Gunk at the Oil Filter Cap

[colt1911]

Hi,

I just performed an oil change and I noticed some sort of brown gunk at the Oil Filler Cap. Has anyone encountered this before? Do you know what causes it and do I need to go to the dealer to look into this?

I've attached a pic

[tonythetarga]

That is moisture. You get this when you drive for short distances and don't get the oil up to full hot temps long enough to burn off the condensation.
The solution is to go for longer drives

[BerneseMtnDog]

Your oil didn't look like that, right?

Steve

[Nostril Cheese]

Stop babying your car and go drive it hard for long distances. This will solve the problem.

[Lyle.woodard]

It's a performance car, Colt, drive it like you stole it once a week at least, stay aware of its condition, ahead of its maintenance needs, and fix it when it breaks (and of course dont let it sit hiding in a garage most of the time)! These cars are TONS of fun and not unreliable at all if you maintain them with the fact that they go seriously fast and YOU ride inside them in mind!

I agree with others here, the amount of deposits on your cap are minor and likely to be only from not driving off the moisture that condenses as the engine cools down. However if you had "Milkshake" oil (light brown or light brown streaks) when you changed it last, you need to look for possibility of a cracked cylinder head. You get another warning on that though; the level in the coolant tank starts to need replenishment more often. I had that one happen to me on my 2000 Boxster S...it was a great excuse to have the IMS replaced, and in my case drove the decision to send it to Jake Raby and Flat 6 Enterprises to have it taken out to 3.6 Liters and all of the other known Porsche design risks engineered out.

[colt1911]

That's the confusing part as I don't baby it. I drive about 22 miles on the highway and avg higher than the normal speed limit. The only thing I can think of is that its currently winter so perhaps that affects it someway when I park at work for several hours.

[Crispy]

That's nuthin... and I drive hard 1 hour each way, every day. My problems became less so when I switched from Mobil 1 to Castrol. Of course it only happens when it's really cold.

[mikefocke]

What color is your oil when you change it?

Is there any loss of coolant?