2004 Dodge Dakota ENGINE CRANKCASE WATER VAPOR

MARTIN THOMPSON

MEMBER
2004 DODGE DAKOTA
6 CYL
4WD
AUTOMATIC
114,000 MILES

I recently purchased this vehicle used. It appears in great shape but I am concerned about what I found a couple of days ago when I unscrewed the plastic oil fill cap the half engine side of the cap contained a yellow slime this was also present on the female half on the engine where you add oil. I cleaned it off then and today after driving a couple of hundred highway miles decided to give it another check. No yellow slime on the engine side of the cap this time but I did find droplets of what I assume was water which looked clear to me. Is this normal condensation of crankcase water vapor? Should I check my PCV valve or do I have a more serious problem? Please help!

3 Replies

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,885 POSTS

Hi:
If you're not using coolant, my guess is the PCV is bad. I would replace it and see what happens. I've seen this in many vehicles over the years and feel confident that it's not a serious problem.

If the PCV doesn't work, let me know. Also, when replacing it, make sure the hose isn't plugged with dirt and remove it from the engine and make sure everything looks clear there too. You should have a strong vacuum.

Joe

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Friday, November 7th, 2008 AT 8:49 PM

MARTIN THOMPSON

MEMBER
2 POSTS

No it doesn't seem to be losing coolant. I will try changing out the PCV, etc, thank you for your advice.
Mart Thompson

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Monday, November 10th, 2008 AT 7:29 AM

THEVISHNU

MEMBER
1 POST

I have the same truck, except 2wd and a 5sp stick. I've also had this issue. In fact, last week I finally replaced the pcv valve.

On a side note, be sure to pay attention when removing it, and twist it counter clockwise (it has a little notch/key that needs to align with a little slot that's hard to see), and reverse the order with the new one.

A week later I'm still seeing a faint amount around the sides of that baffle plastic they keep in the oil fill cup.

Anyway, it's been in the mid 30's to mid 50's around here, so I assume that being plastic and cold on the outside, and hot on the inside the oil vapors are causing emulsion from condensation (why they placed it right in direct contact of a cold blast of air is beyond me).

Oil types probably don't mater from what I figure, but if they do I run Mobil 1 Full Synthetic.

Btw, I'm also not loosing or burning coolant from what I can tell.

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Thursday, November 20th, 2008 AT 1:51 AM