Sludge in oil reservoir?

Hi,

The idea that you have that on the cap can be the result of a couple of things. First and worst case, coolant can be mixing with the engine oil. In most cases that is caused by a faulty head gasket. If you remove the dipstick, is there any on it? Have you noticed any loss of coolant?

If you look at pic 1 below, I attached a picture of what it can look like if the head gasket failed. The pic is much worse than what you have, so I feel it isn't a head gasket issue, but at this point, I can't say for sure.

If you have noticed the coolant being used, I would recommend checking engine compression to see if one or two of the cylinders is low. Here is a link that explains how that is done.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-engine-compression

Next, if the PCV hose is plugged, it can cause excessive condensation in the engine simply because it can't breathe. On this vehicle, there are two PCV hoses. The rear one runs from a valve cover to the intake manifold. See pic 1 below.

The other PCV hose runs between the air filter outlet duct and the valve cover. See pic 2.

What I would suggest is to remove the hoses one at a time and check to see if you can blow through them. If you can't, take something rigid enough that it can work its way through the hose and hopefully clear the clog.

Let me know what you find or if you have other questions.

Take care and Happy Thanksgiving.

Joe

See pics below.