I have an 02 Impala LS, 3.8L. The other day, I opened the oil cap and found water in the filler stem (plastic piece that holds the engine cover in place and threads into the valve cover). It was plain water - clear and not greasy, definitely not antifreeze. It has to be plain old condensation.
Anyone ever see this before?
Condensation is common, especially in cool damp weather. It's usually not a problem if the engine is allowed to run long enough at normal engine temps to let it evaporate. Engines that mainly are used for short trips can build up condensation and may need more frequent oil changes. A weekly 20 mile round trip at hwy speeds can alleviate the problem.
Dave
Respectfully, if it is condensation, then you wouldnt know if it came from antifreeze or not.
A leak into the engine crankcase from the cooling system is usually easy to see by checking the condition of the oil and noting coolant loss.
I suspect yours is condensation from the atmosphere, BUT that engine is susceptible to the plenum failure problem.
I keep an eye on the antifreeze level and get the oil analyzed one in awhile for piece of mind. I've heard (from Ian) that my engine most likely has the EGR fix, and that even though the plenum can leak from other places, he hasn't seen many that actually do that.
I do live in a cold climate (upstate NY) and have for many years, but have never seen this before with my other cars. On the other hand, none of them had an obvious place like that for condensation to collect like the Impala does.
Thanks.
Probably just condensation then. You are very wise to keep checking for the dreaded intake leak. $20 per year for oil analysis should be considered required maintenance for any GM V-6.
John
I think the crankcase vent system is plugged up.
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