Cheddar cheese colored foam in the Catch Can

[Van]

:yikes::nono:I noticed a cheddar cheese colored, foamy substance in the 7Ms catch can today. Too bad I washed it away with brake cleaner. When it builds up again I'll take a photo so we can all get a good look.
My question is: Need I be concerned it is a cause of something adverse going on in my engine, and need to get the oil analysed? Van

 

[mecevans]

I would like to know too. I've seen it on a few cars at work.

 

[CT26smoker]

Hint: water & oil,
like in leaking head gasket.

 

[Poodles]

Hint: water & oil,
like in leaking head gasket.

You mean like in natural combustion process hence why short trips are bad for your oil?

 

[Van]

:dunno:It started this winter. I switched over from NEO synthetic oil last summer and went to the less expensive PAO based synthetic, Amsoil 10w-30. My wife's VW GTi has the same stuff... using Amsoil 10w-30. It is also on the oil fill cap of the VW GTi. I notice it disappears as the temps outside warm (ovr 50 degrees ambient). This foam was never there using NEO synthetic 10w-30. I'm going to switch to the more expensive diester based synthetic, NEO, and see if the foaming goes away. Van

 

[87MK111Supra]

Whenever I see that on the inside of my oil filler cap its a BHG. I always wince when i take it off for an oil change.

 

[IBoughtASupra]

Like what Poodles said, I don't like the short road trips. If I know I am going out, I always start my car up and let it get to operating temperature. I do it on my Supra as well. It is call "Operating Temperature" for a reason.

I don't understand why it is bad for the oil but I always have let me car warm up as a habit.

 

[CyFi6]

Letting it idle for a long time to warm it up isn't necessarily any better. Just drive it easy until it is warmed up and make sure if you take short trips that you take it out and get it fully warmed up every now and then.

 

[mecevans]

Oil needs to be at ops temp to remove contaminants. Emissions, water, and fuel.

 

[IBoughtASupra]

Letting it idle for a long time to warm it up isn't necessarily any better. Just drive it easy until it is warmed up and make sure if you take short trips that you take it out and get it fully warmed up every now and then.

Have you driven an E38 when it is cold? It drives different, a lot different. In the manual, it says to drive away at a slow moderatore speed until the car is fully warmed up as well.

 

[Poodles]

Like what Poodles said, I don't like the short road trips. If I know I am going out, I always start my car up and let it get to operating temperature. I do it on my Supra as well. It is call "Operating Temperature" for a reason.

I don't understand why it is bad for the oil but I always have let me car warm up as a habit.

Idling only gets the engine to operating temps, not the rest of the drivetrain. I'll do it anyway on a cold day because I prefure to get into a warm car, but it's not ideal.

 

[Van]

if your catch can is vented to the intake, then it is normal as some moisture will get into the system and cycle through. My catch can has a slight "milkyness" to the oil in catch tank-but the oil is clean everywhere else (sump, under the oil cap, etc.).

The 7M's catch can is on the cool side of the engine and is recirculating vapors into the intake. None-the-less, when using NEO synthetic oil last winter, we never experienced this "foaming".
I got a look at my wife's VW and the oil fill cap has a pasty, orange substance on it. She reports that it is there all the time, even after driving the car for almost an hour, when the o/s temps are below 40F. She does her own oil top up. We decided to order NEO and mix 50/50 w/Amsoil of the same viscosity.
Let's see what happens. Van

 

[Backlash2032]

I head something about this.. Isnt it just condensation since the oil fill cap is generally the coolest part of the motor?

I could be very very wrong, so take that with a grain of salt.

 

[mecevans]

90-05' VW's are actually the car that I see do this the most, especially the 2.0 . Only other engine I can think of is the 4.7L that comes in dodge and jeep vehicles with the huge oil cap. Its always covered in it.

http://www.jeepcommander.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11740

 

[Van]

90-05' vw's are actually the car that i see do this the most, especially the 2.0 . Only other engine i can think of is the 4.7l that comes in dodge and jeep vehicles with the huge oil cap. Its always covered in it.

http://www.jeepcommander.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11740

'99 vw.

 

[hvyman]

Bhg milshake foam is brown not yellow. Seen the foam on both the dodges an vws.

 

[Van]

Bhg milshake foam is brown not yellow. Seen the foam on both the dodges an vws.

O.K. I'll have my buddy w/the shop, put the Snap-On hydrocarbon sniffer over the open rad fill tube, run the engine to ops temp (thermostat open), turn engine off, see if it detects any in the coolant. I did this the last time the 7M had a suspected BHG, and the hydrocarbons in the coolant were off the scale. Van