frantic29

Was cleaning under the hood the other day and pulled the oil cap off and noticed yellow/white sludgy stuff under the cap. Freaked out came in here and noticed the #1 culprit is not letting the engine fluids get to temperature. This makes perfect sense for me. I moved not too long ago and only have a 3 mile drive to work. When it is super cold out my temp gauge sometimes doesn't get to the normal operating range. It generally does but not always but even then it's only there for maybe 1.5 miles before I shut it off again. So hardly enough time to really get all the oil circulated and heated up.

How serious of a problem is this? I can adjust my route to work to add some time to let the fluids warm up but I don't want to add so much that I am going to go way out of my way and add a bunch of gas to my bill. That was one of the perks of moving where I did. Any other suggestions for this problem besides just running the truck longer.

xrobber

you dont have a loss of power do you?

'08f150stx

Not really more of a problem than that. I don't have the expertise on this topic, but i was told by a mechanic to take my vehicle out for a longer drive regularly. (I had the same oil cap thing). To get it good and heated up. And changed the oil by time, not miles. I didn't have a long commute either. Changed it an extra time in the cold months. Not much considering how much you save on gas. Maybe get a cheap small car?

frantic29

No, no power loss. Didn't have the build up till after deer season was over this winter. I drive a lot during season. No that thats over its just back and forth to work and the occasional trip to my parents house. We drive my girlfriends car for everything else.

I have considered getting a cheap small car but by the time you pay for the car, tags, insurance and any additional maintenance it would just cost me more money.

Forgot to put what I had in the first post. 2006 5.4 SCREW.

mtdman

Is it a sludge or foam? If you've gotten water mixed in with your oil you can get a yellow foam in your oil.

frantic29

Yeah I got that much. From what I read if you don't let the engine heat up completely before turning it off it can cause a condensation build up in the motor and cause the yellow sludge/foam problem. I have a very short drive to work which now that deer season is over is pretty much all that it gets driven so I am sure all the fluids and everything in the motor do not get to full operating temperature. I am just seeing if there is any way of combatting this problem with out adding too many miles to my drive. Already adjusted my route some to add some running time just seeing if theres any other helpful solutions.

mhannink

there are no solutions that i know of except getting the engine warmed up. daily is best but you would probably be alright if it got an hour of run time once a week. take it out on the weekend and put the truck through its paces, nothing real hard but make it work a little. that will help keep it clear.

yfztrickster

I have not read any other posts or threads on this issue but heres my thoughts no how to deal or try to fix the issue. The sludge your seeing is called emulsion and it is caused when water mixes with oil. I also see it in my 08 just under the oil cap. My theory is(anyone can agree or disagree on my take and I wont get butt hurt) when you park your truck outside in the cold air it draws in the the cold air when the warm air from inside the crankcase contracts as it cools and causes moisture just under the oil fill cap because the oil cap is also a vent cap. That moisture sits on top of the thin film of oil on the sides of the fill tube and causes the Grey, white or yellow sludge you see and I referee to as emulsion. I don't know for sure but I do not think it builds up that fare down the oil fill tube, just in that area where the warm and cold air meet. Now with that being said. I think you should ask a real ford mechanic(I am not one) especially if your truck is still under warranty on some of my quick fix ideas. 1-Try adding a oil additive that dissipates water. I would think most oils already that but maybe not. 2-Remove the oil cap and install a solid plug or some kind of plug with a check valve in it(so air can vent but does not come back in). Do some reserch before adding a solid plug beacuse your engine needs to vent somewhere. 3-Park your truck in a heated garage. 4-Putting a heavy bag or some kind fo cover over the oil fill cap when you park. I have not tryed any of these things so would not know if they would work. Just my 2 cents on the issue.

PJB

Mine does it too and I dont really worry about it. I just wipe it off when I change the oil.

I drive 23 miles one way to work 5 days a week and over 300 miles a week so its not just from short trips.

yfztrickster

I wanted to say that in my post above but I did not want tell someone they were wrong espacly since that info was coming from ford mechanics and dealerships. I would think it would be more of an issus as the engine gets up to its 200 deg. area operating tempature.