hmmm... milky substance in my oil filler tube.

ok as the title stats theres a milky substance in my oil fill tube. no idea what it is .... i also notice my car is burning up oil or at least it seems like it. i filled it with oil two weeks ago to about where on the digital readout it was half way between the two lines, and yesterday i checked my oil level and it was right on minimum. I don't see any oil leaks anywhere or anything like that but im going to triple check when i can get it on a lift. So my question is what could the milky stuff be that in my oil filler tube and is my car buring oil. ill post pics of the milky stuff once i get a chance. thanks in advance and any help it appreciated (by milky i mean its cream in color and kind of thick like rotten milk)

there was once a thread on it - it is residue from evaporation in the crankcase... normal.

is it brown? i think it's normal

thanks for the quick reply i quickly searched it right after i posted and found out it can be from making to many short trips. i do a lot of thoughs going back and forth from work so thats what its from. i also read if i get a lot of white smoke then theres something with the coolant. when ever the engines not quite at operating temp i get a crap load of white smoke from the exhaust but it goes away once i get to about the 8 on the 180 in the temp gauge. not sure if thats normal since last year during the winter i didn't have as much smoke. and speaking of operating temp i just remembered another problem i had recently i was stuck in traffic and the operating temp got to right in the middle of the zero which is normal cause thats how it was over the summer. but then everytime i would break to stop at a light or what ever right before i stop the revs would drop really low and the car would almost stall. a buddy says it has something to do with the vacuum lines but it only happens when the temp is at the 0 in 180. yeah sorry for the long post but im freaking out cause my car has been doing some weird stuff lately and im starting to freak. (i guess 106+k miles is to much)

[QUOTE=Oscypek]ok as the title stats theres a milky substance in my oil fill tube. QUOTE] i think you need a girlfriend

I have the same issue, so I called the dealer and it is normal. Due to condensation, this happens more often in winter when the engine is not fully up to operating temps. If it's driven a good part of the day, it will be gone. Once warmer weather arrives, you should start to see less of this as well since the engine can get hot faster. Besides, I never did see it during summer/fall, so they are correct. I too freaked when I saw this thinking, "Oh crap, I have a cracked head/cylinder/case or head gasket" so this is when I got the dealer involved. Very strange it's not mentioned in the manual. You'd think since this happens often that they would cover it in the manual so not to alarm owners. Regards, Deanski

milky in the tube is normal. and smoke when its cold is normal

[QUOTE=NOBLEGT3] That's what I was thinking too......

lol you guys need to get your heads out of the gutter

Scared the cr@p out of me first time I saw it - I was having an intermix anxiety attack all over again! As all have noted, it's a 'feature' of the car. Key tests were: 1) Any white gunk on dipstick? No = good / Yes = Bad 2) Any oil in the coolant? No = good / Yes = Bad 3) Any loss of coolant? No = good / Yes = Bad 4) Any water in the oil when you next change it out? No = good / Yes = Bad Didn't happed to me until I was on a road trip in Northern CA, with the car sitting out at night in cold coastal atmos, and driving in heavy rain. Never saw it at all in SoCal - probably too dry & warm

They figure a good percentage of people will pay the dealership to check the car and change out the oil.. just in case It's a cash cow for Porsche!

At the worst it could be sludge but more than likely it's condensation.

If sluge can make it all the way up that tube, which is some ways from the crank case, you have other more serious issues!

That's true.

Yeah I thought intermix...look in your coolant tank...is there brown stuff in there? If so...intermix....not good then....new engine. Happened to me, thankfully under warranty.

You must be mistaken - these engines never had intermix issues

[QUOTE=NOBLEGT3]

Are you paid by PCNA for that statement? There are hundredds, if not thousands of 996s and Boxters that have fluids intermix. The way "Oscypec" describes his problem, was exactly the way my problem started; intermix of engine coolant and lube oil. But PCNA denies to ever have heard about the problem. PCNA is only looking for short time profit, and don't give a **** in customer care and Porsche reputation. To "Oscypec": Take a look in the coolant reservoir. That is probably where your "consumed" oil is. A new 3.4L engine is $8,129.00, plus installation and cooling system clean out.

