I decided to pop open the oil fill cap, i was going to add a capful of Marvel Mystery Oil, and saw this:

 

Could just be the easy place for winter damp weather to condense water in the system when you drive..it's condensing..there.

My 1st gen RX7s do this a LOT at the oil fil cap in the wet months.

 

this scared the sheet out of me....I looked at the water (I am running straight water ATM)....the water is clear, has no oily film or sheen to it. The oil on the dipstick is a nice golden honey color, with no milkiness. The water does not feel oily, nor does the oil seem to feel saturated (I almost said watery)...

The engine temperature is fine, and am not getting white smoke, or the appearance of water vapor nor oil out the pipes....

the car is in an unheated space, the hose from the oil fill goes to the air cleaner, that is not attached, and it is putting a slight warm vapor out....could this be moisture buildup from condensation, and me not letting the car get up to a good hot running temp? I hope so....

 

it has not been driven in over 20 years, and is on porken liftbars...I just got it running a few days ago...

 

Ya..probly thats exactly what it is...but..too early to fully tell.

 

Agreed with Speedtoys.......................................................

Any "old" 928 engine that has sat for at least a few years will have UGLY oil...... For example BOTH my race 928's had oil separators that looked WORSE than yours...... One has over 100 HOURS on track....the other is still counting with no issues....

The answer.....clean up the filler assembly....change the oil....change the oil and run and oil cleaner....get it nice and hot...put a couple hundred miles on it....and change it again to your choice of quality oil.....it will be fine and run for a LONG time.....

 

IMHO Looks like a motor with normal condensation from sitting / short drives / too low a temp . Change your oil and drive it .

 

Lol...I love you guys...thanks for the input...I would love to drive it, but we gotta crawl before we can walk...only a week ago, she would would not run at idle, only a couple weeks ago she tasted fuel for the first time since 93... She was abandoned for almost 20 years...I just changed oil prior to her first cranks a couple weeks ago....she will be getting another....up until Monday night, I could not even get her to run on her own...so I am also leaning to condensation...her run time has been very little, in a shop just above freezing

 

Ever notice water exiting your tailpipe? Same thing happens in your motor. Car needs to be driven to burn it off. I used to have a short drive to work in my dual downdraft little air cooled VW, ran rich and cool all the time and i always had that stuff collecting under the oil fill cap.

 

Thanks Matt...I'll be able to sleep now....it spooked me

 

you are taking a proper approach.....QUICK ??? how does the coolant look..... my .02....you need to pull and flush the radiator....you need to DRAIN the and flush the block....it will be NASTY.....

any 928 that has sat as long as yours needs EVERYTHING drained and flushed..... nothing is "good"

 

Already done...before I had to move, I drained all the old fluid out (Which looked very surprisingly new and clean...) flushed radiator, flushed the block...again looked decent, and refilled with distilled water. I examined the drained fluid and saw no signs of oil, metal, trash, etc in it...not my first revival, but I was surprised at how well it all looked...I then had to leave her sitting on the driveway of my rental house, while we started building....once my workshop was up...late summer, she was moved indoors (via flatbed) where she sat in the dark (probably quite scared) for a few months while we finished the house and got moved in....All primary hoses, fluids, filters have been changed...I have some really good Mercedes Benz coolant I bought for a car we no longer have, verified good for the 928, so I will be putting it in soon..

To answer your question...it looks good...lol...I took a sample of the water last night to examine...no "sheen" of oil or anything....certainly is not as clear as when I put it in...has a slight greyish tint to it...oil from dipstick looks a nice honey-brown....no milkiness....

I really appreciate all the input and help....

 

My recently "awoken" '80 showed the same stuff when I still pulled it in and out of the shop to work on it. It's condensation. Since it's inside the heated shop and cleaned up, there has only been a very tiny trace of it.

 

Ages ago, I was driving mine short trips (<2 miles) to and from the train station. I had the same problem. Cleaned it up and changed the oil and started taking the long way to the station.

 

Whew...man thanks again all...I totally feel better...ESPECIALLY after your pic there Dan! I am not afraid of a gasket refresh, but I really want to focus on the rest of the mechanical systems and get her drivable....I want to pull the engine when she goes to body and paint, so I was hoping to limp by until then...its a couple years from that, unless I fall into a bucket of $$...