i did a search and got nothing, so herre it is. I changed my oil (mobil 1)(98 e320 4matic 120k) 2 times ago and there was a film on the back of the oil cap. white, cake batter like crude. So i cleaned it off and changed oil. now 2 weeks (4k miles later) ago I change it again and the back of the cap is about 3 inches thich covered in what looks like pancake batter. there was quite a bit of it, way more than last time, so I clean it off, put some engine flush stuff in and run for 10 minutes then drain and refill with synthetic. I am told this is from water, or condensation getting in the oil, or from a bad gasket. i do sometimes smell antifreeze in the cabin with defroster on, by only rarely. also heard that short trips like my 2 miles to work will cause this. What is going on here ?
Something isn't adding up. It's true that short trips are real bad for engine and transmission components. It can produce the symptoms you describe. You say you drive only two miles to work yet you put on 2 thousand miles in a week and did that twice. That figures up to over 100K in a year. If those numbers are correct, there's no way the milky substance is water from condensation. It would have long ago been evaporated assuming your engine is coming up to operating temps.
4maticinmedford, you're not the only one. See this thread:
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=1200886&posts=8&fid=17
E300POS, I think you misunderstood. He said that when he changed his oil 2 weeks ago, it had been 4,000 miles since the previous oil change. He didn't say he put 2,000 miles a week on the car...
i did a search and got nothing, so herre it is. I changed my oil (mobil 1)(98 e320 4matic 120k) 2 times ago and there was a film on the back of the oil cap. white, cake batter like crude. So i cleaned it off and changed oil. now 2 weeks (4k miles later) ago I change it again and the back of the cap is about 3 inches thich covered in what looks like pancake batter. there was quite a bit of it, way more than last time, so I clean it off, put some engine flush stuff in and run for 10 minutes then drain and refill with synthetic. I am told this is from water, or condensation getting in the oil, or from a bad gasket. i do sometimes smell antifreeze in the cabin with defroster on, by only rarely. also heard that short trips like my 2 miles to work will cause this. What is going on here ?
OK.....Here's the deal, before I purchased my W210 i was able to personally identify 1 COMMON questionable thing(at least in SEVERAL V6 3.2 engines: 3= E320s & 2=ML320s in a friend's car luxury dealership in OC,Ca ), and that is the Whitish Film on the under side of the Oil Cap!.....To the inexperienced eye this is a clear(almost clear) sign of a Blown Headgasket- ive seen considerable Whitish Oil Film (Oil/water mix) underneath the oil cap!, but according to my own personal mechanic who works in my friend's car dealership this is NORMAL and he has seen a LOT of this in the V6 3.2 Engines which is caused by condensation and is very inherent with the later MB V6 Engine design[:)]......There are several symptoms of a blown head gasket(increased temps, increased H20 reservoir pressure, etc, etc.) and the whitish film of oil under the oil cap alone DOES NOT signify a problem especially for the later MB V6 3.2 engines.....DONT WORRY ITS NOT A BLOWN HEADGASKET NOT UNLESS YOU OVERHEATED THE CAR[:)]
sounds like headgasket to me! watch for white smoke from tail pipe. whatever you do do not drive if this is the case or you will be looking to rebuild or replace motor. I know from experience in a 325I
Well I just checked my oil cap again, a few weeks after my last oil change, and there was a little crude(milky film) on it, not nearly as much as before. I also checked the dipstick and it was only covered in oil and the coolant was full,plus I recently installed a new fan clutch and the temp. never rises out of the middle range.Before I installed the new F.C. the temp. went into the red a few times while idling before I realized the fans weren't actually running, just spinning, but never actually overheated, I wonder if I damaged anything then? So hopefully I am one of the ones who's car just get's a milky oilcap and not a blown headgasket.
If you are not losing coolant, your head gasket is most likely saved. You could feel safe! You would not have damaged anything as long as car did not boil over with overheated engine. Good luck.
Its not youre headgasket. My to cars are C 240 and E 240 V 6 and they both do this. Let the car stand after driving and check when its cool if its going into a Cafe Latte look its yust condensation from the long oilfiller.
If the oil by any chance is getting white or grey then you have a serious problem.
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2001/02 240 T + , 99 C 240 T Sport.
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