Phlegm in My Oil Tank Options

[silver six]

When I went to check the oil level in my oil tank I noticed that there was a white, phlegm like substance coating the fill tube. It looked like the oil became foamy and began coughing up this white creamy subtance. There wasn't a whole lot of it, just some around the mouth and throat of the fill tube. What is this stuff? Should I be concerned?

I recently put a quart of regular oil in. The previous owner may or may not have used synthetic and so I'm not sure what was/is in the tank before I filled with natural 10-40.

Any ideas? Does my Porsche have bronchitis?

Douglas

[Dave_Darling]

Water in the oil. Check your head gasket. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

No, seriously--condensation is in the oil. Change it, and make sure that you get the oil up to operating temperature on a regular basis in the future. 180F is a bare minimum, 212F is a much better temperature. (Boils the water out toot-sweet!)

--DD

[krk]

I'm with DD on this one. At the BA/JW class, he called it Porsche Mayo. lol.

The cause is water in the oil, but the source of the moisture is the thing to keep track of. It can occur naturally as a by product of sitting around, or not completely heating up the oil I think (and I can't find my notes so I'm making this up -- I know there was another possiblity.... hmmm.) that it can also result from something not nice as a byproduct of combustion. (i.e. as your rings weaken.... DD does this ring a bell? or am I in need of more help?:-) (damn, where are those notes....) Anyway, the proper recipie for heating up porsch mayo involves >45 minutes on a nice twisty road. Remember to follow your doctor's orders.

kim.

[Dave_Darling]

Yeah, water is a byproduct of combustion. Blowby on the rings, or possibly a leak in the PCV system, could get water in there too.

But a likely cause is simple condensation.

--DD

[FlatSix]

So how do you warm up a six?

Kim mentions 45 minutes on a twisty road which sounds good. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

But until you get up to operating temperature what sort of rev range would you consider sensible?

Below 3,000rpm for the first 10 minutes?

What do drivers think?

[olav]

But a likely cause is simple condensation.

--DD

I have the same thing in my six.
It's condensation.
I put a oil catch can in my engine compartment and that catches a lot of condensation too.
I have empty it every so often and it contains mostly water.
I found the amount of water it contains depends on the day/days that the car has been driven.
If it's a high humidity day then there is more water/condensation.

Other that than I wipe out the goo.

This occurred with all the engines that I have had in my car which is two.

On another note:

What is this >> :loveletter:

[silver six]

Thanks Dave for the quick diagnosis. You're very fast on the draw. I'll be sure to buy my head gasget from PP. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) I like Kim's prescription and I will try to follow the regimine at least once a week.

Olav, when you speak of an oil catch can are you referring to the container that attaches to the hose coming off the side of the oil filler neck (sometimes referred to as the "breather")? If not, what sort of device are you referring to?

Douglas

[olav]

Olav, when you speak of an oil catch can are you referring to the container that attaches to the hose coming off the side of the oil filler neck (sometimes referred to as the "breather")? If not, what sort of device are you referring to?

Yep, that's where I put mine. It's a rubbermaid.

[mskala]

Below 3,000rpm for the first 10 minutes?

I don't know about others, but on mine I don't think
it's really drivable while keeping it under 3K. Not
that I'm religious about it, but I try to limit to 4.5K.
FWIW

Mark S.
'70 914-6

[krk]

Well, here's my two bits -- it's about operating temperature and duration. The turbo manuals tell you not to hit it hard until the temp is above 178F. Seems to make sense. So I use the same warm up procedure for all P-6's -- a little driveway warm up, followed by civilized driving until the temp hits the appropriate band.

So rule 1: no racing under 180F.

The duration is worth noting only because it (apparently) does take some amount of time for the moisture to be driven out of the oil. People with cars that are essentially collector cars usually have a regime that involves running (not idling) the cars on some interval (weekly or whatever) for some period of time (20 mins to 1 hr) at standard operating temperature.

So rule 2: driving with temp north of 180 for 20 mins weekly.

Other folks who know more will chime in I'm sure. IAMAL, YMMV, are you 18? Etc.

So rule 3: paint your car orange, and get a 3.2. [see "olav"] (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mueba.gif)

love kim.

[Gint]

I quit driving mine when the morning temps are below 35. I was having the same issue and my 25 minute trip to work just wasn't gettin it done.