Mustard in oil filler cap?!

[Vesuvius]

Hello all,

I hope to be joining the E36 M3 community very soon. I've found a car that seems to be taken very well care of. 72K miles. Beautiful paint with the occasional faint scratch, to be expected. The front air dam looks like its almost never touch the ground. The interior is most impressive no cracks in the seats. I thought I had found an 8 year old diamond in the rough.

I pop the hood and go straight for the oil dip stick, oil looks brand new of course. I open the oil filler cap and i see mustard!?! I wish I had taken a picture of it but i think that describes what i saw very accurately. The cap itself was coated with about 2mm of it very soft and yellow, with a watery consistency. When I look into the valve cover i see more of it coating everything. What is this?! Is it expected? was this car neglected? I can also say I smelt a tinge of fuel in there too. I've read a bit about the 15K mile oil changes and that definitely sounds this could be the effect of such long intervals.

I also noticed the car did not run smoothly with the oil filler cap off. I haven't seen this before, is this normal for this car?

So what am I looking at? Is this a deal breaking problem or will some good care keep this car running?

Only other things I have noticed on this vehicle are the shift knob popped off in my hands. I read that this isn't out of the ordinary. And the rear left ball joint seems to be a little bit loose.

Dealer is asking $18,995. I really think this has to come down.

I would greatly appreciate everyones feedback.

Thank you,
Dan

[nickdrivesm3]

Hello all,

I hope to be joining the E36 M3 community very soon. I've found a car that seems to be taken very well care of. 72K miles. Beautiful paint with the occasional faint scratch, to be expected. The front air dam looks like its almost never touch the ground. The interior is most impressive no cracks in the seats. I thought I had found an 8 year old diamond in the rough.

I pop the hood and go straight for the oil dip stick, oil looks brand new of course. I open the oil filler cap and i see mustard!?! I wish I had taken a picture of it but i think that describes what i saw very accurately. The cap itself was coated with about 2mm of it very soft and yellow, with a watery consistency. When I look into the valve cover i see more of it coating everything. What is this?! Is it expected? was this car neglected? I can also say I smelt a tinge of fuel in there too. I've read a bit about the 15K mile oil changes and that definitely sounds this could be the effect of such long intervals.

I also noticed the car did not run smoothly with the oil filler cap off. I haven't seen this before, is this normal for this car?

So what am I looking at? Is this a deal breaking problem or will some good care keep this car running?

Only other things I have noticed on this vehicle are the shift knob popped off in my hands. I read that this isn't out of the ordinary. And the rear left ball joint seems to be a little bit loose.

Dealer is asking $18,995. I really think this has to come down.

I would greatly appreciate everyones feedback.

Thank you,
Dan

Dan, I noticed you are in San Diego. Please bring the car by Cunningham and I will do a "pre-buyers" inspection for you. Its common see a car run rough with the cap off because that causes a vacuum leak. However, mustard is not a good sign. If you want to be sure, please bring it by and see Eddie Swift, he is my service writer.

Good luck

[HoJo]

The yellow crap is normal, it is just moisture that has collected in the top of the motor. Also, the engine will run rough with the cap off, you are creating a vacuum leak with it off.

[onrailsm3]

Sounds like a bad PCV valve. Either it's clogged or the car only had short trips. The oil is ok, so it's not a head gasket.

When excessive moisture get into the head it turns into a milky substance on the "cooler" parts of the inside of the engine. if it is not burned off.

Running the car and not driving it can cause this too.

It won't really harm anything.

To be on the safe side, have a leakdown test and coolant system pressure test to make sure they are holding pressure.

[Vesuvius]

Thank you all for your feedback. The car is in the LA/OC area of Southern California. Any recommendations of where i can get an inspection there?

Dan

[mmark.]

frequent short cold trips.

That is all the phlegm indicates.

Now; a gloppy coffee/chocolate emesis from the oil pan....run away.

m

[Vesuvius]

We'll I'm now the proud owner of a 99 M3, 72K miles.

The mustard colored mess I saw quickly started to go away once the car stretched its legs a bit. Two months without driving was probably the cause of the mess. I got it checked out at Cunningham BMW. Everything checked out nicely, just need some bushings replaced. Thank you NickdrivesM3 for the inspection.