White sludge on valve cover cap

[samlop]

I checked my oil level and I found a white sludge on the valve cover
cap. Does that mean that I am getting oil in my engine?
I have been using synthetic oil. the engine was rebuilt in 1997
by non-BMW mechanic.

All help will be appreciated.
Samlop

[Manolito]

I believe that you meant to ask whether you had water getting into your engine.

The answer to that question is yes. The important question to answer is - How much water is in the oil?

Check the oil on your dipstick. If it is milky, you have a problem that you need to deal with.

Is the car used only for short trips (e.g. less than 5 miles)? Short trips tend to cause moisture build up that results in white sludge under the valve cover. If the dipstick oil looks OK, then an occasional longer trip and more frequent oil changes should help.

You did not mention the year of your car but if it was rebuilt in 1997, it is old enough that it is not required to use synthetic oil. If you will be changing oil more often to clear the moisture, you might want to consider less expensive oil.

[bostogrun]

If you live in a cold climate. A little white froth is normal. Like the previous poster said look on your dipstick for milky residue. If it's normal than you have no problem. To clean out this condensation make sure you take car out for a long run, at least 20 miles at normal operating temp on the freeway. My brother in law, who lives in No Wisconsin, actually had to have an engine replaced in his three year old Chevy pickup. He is retired an only drives the vehicle intermittenly in his small town of three hundred people usually less than three blocks at a time. He was trying to "conserve" his new truck by not using it for long trips on the highway. As a result the vehicle never got to operating temp so the condensation built up and sludged up the motor. He had to have a new short block installed because the sludge build up actually blocked oil passages in the engine and it went out. "Sludge is actually water, which doesn't mix with oil, when it's really cold like MN, WI, MA, MA, ND, SD etc that condensation actaully freezes in little puddles where it lays in the motor. When you do a cold start it could take the motor a few minutes to melt the icy sludge. If could be blocking an oil passage and actually starve a bearing until the heat of the engine melts it but then it's too late, the damage has been done.

[richardlw]

Very well explained above. You can now also look for the new SN oils that are made to deal with moisture and sludge better than previous oil formulations.