Earlier on the board we discussed about clicking sound when starting up a cold 996 engine, that has been sitting for a while. The cause is propably hydraulic valve lifters that make sound untill the oil pressure gets up. One trick to avoid this is to keep the oil level rather at the high-end than low-end of the oil dip stick.

This morning I added some oil to my engine (mobil 0w-40). First time I opened the filler cap (i have had this car only 2 months now) and allmost panicked when I noticed yellow soap like stuff on the filler tube, right there where you pour the engine oil.

I called PorscheCentrum and asked whats wrong. The technican said it is water residual that concentrates on the tube on high-oil-volume engines. This concensating water "foam" is perfectly normal when the car is run in low temperatures.

The technican adviced to wipe the tube clean and to keep eye on the speed that foam accumulates on the tube. This formation of foam might also occur in case of coolant leak in the engine. If the amount of foam is equal to a size of a grape it is most likely caused by perfectly normal condensation.

Just wanted to report this in case anyone some day wonders the same thing. Also, comments and experiences about this phenomenon are welcomed.

 

I am glad you posted this info, cause I wondered about the almost "rusty" light brown colour at the
top of the filler tube.

I also wonder how exactly that develops on a nearly DD.

 

Water condensation. Nothing to worry about.

 

yes... temp diff between the tube and engine will cause condensation in the filler tube.

 

There is a TON of water that gets in every single internal combustion engine. There is a lot of explaination as to why, but that doesnt really matter as much as knowing it is there and how to avoid having it "kill" your engine. The simple answer is to allow the engine to run. When the engine gets warm (normal operating temp) it begines to burn the water out through evaporavion (simple explaination) so it has to run long enough and warm enough to eveporate all the water out, or it stays in the engine. The second way to fight this is to change the oil (which traps the water) more often. Over time the water will cause problems like rust and such if not removed or burned out. So it gets back to the same rule.....

DRIVE THE CARS -
let them get warm and run them awhile.

As for the stuff mentioned above that are specific to the P-cars tube with temp drop causing the "foam" on the lid, this is also true, but running it more will keep that down. (IMHO)

 

What Ivangene says is true and I could have done better than a six word response. This happened to me and I was similarly freaked when I saw it. You need to run the car and not constantly use it for a bunch of short trips. I have a feeling this is an important strategy to ensure long engine life.

 

There are two places you should check if you have "butter" or "cream" in your oil filling pipe; the dipstick and the coolant reservoir. If the oil on the dipstick is anything but clear brown, or you have "cream" in your coolant reservoir, there is a good chance that you are among the many 996 owners that suffer from coolant/oil intermix. The normal cure for this too frequent 996 disease, is to buy a new engine. I'm one of the unfortunate ones...

 

Just curious, how much is a new motor including labor for 996 ?

 

you can search this forum, but generally anywhere from $10-$14k. the cost of 3.4L engines from porsche has gone up, from what i understand.

 

I just noticed this over the weekend on the NE Ramble and was very concerned. However this thread has helped and I can sleep at night as the coolant tank is clean and the dip stick is just clear oil.

Thanks for the info.

Jeff
'99 996

 

I went through the exact same experience and started a similiar thread some months ago. I almost had a heart attack when I first saw the buttery build-up around my filler tube!!!

 

clean it out. run it hard.

 

I used to find the froth about 6 months ago. Those days I was never letting my revs drop below 2000 when driving. Usually cruising between 2500 to 3000 and changing up on take off at about 2500 revs. Since i got more used to the car I drive it much harder. Nothing below 2500 and using lower gears and to hell with how much to the gallon I might be getting. I find that I am taking the engine revs up to 3500/4000 before changing to the higher gear on take offs. Thats after a long tick over warm up before moving of course. That said, I just checked the dip stick. Clean. Coolant tank. Clean green. Then removed the oil filler cap. Clean as I ever saw it. Not one bit of froth or anything for that matter. So it looks like I burned off all the condensation from hard driving the car as they were meant to be driven. Like I stole it. I am very pleased