Water under the oil filler cap!

[dazza33]

Hi, just an hour or so ago whilst changing my oil and filter i noticed i had the dreaded brown gunk under the oil filler cap. I cleaned the cap then took the car for a 10k drive and confirmed I am getting the water in there, seeing additional water droplets under the cap.

When emptying the oil from the motor it was jet black, no gunk there, and checking the dipstick the new oil is crystal clear after the drive as well?

I do seem to be using only a small amount of water. I am not having any overheating problems and the car is idling and driving fine?

Further i regularly check the oil and the cap, i did this last 2-3 weeks ago and all was ok.

Any Idea's, cheers Daz.

[vnv8driver]

So its definitely water under the cap?? the only way for water to get from your cooling system to the rocker covers is throught the oil system, is that why you thought the brown colour was water?

If its thats subtle id be getting a compression test done to make sure its not a head gasket.. but also could be inlet gasket.

Id say have another look at it cause you may be wrong, did you degrease or splash water over the motor whilst servicing / cleaning?

[commsirac]

Often in cars that do short trips this is perfectly normal in cold weather and may not disappear until an hour of hard driving.

[dazza33]

So its definitely water under the cap?? the only way for water to get from your cooling system to the rocker covers is thought the oil system, is that why you thought the brown color was water?

Well I think It's definitely water, but not a real lot! Indicating to me a possible leak into the oil but not a significant one. I just can't understand though not seeing the brown/white color in the old oil when i removed it or the new oil i have just put in. It's only under the cap?

I did do a head gasket in my old LC Torana, it was a lighter color than this but
a hell of a lot more of it! It used to spew out of the cap.

Cheers, Daz.

[dazza33]

I has been cold i know, i thought maybe condensation? Is that possible?

[vnv8driver]

if theres water mixing with the water and you havent wiped the radiator cap down, it WILL appear shortly.... thats if it is mixing with oil..

If theres simply brown under the cap could of been from the old oil (even since it was replaced) as theres still some oil residue in the covers after a service it may be a flase alarm, is it a dripping sort or liquid?

[dazza33]

The gunk under the cap when first noticed was thick, once again not a real lot. When i cleaned the cap then went for a drive I just got the water beads, I'm sure left under the cap over time it will turn to the similar gunk as before.

Sorry not sure about what you meant in saying wiping the radiator cap down?

Appreciate you help on this by the way, I'm a bit panicky in regards to this as this car has to get my family around Tassie for 10 days in just on a week from now. The last thing i need is to get stranded over there!

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

As said already, condensation is very common when the weather is cold. If water was getting into the oil, the oil itself will opaque. On the dipstick it will be a dull colour, not shiny. If this is happening as well as residue in the cap then you may have a problem.

[dazza33]

Cheers, I'm starting to feel a bit easier about the whole thing. I shall monitor it over the next day or two.

Thanks again to all.
I have now upgraded this site in importance to that of equal to my beer fridge!

Cheers, Daz.

[burnz]

this sound's normal to me, as stated above "daillution" ..
maybe have a look as the PCV pipe see if it's blocked. (positive crankcase ventilation)

[pablo]

Your local mechanic or radiator repair bloke should have a cooling system pressure tester, it would only take a short time to determine if the system has a slight weep.
Pablo

[andyos]

I had a similar problem with my 95 vr v6 when i had it.It could be just condensation however in my case it turned out that it needed the valley cover gaskets replaced(Common problem with v6).Mechanic that did it said hes never seen a holden v6 with a blown head gasket.Anyway cost me around $160 and fixed the problem.....

[dazza33]

Yeah well as i mentioned i cleaned under the cap and found more water droplets after a short drive. However today i drove to work and back, say 45/50 km and nothing, no discoloring or water under the cap. As per the consensus i will attribute it to condensation.

Daz.