I really hope someone can help me. My wife bought a 2001 SuperCrew a few months back. Today I went out to check the oil for her, and it was about 1 quart low. When I took the oil filler cap off the engine, I noticed that there was a tan/vanilla looking substance on the bottom of the cap, mixed with black streaks of oil here and there. It looks about like coffee with creamer added would look. I looked down the fill tube and there's a coating of it along the sides of it also. Any ideas what this is? Should I be worried?

 

dont worry about that its just normal condensation.if you start overheating,blowing white smoke out the tailpipe,leaking antifreeze,stalling etc.. then you have a problem. you were a quart low?? the oil on the dipstick wasnt creamy right??

 

#2.

 

Did it sorta look like this? It's normal to have a condensation buildup on the filler cap, especially in the winter. It's the highest point in the engine where moisture in the crankcase, that is a byproduct of combustion, condenses.

 

Condensation. Cold weather and short trips.

As to the oil level. When you put the specified amount in these models they usually end up in the middle of the "safe" zone. Maximum mark is 0.5 Qt above design capacity. However it is not unusual for Mod Motors to consume a little oil. Ford did a survey of the 4.6L in Police Service a few years ago and found average consumption was 1 Qt per 1700 mi. In civilian use it would be less because you dont have the pursuit or extending idling.

PS Check the thermostat and make sure its operating correctly.

 

Well , from what everybody says - "condensation is normal", but that much ? I haven't seen it that bad in my 5.4L, if at all . I've seen it like that in an 86 strait six that blew shortly after I noticed. I'm not saying your motor going to blow , I really don't know. I know I would try to eliminate it if I could.. The only way I can think of is running a higher quality oil like Amsoil 100% Syn. Your engine will run cooler.

I have seen that in older vehicles and can't recall a low milage motor building up so much.

Has anyone's truck done that for a long period of time..?

 

I guess my motor should have blown years ago...

 

Well, this is the furthest I've gone on an oil change - 6800 miles on this Amsoil stuff - I started using Amsoil at 180,000. I'm at 206,000 now and I've changed that out every 5000 miles. I posted that and caught flack , some of you said I don't need to change it that soon ..

Well , the bottle says "up to 25,000 miles or one year guaranteed".

I think I'll take it to 15,000 . I'm curious to see if this 5.4 burns any oil lol.

None so far..

 

Great choice in oil, but it will not make your engine run that much cooler. All engines get some condensation.
Short trips are the worst. The longer your oil is at full temp the more condensable vapors will boil off. Those that do longer trips will notice this goop less.

 

I'd go ahead and replace the PCV valve..... at 1.99 you can't pass it up.
If it's plugged or not working at 100% all those vapor's have no where to go.

 

Even at normal operating function, the PCV cannot draw air from the oil cap filler neck area anyway.

FWIW, it's suggested to use a Motorcraft PCV valve if you do decide to replace it, not an aftermarket one. Some of the aftermarket ones haven't agreed with the operation of some of Ford's engines.

Steve

 

Sure it can, if oil can drain from the head to the oil pan then vapors can be pulled from the left head too.

 

I am somewhat at a loss when I see all the white deposits in the oil fill cap.
I live in Phoenix, AZ so I never see the emulsified oil in the cap.

I used to live in northeast Ohio and the only time I experienced the white deposits was when I put an engine together and didn't bother to put the road draft tube(crankcase vent pre PCV) back on. And then it was only in the dead of winter. Put on the road draft tube and the white stuff went away. Yes I am a senior citizen. I still ride dirt bikes, do all my our automotive work and usually fix several cars a month on the side and haven't missed a day of work in years.

Having said that I would think with todays 195 degree thermostats, viscous drive fans and a properly functioning PVC that the excess moisture would be removed from the crankcase, regardless of the outside temperature coupled with short trips.

The white junk is the detergents in the oil emulsifying with the water, creating an emulsion. The real issue is that the detergent package is being depleted. When the oil gets hot enough the white junk will go away. What I don't know is once the white stuff goes away if the oil losses some of its properites.

The questions to ask are : is the PVC system functioning, properly, is the thermostat functioning properly and is the fan clutch disengaged. Does the white junk appear right after an oil change or when the oil is at the end of the change interval?

 

It can happen whenever ...( :

 

That's right, all cars have some condensation, it's part of the reason you change the oil. Condensation on an oil cap in cold weather with short trips is nothing new. I haven't seen it so much because , I live out in the boonies - What's a short trip??

As said, it's an oil/water emulsion. Your oil collects various combustion by-products. The "mayo" indicates that your motor isn't getting hot enough to drive this moisture out of your oil. Keep in mind it takes an engine about 12 to 15 miles to throughly reach optimum temperature regardless of what the temp guage shows.

Water is one of the by-products of combustion. Which doesn't include the amount of moisture that is in the amount of air required by an internal combustion engine. (You are using about 14.5 times more air than fuel.) Some will get past the rings. As the hot gasses in the crankcase and cylinders, (and if the engine stops with an exhaust valve partly open) contract as they cool, they suck in ambient air (with humidity) which will condense on the metal parts, when cold.

All oil is designed to deal with a certain level of water content. I prefer Amsoil because of it's inhanced propeties. Synthetics also work as sort of a cleaning agent..

Better oil , but it can't control mother nature , the oil cap may stay cool enough in cold weather to condense oil/water vapors together (yielding the white emulsion you see).



You get that goop in the summer , yuh better check those head gaskets..