(why mee!?) Milky dipstick/oilcap... headgasket issue? [lets hope not!]

[Taus-MP5]

I decided to check my oil this afternoon, just as a usual checkup, and almost sh!t a brick.

I pulled out the dipstick, and there was some milky spots on it, there was enough to worry me about a head-gasket! Its odd, that it seems to only be milky at the tip of the dipstick, and an inch after the full mark (above it, as in at extra-full mark). Anyways, i could use ANY help/ideas/w.e right now. Oh, and coolant level seems to be the same i believe (maybe a bit less, but nothing drastically noticeable)

[pics will be up shortly] & [of oil-cap inside]

 

[Taus-MP5]

when i first started the car up i checked the dipstick, and was minimal :

pic of coolant level (seemed as usual, maybe a bit lower,but it has to be if im having this issue )

Oil-cap inside:

and after engine ran for a couple minutes, seemed to be more milky :/ ( i took many pics on both sides because of crappy phone qlty)

please feel free to drop by any advice? should i keep driving ( i need to for wrk )
and possible cost to fix?
know anyone else w this problem/solutions?
(would it be a good idea) if i change my oil? and see if it happens again? or waste of $ ?

 

[Taus-MP5]

bump

 

[P-Funk!]

There will always be some condensation - especially if the car hasn;t been driven for along time.

Do an oil change and keep an eye on it.

Do you do real short trips (not far enough to get the car up to temp? If so - the condensation never burns off...

 

[Taus-MP5]

well i warm it up for 5 mnts, and drive ~6 miles to work or school and it sits for ~ 4 hrs. and drive back... but i had been using it last night for 2 to 3 hours (in the deep snow mostly through 2nd and 3rd gear due to the foot of snow on side streets! and everywhere) so i decided to check it to make sure it was ok by checking the oil. I didn't have in in 2nd or 3rd for 3 hours, don't get it mixed up, but i mean when i was driving for a while through streets it was stop and go and low gears/ and basically trying not to get stuck too much. So what im getting at is that it might be because of overusing it last night? I checked the temp when i was using it, and seemed fine though..

 

[Taus-MP5]

bump

 

[tweety2300]

Change the oil and see what happens with that I don't think its the head gasket you would have coolant in ur oil not milky stuff. I've never seen that before not even from condensation.what kind of oil did you use? Its not metal either

 

[joka1]

I had the same thing...... I was about to repull my head (brand new cometic head gasket installed 2 weeks prior). I was told it was most likely condensation by my dad who is a mechanic so I fixed my oil leak and put everything back together. 3" catless exhaust so I had alot of condensation and a milky coating on the bottom of my cap. I also installed a new PVC setup with catch can. My car no longer smokes nor do I have the milky residue under my oil cap. Just my .02

Rob

 

[Taus-MP5]

Just my .02

Rob

Right! I do have a CEL also, and its an 02 sensor something about 'threshold' i forgot the rest, but you guys think its just that?

I checked it after i got to work, and it looked pretty clean (the dipstick) And i checked it just now [just got off wrk] and it was cleaner, i actually did not see any residue on it, at all (maybe 1% it was dark lol)

So, ill give changing the oil a try again

oh and tweety, i used Mobil 1 5w30 synthetic w/ fram filter.. i was told by alot to use a 626 filter.. might do that also

Thanks guys! Definitely calmed me down a bit, we all know, thats one of the worst nightmares..big bucks to fix that, which i dont have haha.

 

[oldskool3]

Definitely looks like it is just condensation to me especially if your drive to work is that short and you don't seem to have any other symptoms

 

[Taus-MP5]

Definitely looks like it is just condensation to me especially if your drive to work is that short and you don't seem to have any other symptoms

so should i bother changing oil then? what would you honestly do?

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

If it's the headgasket, when you change the oil, you'll know. The oil will be milky. If you change the oil and it looks fine, it's just condensation. Also, ditch the Fram filter...get WIX, K&N or Purolator PureOne (my favorite because it's cheap and filters great). Fram filters are bottom of the barrel when it comes to filtration.

 

[Taus-MP5]

true, ill find out if its milky (keep those fingers crossed x ! )
and i just used fram last time because it was there and cheaper (mobil 1 filters were 14$, compared to 5$ )

 

[RockerPro5]

Check your PCV valve to see if it is clogged. In an old car, I once had a lot of that same white gunk build up too, (I remember the air breather pipe had that build up, head gasket was fine though).

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

i just used fram last time because it was there and cheaper (mobil 1 filters were 14$, compared to 5$ )

I hear you on not wanting to spend a fortune on filers. Purolator PureOne filters are $5-7 at Pepboys and they are rated up there with the $12-15 filters.

 

[Taus-MP5]

Hmm, never heard of Purolator PureOne filters , but will look into that. Oh, and should i get protege5 filter size, or m626 filter? I say stick to factory setup (they prob. did this for a reason, no?)

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

many (including me) use the 626...it allows you to add a full 4 qts, and there's really no downside (cost, performance, etc) to using it.

 

[tweety2300]

Is it the 2.0 626 or the v6? Does year matter? I'm due for an oil change as well

 

[RMW Guy]

Based on your driving habits, I would say it's just condensation. You need to get her out on I75 and run it for a while once a week or whever you can.

If it isn't time to change your oil, don't do it. BTW, how long does it take you to get 3000 miles between oil changes?

 

[Taus-MP5]

Well I changed it today just to make sure it wasn't milky. And it came out normal. So now I'm sure its condensation..its odd I've had 5 cars before this (since I buy and fix n sell) and I've never had this issue .. so its odd that this happened. Anyways I'm not sure how long it takes to make 3k...id say about 3 mobths or more.. because I know that I make about 250m/week .