joenels

iTrader: (5)

Swapped out throttle body today and had yellowish foamy stuff where the tube comes into the tb from the valve cover...opened up the oil fill cap and...


car seems to be running fine not blowing any smoke or rough idle or anything coolant looks a tad low but no low light on...please tell me its not a head gasket?

blue98Z

iTrader: (29)

It's not a head gasket. That color is caused from water ( condensation ) and oil mixing but as long as the dipstick is not the same color I wouldn't worry. Sometimes the humidity will cause it. Just clean the cap real good cause you don't want what little bit is on the cap circulating through the engine.

joenels

iTrader: (5)

Thanks...I started panicking.Checked the dipstick and its nice and brown no sign of yellow foam...on a side note shouldn't I see a pcv valve on top of the valve cover where the hose from the tb goes in?Mines a 98 and the hose from the tb is going directly to the valve cover...no sign of black foam or pcv valve that I can see.No SES light either...the hose just plugs straight onto a metal nipple on the valve cover.

BirdsOnly

I have looked at a bunch of LS1 (I am looking to buy one). Almost every one I looked at had the same thing. Just clean the cap off, no biggie.

00transamnh

iTrader: (1)

agreed... this happened to me to and i thought i blew a head gasket

thank god i was wrong

2001NBMZ28

Condensation due to a lot of short trips? My car has never done that though...

joenels

iTrader: (5)

I drive 35 miles each way to work and back every day including today...the other thing is like I said I dont see any pcv valve and that same yellow sludge is getting blown through the hose into the throttle body which cant be good...I'm guessing I need a catch can?

joenels

iTrader: (5)

okay I'm an idiot...the pcv is where it should be but the fresh air line(the one I thought went to the pcv valve) is actually backflowing that yellow crap into the tb...new pcv valve time?

5_02ls1

iTrader: (20)

just a little condensation.the next time you do an oil change run a bottle of engine flushthrough the engine before draining the oil.

02NHRAtransAm

iTrader: (17)

condesation my friend, no worries as long as the dipstick is clean

Rede

iTrader: (2)

I've heard some people say that Quaker State oil can also give that same appearance as a blown head gasket when looking at the dipstick...
Can anyone confirm this?

Beasst8

iTrader: (1)

No worries with that.

bjamick

iTrader: (31)

Ya mine does the same thing, no worries.

Mr Incredible

That looks like more than an incidental amount to me. That's not far from what my filler cap looked like when my truck's block cracked.

You don't need to start freaking out, just keep your oil change intervals short and start taking some long trips (over 100 miles). Take a nice Saturday or Sunday morning with some coffee and a cigar and go somewhere and come back. Drive that moisture out of your engine.

It may be common, but it's not desireable. It can hide a real problem if you don't keep it in check.