Bad head gasket?!?!
 

I was doing the pulleys and belt wrap kit and decided to check my oil cap... Turns out there's a decent amount of goop.... I'm hoping its not the head gasket but I have noticed a bit more white smoke out of the back and more black soot on the tail pipes.... Does't seem to be burning oil or loosing coolant, but I've only had the car for about 2 months and havent' had anything out of the ordinary beside this.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...1fa0abf30b.jpg

Well there's coolant/water in there
So it's either the heads or gasket
More than likely head gasket

Could this possibly be due to condensation in the crankcase? I've seen this documented in other vehicles where during very cold weather in combination with a short commute, condensation caused the pudding-like substance to show up. I would hope that this may be the case with you in lieu of a head gasket failure.

I have seen this in the shop as well with cars that have very short commutes and cold weather inviroments. Big time condensation that rises to the top of the valve covers.

I do have a short commute (2miles) and it's been extremely cold here (low teens...) I hope that its just condensation but I haven't noticed this in any of our other cars. I've called one of my local shops and they said it sounds normal, but they'll take a look at it.

This. Go for a nice long drive (an hour or two) and check your oil after.

That's not condensation
I'd be very surprised

I would check the oil level if you have the tool (to see if it has gone up) and/or remove the drain plug for a second (water settles to the bottom and will come out first).

good luck,
Chris

That's pretty thick. Almost always a head gasket. I would do an oil change asap. Keep the oil in the pan for a week and see if you can see separation. It's pretty hard to tell sometimes but you should notice streaks in the pan when you mix it. Also your oil level will rise and your anti freeze will drop. I would stay away from high rpms till you sort it out.

Check the coolant level too. If it's low don't drive, tow to service. Also check oil level if it is too full or oil looks milky don't drive tow. What model? E55?

If its condensation it won't recur quickly, so clean the cap and check after you drive. I used to get something like that with a 996 Turbo, but not to that extent. Hope it's not worst case.

+1

I've seen this on Audis that run short commutes in cold weather. But time for a leak down or compression test I think.

Good luck man.

I've seen exactly this on my daughter's Jeep Grand Cherokee with the V8. Short runs, winter, and when I went to change the oil the 710 cover looked exactly like that. Had me nervous about the head gasket until we went for a long run (150 or so miles) and the issue was gone.
Go for a long Sunday drive. Check your oil and coolant levels before and after.

I think you are good but if you are concerned at all just spend 28 bucks and send it off to Blackstone labs.

I brought it in to my local shop and they confirmed it was due to condensation and my short commute. Weather here has been around the 40-50 and no milky residue. The told me to keep my oil change intervals close to 2500-3000 miles...

It'd be good to understand how they confirmed it.

On another note I used to work 5 miles from work and had the same issue. I put in an oil catch can and for the months of December to February the can would be half filled with this watery oil goo all the time. Spring and summer....never. Now new job is 37 mile round trip and NEVER has an issue. Even took the can off since I no longer need it.Every car is different...who knows.

Its because there is a distance part between the oil filler cap and the valvecover... I have removed it on my other M113 car and the goo vanished. Also drive some longe distances from time to time and let car warm up fully always!

Had a 97 Audi A4 did that lol,scary first time you see it was just condensation thank god