Yellow snot under oil filler cap!

[xracer]

2002/325xi. 70,000 miles on car. Took notice when removing oil filler lid (710 knob) yellow snot hanging inside. I change W/Castrol synthetic @10,000 miles. I think I once read somewhere that it may be from going 10,000 on a change OR some cracked hoses for which there is a kit to replace said hoses. Or should I not wait to 10,000 miles to change oil? Thoughts and opinions welcome!

[Manolito]

10,000 miles is not terribly far on synthetic oil. I don't go that far, but it is not alarming.

I can't think of what hoses would let water get into your oil.

1) How far do you normally drive? If the car gets started and driven only a mile or two frequently, you probably have condensation building up in the crankcase. That is not good. Drive further or change oil more frequently.

If you normally drive 5 miles or more every time you start the car, then it should clear the water vapor, so there is some other problem. Either there is water leaking into the oil, or the PVC is not functioning. I would change the oil, take it for a good drive (20mi+) and then change the oil again while hot to try to clear the snot. Then try not to take any really short trips for a while and see if the snot returns. That will tell you if it is the short trips or some other problem.

I don't know how to check the PVC. On my e36s, I pull off the PVC and idle air control and clean them with mild solvent whenever I have the throttle valve off and they are easily accessible.