"salad cream" in oil filler cap.....possible causes?

[uaintsinme..right]

hi all,did my monthly check of my oil etc this morning and found oil levels were fine but discovered creamy residue on inside of filler cap and on inside of the engine(where you put the oil),car runs perfect,no oil loss or loss of power etc,
engine is the 2005 3.2 v6, 90k ,next service not due for another 10k,
is the residue signs of gasket failure or cylinder head damage?or is it normal for engine of this many miles,any advice as always most welcome,
thanks in advance for any help,
graham

[sri_joe]

hi all,did my monthly check of my oil etc this morning and found oil levels were fine but discovered creamy residue on inside of filler cap and on inside of the engine(where you put the oil),car runs perfect,no oil loss or loss of power etc,
engine is the 2005 3.2 v6, 90k ,next service not due for another 10k,
is the residue signs of gasket failure or cylinder head damage?or is it normal for engine of this many miles,any advice as always most welcome,
thanks in advance for any help,
graham

had the same with a audi not too long ago, the cause was water in the oil which iam told are signs of the head gasket goin

[simon1]

normally head gasket.. but if you do a lot of short trips this will cause the same as engine dont get hot enough to get rid of water vapour. wifes car does this in the winter time as only a mile from work.. normally go for fully synth oil and thinner helps cure this on hers

[uaintsinme..right]

yep.worth pointing out i do loads of short trips,i know it's not a good thing to do but i use my car for work (self employed) and have lots of gear to carry,sometimes it can be a few hundred yards from one house to the next,also worth saying i checked the dipstick and their is zero residue on it,it's only on the filler cap.
in the event of it being the head gasket,is it a simple job for a garage or is it a nightmare expense?

[johnsav]

you can check your coolant and dipstick too as these will show signs of oil/water mixing if its the HG on its way out.
hopefully its just condensation making it look a bit milky!

[glynn]

the v6's are known for breather pipes being blocked and will cause the same junk as the head gasket causes,

[rushy]

Before you panic mate, its a common thing on the 3.2. You have an extended spout on yours mate that does get very mayonnaisy even on a perfect 3.2. The trick is to take the cap off, then take the extended spout off and just put the cap straight onto the cam cover like it is on most other engines. Do this first and its more than likely that, then if its still there then you can start looking at gasket or oil cooler if you have an auto.

[paul.sessions]

its very common on cars doing short journeys the vw are very prone to this too.. nothing to worry about

[Telly Addict]

Very rare for a HG to go on these engines. As has been said, short journeys causes the mayo on the v6 oil filler. If you find genuine water/oil contamination it is far more likely to be the oil cooler has failed. Very common on the omegas with the same engine. Messy though.

HTH.

[uaintsinme..right]

thanks for all the helps guys,i'll keep an eye on things but i must say i feel a lot better after all your input,
cheers,
Graham.