Yellow gunk on oil cap

M

Motto

Member
 Central Scotland
Hi,

Just wanted to check if anyone else gets yellow gunk on the oil cap at all? I know this is a sign of water in the oil but I was not overly worried because I had exactly the same thing on my E46 330i and a mate had exactly the same thing on his 3.0i Z4 and BMW told him it is common and not to worry about it - I think to do with condensation caused by short journeys.

Basically there is yellow gunk under the cap and some on the rim where the cap goes on to. The car isn't driven very far on a daily basis (about 5 miles to work and 5 back). Not sure on oil consumption at the moment, I reckon it will need topping up every 3000 miles (i.e. it will use the amount between the two top markings on the dipstick).

Should I be worried? I'm putting it in to a local garage just in case but it drives and goes perfectly and has only just turned 40k miles with a full BMW history (last one last month).

Thanks.
 
Short journey thing sound about right find remedy here

http://www.bmwccscotland.co.uk/e2009.html

hope to see you , next meet is in Stirling
 
I get it to i also had it on my 330 coupe i just clean the cap after ive washed the car off definatley a time of the year thing with the cold weather and the short journeys.
 
I've had the same problem, and when I notice it, I am sure to take the Z4 out for a long drive (at least 30min) on a highway and heat up the oil to burn off the condensation. As soon as I come back from that drive, the yellow gunk/white foam is gone.

You should probably make a good effort to do that at least once a week, if you only are driving 5 miles to and from work.
 
Gotta love this forum - I was gonna post this very same question this morning... thanks guys.

Need to do a long run; only driven the car 3 miles a day five times since I've had the car as I've spent the last 3 weeks working in France..!

I can rest easy now. :thumbsup:
 
Very common at this time of year with alot of moisture in the air. The moist air sucked in ends up in the crankcase breathing and then of course the oil.With alot of short journeys and the engine not getting fully up to operating temp, moisture condensates on the cooler parts ie the filler cap.As this is mixed with oil it appears as a yellow sludge.
 
Odd, never heard of this before, and it's common??

Ride is stored in the winter and garaged in the summer so condensation issues aren't apparent, but I still don't have that problem w/ the 3 Series which is daily driver..
 
How far are you driving the 3 every day?

I noticed this problem was the worst after I had some body work done in December, in Pennsylvania. The engine wasn't being warmed up fully, but just started and stopped while being moved around the shop.

It's usually related to short trips in the cold weather.
 
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