Rust stains and white goo on DIPSTICK???

[CTpro5]

Are these the sign for blown head gasket??Recently checking my oil level,there will be some rust on the middle part of the dipstick. Then some whitish goo on the TIP of the dipstick.

I did notice some coolant loss. from my coolant flush last year to now,it went from HIGH to slightly above LOW. Is that normal coolant loss in about 1 year?? Also what easy method i can do to check if it's really Bad head gasket???BTW my P5 is a 2002 with only 45K Mobil1 since new.

[TheMAN]

what rust?

coolant loss in a year's time is perfectly normal... it just evaporated, that's all

have you replaced the PCV valve recently? this could be the cause of what you see on the dipstick

[pfiver]

i don't think thats a head gasket issue, because coolant mixing in with oil, (imo) wouldn't seem to make a rust color, and then a white goo as well. Believe it or not, i think you live in new york, now it may have been possible for the weather to have done that, though that is a bit far fetched.

[echofall]

I had this white crud before in a truck I had, but on a larger scale. There was no sign of gasket issues. It looked as if there was white pudding on the bottom of my oil fill cap. I was told it was a form of sludge and was suggested to use Lucas oil stabilizer. The Lucas helped break the gunk up and after a few oil changes at close intervals, it worked to help rid of it. After I had removed the oil pan to scrape the rest out, I never had a problem with it. Whether or not it is actually sludge, this is what worked for me. Good luck.

[RABID_MP5]

yeah I've always seen this as a winter issue in northern climates, esp where a lot of short trips are made. The blowby moisture quickly condenses on the cold metal, mixing with the oil film there. I was confused about the tip of the dip stick - I'm thinking the tip picked it up rubbing on the sides of the tube as you pulled it out. The acid test is it should disappear after a long trip after the water can heat & evap off. A new PCV valve wouldn't hurt either.

[CTpro5]

That's exactly what my oil fill cap look like. White crud. Will try that Lucas stuff. Just relieved that it's not major problem. Thanks all for the help!!



I had this white crud before in a truck I had, but on a larger scale. There was no sign of gasket issues. It looked as if there was white pudding on the bottom of my oil fill cap. I was told it was a form of sludge and was suggested to use Lucas oil stabilizer. The Lucas helped break the gunk up and after a few oil changes at close intervals, it worked to help rid of it. After I had removed the oil pan to scrape the rest out, I never had a problem with it. Whether or not it is actually sludge, this is what worked for me. Good luck.