Yellow Gunk

[gaz1234]

My 330ci is showing the oil light again today, just added a litre of oil but this is the 2nd time ive done this in the last 3-4 months!!!! THis time i have noticed an awful lot of yellowy gunk around the filler cap and filler itself. Is this normal!??
I must say i do between 6-12 miles a day.
It has also had 2 good runs this week so why would there be this gunk around the filler, i had it at the top of the dip stick last time but not this bad. Shall i clean it off?
Any ideas? Oil change? Inspection not due for 9k. Last service was just over a year ago now so i guess a change ould be good?!
I also have noticed a little bit of smoke when i start it an hour or so after a short run but only on the flat (i have my car parked on slop usually)

[clubsport]

Not ideal, oil change would help,,,,the gunk is down to short runs,..the car needs an honest Italian tune up

[gaz1234]

italian? would this cause problems for the engine or would a long run fix??

Edited by gaz1234 on Saturday 18th November 18:31

[clubsport]

Italian tune up is taking the car out and thrashing it within an inch of it's life!

Yes long run and a few high rev blasts to clear things out would certainly be beneficial.

[gaz1234]

clubsport said:

Italian tune up is taking the car out and thrashing it within an inch of it's life!

Yes long run and a few high rev blasts to clear things out would certainly be beneficial.

i see, well i did take it out for a caining today, only for about 20 miles max.

[derin100]

'Gunk'?...Not sure what you mean by gunk...you don't mean a whitish sort of emulsion that one gets when water mixes with oil?! Like when you had a failed cylinder-head gasket or a cracked head I hope?

[blackspider]

It is absolutely normal....Because you only such a short amount of miles you will find the oil never makes it to full temp..there will be a small amount of condentation in the crank case which reacts with the oil..
I see this loads,mainly with the N42/46 engines and also M54.
The only way to get it away is to remove and clean the dipstick tube and if its on the oil filler cap-remove and clean cam cover.
Then at least once a week drive or run the engine for a longer period.Get it nice and hot

[gaz1234]

derin100 said:

'Gunk'?...Not sure what you mean by gunk...you don't mean a whitish sort of emulsion that one gets when water mixes with oil?! Like when you had a failed cylinder-head gasket or a cracked head I hope?

Yes, whitish. Will take a picture of it.

[blackspider]

The M54 engine is generally bullet proof-I have only replaced one head gasket and head since its launch but that was a camshaft failure..

[gaz1234]

blackspider said:

The M54 engine is generally bullet proof-I have only replaced one head gasket and head since its launch but that was a camshaft failure..

Yea people keep saying this. Hopefully its just because i do short runs.