Yellow sludge in engine oil

[sidd0123]

I found a yellowish sludge on the engine oil dipstick and cap. What could it be?

[witeshark]

Do you see signs of oil in the coolant reserve tank?

[marti5]

Its either condensation which will burn away after a good run or coolant in the oil which would indicate a headgasket problem.

[DLR]

I noticed the same thing. After is was too late. The sludge is common and a good drive should help. However as a result of short distance drives this condensation builds up and is supposed to be seperated by the crankcase vent valve. In very cold weather the valve can freeze from the condensation build up. If this happens and the valve freezes open it can Hydrolock the engine and the pressure created can blow gaskets and seals resulting in lots of money in repairs and could destroy the engine in some cases. BMW is aware of this problem but has not issued a recall. I was told by the BMW dealer that over the last two winters in some states their has been parking lots full of cars with this problem. It is mostly happeing in the northeren US and Canada that i am aware of. It is also common on about 5-6 different models. But BMW will not take resonsibility for this. My X5 has 40K miles on it and this happened resulting in a $1200 repair. The local dealer is splitting the repair but BMW USA is doing nothing. needless to say I am very displeased with BMW lack of responsibality on this issue. If anyone would like more details please email me an i can send you what i have learned over the past week.

[darkhorse737]

Originally Posted by sidd0123

I found a yellowish sludge on the engine oil dipstick and cap. What could it be?

IF you are losing coolant AND your oil level is increasing... it is a blown head gasket or cracked head or block.

if the sludge is a small amount and disappears after a drive, then it is just condensate typical of cold weather operation or prolonged storage.

[sidd0123]

we drove 1500 miles on a trip we took over the last 5 days. the condensation on the cap is gone and the dip stick shows minimal sludge which i think is left over on the guide pipe that houses the dip stick. thanks guys. i do live in a cold climate area, but we keep the car in a garage that is typically 10-15 degrees warmer then the outside temps

[Vladimir123]

It is mostly happeing in the northeren US and Canada that i am aware of. It is also common on about 5-6 different models. But BMW will not take resonsibility for this. My X5 has 40K miles on it and this happened resulting in a $1200 repair. The local dealer is splitting the repair but BMW USA is doing nothing. needless to say I am very displeased with BMW lack of responsibality on this issue. If anyone would like more details please email me an i can send you what i have learned over the past week.