Hey everybody. I have a 2003 Ram 1500 Hemi "Big Horn" which has been problem-free and an excellent truck.

However,today when I was changing the oil I noticed moisture inside my oil filler cap. Not only that there is a strange "rust" colored film on the inside of it...the type of rust-colored film reminiscent of old coolant.I find this very odd since the truck has been running great and doesn't show any signs of a problem.

When I drained the oil, it was fairly dark (OK, I admit...it'd been about 7,000-8,000 miles since my last oil change) and didn't appear to have any water in it. Furthermore, my coolant level doesn't appear to have dropped. We have had a few 28-degree mornings recently, but that's about it.

Common sense tells me that moisture in the oil cap can only mean one thing...but my oil looked very solid...no sign of water whatsoever.I was wondering if anybody else had seen this before. Perhaps crankcase ventilation or something smog-related could introduce moisture into the system? Maybe the cool moist air is entering the system through the crankcase vent, and then it condenses, leaving moisture in the cap.

I have attached a picture of the filler cap. Hopefully it comes out OK. Anyway, Iwould appreciate any help anybody might be able to give. Thanks!



[IMG]local://upfiles/2809/E6203E29DE424C4C8ACB08FC33AF7C0C.jpg[/IMG]

 

Wow, sorry for not searching! I just did a search and see that several people have noticed this. Guess I have nothing to worry about. Whew!

https://dodgeforum.com/m_362464/tm.htm

I'll try to search first next time.

 

Engine oil analysis tells all!
Mike
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This is normal due to the placement of the oil fill tube, up away from the heat of the engine. There is a replacement filter and difuser you can get to hide this issue.

 

most autos get condensation normal engine heat gets rid of it. I saw the post about the placement on this truck and it sounds logical. There is one more concideration, if your thermostat is too low, and in cold weather, durring short trips the engine temp dosen't get hot enough to burn off the moisture, this then adds up.

 

I think kurts2 may have gotten it there, i had yellow sludge in my oil all of last winter, i replaced the pcv valve twice, thinking that was it. It still happened after all that. I had it in to a dealership, they had no idea what was going on. I changed out my thermostat just before winter, and i have not seen any condensate in the engine at all. Try changing the thermostat