Oil discoloration what does this mean?

thetryal · 12-09-2016, 06:39 PM

i was driving home from work the other day and the low oil light came on. When i flipped up the oil cap to add more oil, i noticed the cap looked like this.

These pics were taking right after driving home. After the engine cooled, it looked dark with only a hint of the yellow green color.

The car runs hard and there is no lack of performance. 117K miles on the motor.

What does this discoloration mean?

..................Please dont tell me head gasket

maxoutput · 12-09-2016, 08:22 PM

The mayonnaise is the result of oil and water mixing together but it doesn't necessarily mean you have a head gasket issue. Short stop start journeys in cold weather can often cause a little mayo inside the cap due to condensation in the crank case breather . Take it for a good run up the freeway for 30 minutes and it should evaporate off.

12-09-2016, 06:39 PM	#1
thetryal 1 expensive toy 42 Rep 275 Posts Drives: 2016 340i Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Charlotte, NC iTrader: (1)	Oil discoloration what does this mean? i was driving home from work the other day and the low oil light came on. When i flipped up the oil cap to add more oil, i noticed the cap looked like this. These pics were taking right after driving home. After the engine cooled, it looked dark with only a hint of the yellow green color. The car runs hard and there is no lack of performance. 117K miles on the motor. What does this discoloration mean? ..................Please dont tell me head gasket Attached Images __________________ 2016 F30 340i M-Sport
	Appreciate 0 Tweet Quote

12-09-2016, 08:22 PM	#2
maxoutput Private First Class 33 Rep 182 Posts Drives: E90 2005 Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: U.K. iTrader: (0)	The mayonnaise is the result of oil and water mixing together but it doesn't necessarily mean you have a head gasket issue. Short stop start journeys in cold weather can often cause a little mayo inside the cap due to condensation in the crank case breather . Take it for a good run up the freeway for 30 minutes and it should evaporate off.
	Appreciate 0 Quote