mysterious liquid

[dwhite]

i always check my oil once a week cause its an old car well i looked a few days ago and on my oil cap there was a whiteish fluid in the top of the cap and i was wondering if anyone knows what it is 10-985AF177-543733-960.jpg11-98597DD4-543733-960.jpg

[dwhite]

i know the pictures suck but i know its a whiteish color and it definitely has a oily film on it

[TorqueEffect]

Condensation probably is my best guess.
I would say because of the cold but not in Nevada.

I wouldn't worry about it unless you see it on the oil on the dipstick.

[dwhite]

my auto teacher was saying that i should change to rotor and a few other things cause of it. any idea why that might help? he maid it seem like it needs a tune up. oh and would burning fuel cause that?

[Festy46]

Like TorqueEffect said - condensation. You get this when you don't drive long enough trips to get the engine really hot and "dry out" the inside of the engine. Because it's cold outside and your engine is warm, the engine gets condensation on the inside of the top parts of the engine (valve cover) and mixes with the oil mist producing what is in your picture. This is quite common in forklifts that are started and only run for a few minutes at a time. Your only choice is to make longer trips, possibly put in a hotter thermostat, and change your oil more often.

[db2u]

If this is a new occurence, then it is possible that you have coolant getting into the oil. I severely overheated my subaru with 344k miles on it, and small amounts of white residue was the end result. Still ran fine, and I didnt get much if any on the dipstick.

I also agree that in a dry climate that condensation is more unusual. In my subies case, I had blown the head gasket slightly, not enough for other HG symptoms. Your auto teacher might just be trying to get you to do a tuneup lol, but a rotor wont have anything to do with this.

[WmWatt]

I get that every winter - short distances in cold weather. It goes away in spring after driving longer distances in warm weather.

[db2u]

I rescind my comment, it is 29 degrees and 69% humidity in Minden NV right now, so all signs point to normal winter condensation.

[dwhite]

thanks you guys. its my first year having this car in the snow so thanks.

[drddan]

The condensation is my guess as well, but do this:

Check the fliud on the dipstick. If it looks normal oil color, it is okay. If the oil on the dip stick is whitish, then that is water/coolant in the oil