wprater

Hello,

I went to add some more oil to my vehicle and after taking off the oil cap, I saw lots of rust colored oil that had a very creamy consistency. Perhaps a seal is leaking and water and/or rust is getting into the crank case?

Here are some pics, hoping one of you might have an idea of what's happening.

jumper5836

normal, you don't drive enough to get all the moisture out of the oil.

A long drive will cure it, probably need to check you oil level afterwards as well after the moisture is burned off.

wprater

Hmm.. I drive my car daily, not very far, but she gets plenty of attention. Never seen this happen before, but good to know it's not worth taking into the shop!

I'm game for a nice mountain drive on 410 though.

Skibum

+1

racer

Daily, but not far is even worse. I imagine nothing gets up to temp for very long. I'd encourage at least 30 minutes "at speed / rpm" and "at temp" to help with your problems. Need extended higher temps to help burn off the condensation and other impurities in the oil.

How frequently do you change your oil?

chrcook

Had the same thing happen to a M3 every winter in Michigan. Drove every day in the winter, about 45min each way during a commute and still got a milkshake in the oil. Scared me at firstnand sent the oil out for analysis multiple times to learn of no problems. I solved it by changing the oil just before the cold season and imediately following. Never occurred in spring, summer or fall. Go figure...

Edgy01

You need to drive it enough to burn off all the moisture that your engine is sucking in through its tailpipe during the day when it sits at your office, and in the garage at night. Driving it this way is a sure way to ruin an engine. Long drives are the best.

boolala

I just added a half quart the other day to the engine (the last time I did this between oil changes was 6 years ago) so I was surprised to see the gooey mess around the filler hose and I was wondering the same thing. As I change oil once a year (at an indy) I was wondering if I needed more frequent changes to avoid this. Nice to know this is basically a "normal" finding.

Carrera Mike

Normal

gota911

Normal..... for an under driven car.

Spiffyjiff

under driven. it's not a garage couch - get out and drive it.

Edgy01

You should never allow your engine to get into such a state. Drive it longer when you have it out. I remember this problem even in the air-cooled days with the massive oil reservoir behind the rear right wheel. You must drive in longer. Changing your oil will help, but will only put off the inevitable--damage to untreated steel components within the engine.

Crossfire190

I recently purchased a 2006 C2S and noticed the same buildup. I also note that the oil temp does not exceed 200 deg, even on extended highway driving. So, if the oil temp does not exceed the boiling point of water, how does the water get evaporated out of the system?

Barn996

Oil emulsification...moisture in oil/engine. What does your water temp. read after a one way drive?

cbzzoom

Highway driving is not really "spirited driving". You need to get the revs up, get on a winding road and the temp should get above 225.

Also, the oil temp inside the core of the engine is higher than the temp at the thermometer.