Just came back from along road trip, checked the oil level, indicated 1/4 quart down, took off the the cap to add oil and found yellow residue on the inside of the cap and on the inside of the plastic tube about 2 inches from the top of the tube down, has the same texture as whip cream!? Stange enough I took it to get it smogged a week ago and passed with no problems. My neighbor thinks I may have a leaking head gasket, hope not! Any ideas?

 

A little bit of oil consumption is normal in these higher compression boxer engines (the cylinders are laying down. The whipped cream is an indicator of trashed head gasket but a little bit of whipped cream is normal. (around a tablespoon or less).

by the way, a leaky head gasket probably wouldn't cause you to fail emissions. The state of california doesn't care if you send coolant out your exhaust pipe- it's mostly water.

 

Did you drive it in a cold weather? Thats normal when you drive in lower temperatures. Just a little bit of water from condensation in a tube creates foam. No worries.

 

Yes I did drive in cold weather, thanks for the heads up on this, the yellow foam was about a tablespoon so I guess I'm in the clear. Nothing like the knowledgeable people on this forum to put your mind at ease. Thank you.

 

Its just condensation from cold weather, they all do this if driven when cold due to the plastic tubing.

 

Drive it regularly at full operating temps for at least 20 minutes to boil out the condensation.

 

Thanks for the additional comments.

 

The beauty of the search function. Topped off my oil last night. Saw the same yellowish foam. A sleepless night contemplating a leaking head gasket.

Good to see that this is normal. WHEW!

 

It's a heads up for you to rethink your driving habits and start taking the long way home

 

I remember the first time I saw this on my 88 Carerra Coupe, I was freaking out. It happens in Cold Weather, it can also happen if you make short trips and do not bring the car to Full Operating Temperature.

 

I used to see that on my 07S, I guess it was normal. Don't see it on my 20114S, but they changed the oil filler doohicky. Had 40k miles on the 07 never had any issues.