water in the oil

[totaljoint]

Have been having a fair amount of rain the last few weeks in Seattle (who would have guessed?), now found a thick white creamy coating on the underside of the oil filler cap.
I assume this is condensation in the oil? (No water hit the engine directly, it spent one night in the rain, interior remained dry, then garaged).

How urgent is an oil change (do I need to change oil evertime condensation appears)?
Is this common in the Pinzgauer?
Thanks,
Ed

[Jim LaGuardia]

This is normal in cold wet climates. Just wipe the cap clean and try to get engine to up to operating temps more often.
The Pinz engine has a very efficient oil cooling sysem, so in cold weather they take a bit longer to get oil hot enough to dispel moisture.

[krick3tt]

If you take your valve covers off to set the gaps you will probably also notice that stuff inside them. Especially number three as it is more sheltered from the air flow.
I found that to be true for mine when in WA.
It even occurs here as the winter cold does not let the engine get up to temp just driving around town.

Morris

[pinzwheeling]

It happens even in warm climates if you don't drive the truck long enough. When I lived in San Diego, about 1.5 miles from the ocean I would see that white creamy goo inside the cap.

[Thomas-E]

Another thought....
I had a difficult time getting my engine to warm up. I have an oil temp gauge an I couldn't get up over 120 F. when we had cold weather (30-40 F.) What I finally found was that my Oil Thermostat was stuck open .

Found a replacement (old Porsche 911) and now it works much better and cooks the water out. I still get some foaming up in the oil filler neck, but not anything like before.