Oil foam question
#1
Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Bay Area California
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Oil foam question
So I live in the south bay of California, a place not known for our terrible and unbearable weather. That being said I have recently begun to find foam on the dipstick when I check the oil, looks white to tan in color. I have not had the car for that long, and I am not familiar with it as much as I would like, but I have been reading that this is not generally a problem.
When I take the car up to high temperature and then let it sit with the oil filler cap and the dipstick off it goes away and clears right up. Furthermore when I wipe off the dipstick and put it back in one or two times I don't find any on foam where the stick indicates oil level, only near the top. So I guess my question is really is this something that would concern me? It started happening a few days after I stopped driving it a lot every day, and about 3 weeks after an oil change from a Mazda dealership.
Thanks, anything helps.
When I take the car up to high temperature and then let it sit with the oil filler cap and the dipstick off it goes away and clears right up. Furthermore when I wipe off the dipstick and put it back in one or two times I don't find any on foam where the stick indicates oil level, only near the top. So I guess my question is really is this something that would concern me? It started happening a few days after I stopped driving it a lot every day, and about 3 weeks after an oil change from a Mazda dealership.
Thanks, anything helps.
#3
I get this too on my 04' GT with 11k miles. Just did an oil change and noticed it was exceptionally gross after the short drives I typically do to work. Like yeast infection gross. Anyway they say it's normal and that if you drive real hard for an extended period of time it will evaporate the condensation out of the oil. I now try to get a longer drive in every now and then and wipe the excess **** off my dipstick and cap when I can.
#4
What am I doing here?
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: 2017 Miata RF Launch Edition
Posts: 3,606
Received 649 Likes
on
510 Posts
Water and oil don't mix so they form an emulsion. That is what you're seeing on the stick and under the cap. If it goes away when you get it nice and warm, that's good because that means that it's just condensation that needs to be burnt off.
In piston engine cars it can be a sign of coolant getting into the oil. On a rotary, that's pretty tough to manage without pouring coolant into the oil filler neck.
In piston engine cars it can be a sign of coolant getting into the oil. On a rotary, that's pretty tough to manage without pouring coolant into the oil filler neck.