Engine sludge inside valve cover

[esafaeian]

Hey Guys,
Recently bought my z4C 3.0si and have just had it serviced, the mechanic told me the engine is spotless and I did check under the oil cap before I bought it looking for obvious signs of sludge. However now after 1 weeks of owning the car I've had a closer look through the oil cap hole and at different angles I can see what looks like a bit of sludge stuck to the wall of the valve cover (I'm guessing that's what I'm looking at).

Any help would be greatly appreciated, could you guys let me know what the best course of action would be from here and whether I should be too worried about it or to just run an engine flush before the next oil change (planning on doing 12 monthly/7.5-10k km).

Ps. the car has done 127k km

 

[warmasice]

All looks good. Are you using Castrol? Seen way way worse.. down to condensation. Nothing more.

 

[esafaeian]

Ahh ok, the actual internal parts are very clean and have no sludge, it's just a little on the valve cover walls which I was concerned about.. So I'm guessing it's fine to leave it and just continue with my normal service schedule? I might remove the valve cover to give it a clean and replace the gasket at some point in the future. My mechanic used BMW LL-01 oil last week for the service, I do also have a 1L castrol edge 5w30 bottle that I keep in the car just in case a top up is ever needed.

 

[esafaeian]

So had more of a look tonight, seems like theres little bits stuck to a few surfaces here and there - will this reduce the life of my engine? Should I do something about it now before it gets too bad and if so what would be the best course of action in the short term (I've just done an oil change over the past week so don't want to spend too much if I can help it)

 

[warmasice]

Feel free to get an expert opinion but I was having a panic with a previous car too. Loads more creamy residue than in your pics. Ended up being condensation.. I think the Castrol oil had something to do with it. I moved onto Mobil 1 and all was fine.

 

[Scooba_Steve]

Can't comment on what you've got but your planned schedule sounds reasonable - I aim for 12 months or 7500 miles, whichever comes first (12000 km) and use a good filter - MANN are the OEM and about half the cost of BMW. If you service more frequently than schedule you'll be doing good for the engine.

Give the car a good highway run and do a full change if you're worried; if you're REALLY worried then have some oil analysis done, otherwise the engines seem to be holding up well at higher miles across this forum

 

[esafaeian]

What types of mileage are people getting? Is 127k km considered high?

Just hope the bit of sludge won't be too detrimental

 

[Fox889]

That's just under 80k miles in English money...............barely run in dear boy!
These girls [properly looked after] will do twice if not three times that mileage.
Regular oil changes are the key to longevity.

 

[Markos_Z4]

clean your oil cap
if you not clean your cap you will see the sludge every year :roll:

maybe your mechanic say he change the oil but you still have the same oil in your engine
maybe he scam you !
always go to a mechanic you know and trust

if you have hydraulic lifter noise he did not flush your engine

 

[Scooba_Steve]

Don't flush, you don't need to, lifter noise is due to short journeys.