I just changed my oil about a week ago. I noticed just a tad of condensation on the inside of the oil filler cap, which is no reason to start crying, yet. This morning I drove to Church, got out and noticed the scary sweet smell of anitfreeze. No white smoke out of the tailpipe, yet. And crud, there is condesation under the oil filler cap.

My truck has almost 90,000 miles, 1998 F-150. I have read about various gasket problems with the Ford trucks, so am open to suggestions on where to look for what. I had an old Mazda pickup years ago, and simply tightening the head-bolts did the trick for a while, maybe it's as simple as that?

Short of praying for help(hey I was at Church already so might as well ask for all the help I can muster up) can somebody offer up some advice or help? Thanks.

 

What size engine in your truck?
After you're out of your church clothes you might want to take a look for coolant leaks too. Crawl under the truck and look too.

 

V8 4.6L engine.

 

Well I marked the level of coolant on the reservoir tank, and will monitor it. I also did crawl under and I found some coolant near the drain plug!!! This will be great if it is just coincidence that the milky oil under the oil filler cap for the first time since I got this truck a couple years ago and the leaking antifreeze happened at same time!!!

 

The milky oil and condensation on the oil filler cap is probably the result of short trip driving (to Church) without the engine getting warm. The oil detergent mixes with the water to produce that white to brown crud in the cap. Getting the engine hot will evaporate the water. The water is produced as a byproduct of the combustion of hydrocarbon fuel in air. Some of these gases bypass the rings and the water vapor portion condenses on cold engine parts. A ccolant leak will produce large quantities of foam.

The antifreeze smell could have been there for a long time, you just were not "looking for trouble" so you did not notice it.

 

That would be great. I replaced the PCV valve, even though the one installed appeared to be okay, but heck for less than $5 might as well give that a shot. I guess it still concerns me this is the first time that there has been any kind of water under the oil filler cap since I have owned the truck, and my driving habits have pretty much been the same in the last 2 years.

 

I have a 1999 5.4L and my truck does the exact same thing. I bought it used and changed the oil soon after only to noticed the build up of "vanilla pudding" on the filler cap. This floored me. I have never seen this before. I thought it was some kind of crappy oil the previous owner put in it. So, I cleaned it off and went through with the oil change. Now, 1500 miles into the new oil change, the cap is covered again with the whitish, yellowish, brownish goop. How do I fix it? PCV valve work? I have no coolant leaking and no oil leaking. Is this bad for the motor? If this is a result of not letting the motor warm up first then will it do the same in the summer months??? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

 

Well, I do have a radiator that is leaking, along the seam near the bottom just above the drain plug. I bought the thing from 1-800-RADIATOR 6 months ago, when I had a leak. Installed it no problemo, and it has a lifetime warranty so time to get me a new one right?

Well, they have tried twice to get me a radiator that fits and haven't been able to get one that fits the transmission lines. I also tried a local radiator shop, so far they have not been able to get one either.

1-800-RADIATOR guy said he called his 2nd level techie guys who are aware of problems with trying to get a radiator that fits transmission lines for 1997 Fords and maybe 1998 as it turns out???

I talked to local Ford dealer parts guy who said he has heard that non-Ford radiators connectors are a problem. What gives? What size is the male threaded bolt that surrounds what looks like a 3/8" flared tube??? Also, what size should the female threaded nut on the radiator side be??? Must I go to Ford for a radiator??? I will if I have to, but was just trying to save a few bucks.

 

As Torque1st said, it is somewhat normal to see condensation on the oil cap if you do short runs. One 30 or 40 mile trip will clear it up. If you are making short runs don't forget to change your oil more often. Since the engine doesn't get frequent warm ups to boil out the moisture and acids, the oil absorbs these contaminants in fewer miles.

Good luck,
Doc
ASE Master

 

If you can't find a rad that fits you could maybe install an aftermarket transmission cooler in front of the rad instead.

 

Well, turns out the transmission line was a 5/16" OD tube, FWIW. Taking the advice of the local radiator shop, I filed down the end of the nut over the flared tube a little, and now it fits fine. I don't know why it fit fine over the old radiator and had to be "encouraged" to fit on new radiator. I didn't have to do any filing the last time I replaced the radiator, but the radiator shop techie said that they have to do that all the time. He said they even give it a tap with a hammer to seat it before tightening the threads sometimes. This seems odd, but what do I know about radiators, not much, but a little wiser now.

 

I had the same issue with 2002 f150 4.6l . I found whitish brown goo on oil fill cap. I called mech bro in law . I was told this is normal especially in cold weather . The water is condensing on the cap. He recomended changing my oil more often.