Emptied out my $20 oil catch can today like I normally do about every 6 weeks. Everything looked/smelled normal except for a small amount of white "residue" at the very bottom of the OCC. It's not water and almost appears to be part of the oil itself. I'm running 0W-30 Amsoil and I know they use a different formula for synthetic oil than Mobil 1 does. I didn't get this with Mobil 1. The car runs fine and I haven't had any problems.

 

Very odd. When I emptied mine recently it was milky, probably from the temperature change added to my very short trip to work everyday (less than 2 miles), it doesn't get warmed up and cannot evaporate the condensation. I figure thats all it is as my oil is clean and clear.

 

I check the OCC as soon as I drive home after my 4 mile "trip" from work everyday and have never seen the white stuff even with a tiny amount of oil in the OCC (right after I change it). It only shows up after about 4-6 weeks and then it's just a small amount. Too bad we don't have an oil expert on here!!!

I remember reading somewhere that Amsoil has a very high amount of a "solid" anti-wear agent that may separate from the rest of the oil after it sits for awhile.....gotta see if I can find that article again.

 

The last time i emptyed my occ i noticed a good amount of white stuff as u described... i was using 10w30 mobil 1 and i just changed it to 5w30. so when i was changing my oil i emptyed it and noticed the good layer of white on the bottom. Id like to know what it was too.

 

Well so much for my theory about Amsoil.....at least it's not due to the oil!!! Whatever it is, it's evidently not harmful....thanks Gump!

 

Sounds to me like 71 is right, condensation.
If you only drive 4 miles to work and back, the engine never gets hot enough to burn the moisture off. Thus giving you the white film you see, especialy with it being so damn cold.

Mid 90's GM's were famous for that, except it would end up on the oil fill cap.

As long as it isn't a huge amount, it's nothing to wory about. Besides, your occ is catching it anyway!

 

Makes sense....just another reason to install one ($20 OCC)!!!

 

While we are on OCCs, my new found mechanic over here in NY recommended the Geddy OCC(hope I got name correct). He gave me a good price (ok its not $20) and I wanted to know if I should clean it like the the $20 version and if so how should I do it?

 

The Greddy is huge compared to the $20 OCC's we have, so they hold far more oil and probably don't need to be emptied but once or twice a year.

 

I only average about 10-12 miles a day on my SRT-4 and I'm having to empty it about every 5-6 weeks....I unscrew the bottom half of the can to wipe it out after I empty it.....not losing that little o-ring is a challenge!!!