I noticed it when I changed the oil this last time. I think it happen even on longer trips, I drove 15 miles to work, about 25 minutes of run time. Only seeing on the cap, I keep checking the dip stick and anti-freeze level. First time saw it had me worry little bit about a head gasket.