Hey Fly911 - just being sarcastic - I've lost two engines myself There are some folks here that would believe that George Bush was a Martian before they'd admit that early 996 and 986 blocks had QC issues.... As already noted - if you have an early model engine, then perform the following additional checks for possible intemix failure: 1) Any white gunk on dipstick? No = good / Yes = Bad 2) Any oil in the coolant? No = good / Yes = Bad 3) Any loss of coolant? No = good / Yes = Bad 4) Any water in the oil when you next change it out? No = good / Yes = Bad If you have any of these additional symtoms then it's time to start talking nicely to your dealership about supporting your new engine claim. Later cars are highly unlikely to have intermix as Porsche re-engineered the block and 'fixed' the issue with better design and QC during manufacture. Note, as the oil is under higher pressure than the water, you'd expect to see oil in your coolant tank for sure with intermix, rather than coolant in your oil cap which can be just the evap 'feature' on the 996s.

are you saying that geore w isnt a martian ? early cars had qc issues, but most were replaced very ealry in life, white on the dipstick, just means moister in the oil not necceassary mixing issues oil in the coolant, best way to tell if you take off the resivor cap and it looks like pudding then you have an issue loss of coolant, not really tell tale, cars use coolant it evaporates, the tanks leak ect water in the oil, yeah thats another good way usually the water comes out before the oil does and its pretty easy to tell

i checked my coolant level and its well below minimum.... and the coolant is also yellow/creme in color and looks kind of thick im f***** freaken out..... someone please help!!! also everytime i start it after its been sitting for a while my low oil level light comes on but then turns off but the car seems to be struggling to idle... it goes in steps like it goes to 750 then to 1k drops a little and shoots up to 1200k rpm or what ever the cold idle is and stays there.... it never did that before. i know alittle about car maintenance (basics like oil change, and all that ) so any help figuring out my problem would be appreciated. also i have had my check engine light on for a least half a year and all it is is an emisson leaks. i haven't gotten it fixed cause my mechanic told me its not a big deal but if any of you have an input on that please do tell. im going to get a membership for rennlist soon because i love this site and i figure i owe it to all of you for helping me out and i want ot make sure im doing my part in keeping this site up and running. o and sorry for the long post

Why was I thinking the same thing??

You definitely have intermix, and that's never good - sorry Remember the key checks: 1) Any white gunk on dipstick? No = good / Yes = Bad 2) Any oil in the coolant? No = good / Yes = Bad 3) Any loss of coolant? No = good / Yes = Bad 4) Any water in the oil when you next change it out? No = good / Yes = Bad Somewhere you are getting the coolant and oil mixing - could be porous block, could be head gasket. 1) Get the car to a dealer to be checked 2) Assume that this is going be be expensive 3) Be prepared for them to say you need a replacement engine How old is the car, and how many miles?

Anytime you have milky stuff you should worry. I have seen brand new engines have some oil in the coolant because of assembly oil gets in all of the passages, but they don't have milky stuff in the coolant. I also seen milky oil, but that could be caused by sometype of work like an intake manifold replacement that got some coolant in the oil galleys, but it thoes don't have oil in the coolant. Since its in your both oil and coolant area then there something wrong. You either have a crack that is causing mixture of oil and water or you have a blown head gasket. Either way your in for something expensive. Given that the car idles funny I'm leaning to a blown head gasket, but you'll never know. I hope the best for you, but you need to take it in.

car is a 2000 c2 carrera with over 106k trouble free daily driven miles till now

Did you have any recent engine overheating issues at all?

no over heating in fact ive only seen the car get to full operating temp once in like the last month sinces its so damn cold over here.... (operating temp being the needle at the 0)

so nothing obvious there - to the dealer or an experienced indy I'm afraid

thanks for the help man i really appreciate it.... ill have to wait till thursday before i can go to a dealer so ill be sure to keep everyone posted on whats with the car. its getting late over here so im out but again thanks for the help and hopefully things turn out good but i doubt it since i read some more about intermix and im pretty sure im going to be getting a new engine soon..... well the bright side is ill have another 100k something miles to go with this amazing automobile.... you just have to love porsche they really do get under your skin

Definitely a mixing of oil with coolant. After they fix the engine problem that is causing this they need to fully flush the coolant system. All I can see with that are $$$s.

im actully going to flush my coolant myself after i take it over to the dealer i rather not touch anything now i want the dealer to see exactly what wrong with the car.... also i just noticed today to the left of the throttle body there are two o clamps holding down what looks like a rubber coupling and its covered in oil , theres one on the right side of the throttle body also but that one has no oil on it

now its time for a leak down