So I changed my oil today in preperation to drive down to Florida (tamarro). So everything is going smooth until I unscrew the valve cover cap. I see some sludgey stuff inside the valve cover (not alot) but enough to worry me. It's very thin consistancy and tan in color. I change my oil every 5000 miles at most. I was able to get some out and plastic bagged it. I will have pictures up soon. Any help would be awesome,...please. Im going into the MINI dealership tomarro to have the coolant flushed and i will bring it up then. But any help would be great

thanks, MSF

 

if you don't drive long trips on a regular basis; and really only go down to the nearbye store on occasion; then this is normal . but if you do get the car up to normal opperating temps on a regular basis then you got trouble . it indicates water in the oil . on longer trips it cooks off ,then acumulates again when the engine shuts down over night. it's condensation . if you drive distances ,this should be cooking off .

 

well i havent done anything over 50 miles it the last few weeks

 

1- Water in the oil can make a substance like you describe. It's been cold lately. How far do you drive your car? A couple of miles at a time? If so it could be caused by condensation.

2- The other cause could be coolant leaking inside the engine. If you aren't losing coolant you can rule that out.

I'm guessing it's #1.

 

so am i f-ed

 

If it's Crashton's #1 - Then no. Just be sure to give it some time to get up to operating temps so the water can burn off. This is especially important in the winter. Short term trips can also be hell on your exhaust system too. (short term being less then 5-7 minute drives)

If it's Crashton's #2 - Then yes. You are.

 

Are you losing coolant?

If not then it isn't a big deal. Just give that MINI a good long ride once in a while.

 

usually when their is coolant in the oil, it has a mayonaise consistancy to it... from your description it seems like it is a bit of sludge. I personally wouldn't worry too much about it. Especially if you are not losing coolant!

If you want to make sure, do a compression/leak down test and a coolant system pressure test! That should give you a good indication of your motor's health!

If anything, it gives you a good excuse to drive your car further than usual!

 

the resivor doesnt look full but then again it's been 70 thousand miles since it has been changed/ filled anything. hence me going into the dealership for the schedueled flush.

 

One more question.

Have you pulled the dip stick lately? If so is they sludge on it? I'm guessing no, but you should check.

If you had coolant in the oil you wouldn't have just a little bit on the oil cap you'd have a brown sludge all over the inside of your engine.

 

Awesome question, This is why I love all fellow NAMies. There was none in the drained oil and none on the dipstick the several times i checked it today

 

The sludge was tan. just wanted to make that clear

 

I'd say relax & take a nice long motor to really warm up that engine.

It's condensation.

 

It is condensation....VW/Audis do this as well when its cold.

 

If you had an oil temp gauge you'd see how surprisingly long it takes the MINI's oil to warm up in cold weather. I used to commute 35 miles on the jersey turnpike with the MINI (still do, just a different car), and it would take a solid 10-15 miles to get the oil up to 100 degrees celsius, which is when the condensation you're probably seeing can burn off. On REALLY cold days it would never get that warm - that's why some people in very cold climates block off their radiators. Even with that commute, I'd sometimes see that milky sludgy crap on the very end of the dipstick. It'd freak me out, I'd think I had a coolant leak, get it checked out, and nothing. Then I got the oil temp gauge so I could keep track of not only when the oil can burn off the condensation, but also when it's safe to really get on it.

mb

 

Let us know how you make out at Prestege. I am sure it is fine.

 

Florida protects me half way and my massive amount of miles gets me the rest of the way thru. However after reading this and durring my DT BPV install i did sneak a peak hehe. im all good.

 

+1
Don't fret, motor.
Cold metal + humid air = condensation
Water is everywhere (except maybe Georgia, northern Florida at the moment.)

 

It's the cold cycle not warm enough to burn off all the moisture in the engine, you're fine enjoy the beach!

 

well i have been at Prestige MINI for 45 minutes ( i was the first and still the only person here for service, and they still havent gotten to my car. I will keep you updated..

 

well im f@@@#D i dont have the money for they to check the car out and they think it is a large problem.

 

can afford a new car with what i have to pay off. maybe i should contact RVW or helix, idk

 

**UPDATE**

After following another thread where the guy was having the same issue that i WAS having i figured it out. I blocked the gray pcv hose under the intercooler while running new hoses to my OCC. The reason for this; I looked at the OCC hot to thread and figured i had my install wrong being that in thier illastration they showed the gray pcv hose blocked off. Before i didnt have it blocked off, it feed to the OCC. I also never had the oil milk shake. So i changed the routing back to the way i had it and withen a few days no more milk shake! Awesome!

Thanks for the help guys.