What is happening here?

[Brgalinak]

I've had my 09 Suburban for about 10 years now. It has about 175,000 miles on it. No real issues. Last oil change I noticed the oil cap was wet and the filler tube and cap had a weird white coating in it that wiped off fairly easily. Have had some oil consumption issues, but believe most of it was getting sucked through the intake via the "PCV" system. I added a catch can this oil change to make sure that is where most of my oil is going. Been about 1000 miles since the oil change and I wanted to check the catch can to see how much was caught. I got about 5 oz. confirming my oil consumption suspicions. However, in the 5 oz. of oil there is an ounce of this white substance in the catch can (shown in photos below). Anyone know what this is? What is causing it? No loss of coolant or transmission fluid. Oil is not milky. It's a daily driver, so it doesn't sit that long. Thanks in advance.

 

[mrrsm]

Welcome to GMT Nation...

If your local Texas Weather has been dipping down to near freezing... once your Suburban V8 Engine is shut down... the Natural Condensation of Water Vapor as a by-product of combustion in the Blow-By gasses will cool down rapidly and condense in the upper regions of the Motor at the Highest points.

Older, High Mileage Engines with more Blow-By occurrence due to Carbon Trapped Rings will NOT display this phenomena during the hotter ambient air seasons because the higher temperatures give the water vapor the chance to completely escape before it can condense. Most Folks don't realize just how much Pure Water results in the production of Burning Gasoline. For example, observe what happens as this Mechanic loosens the Exhaust Pipe Clamp on an Ice Cold Catalytic Converter... and watch how the Condensed Water Vapor just POURS OUT and THIS is Perfectly NORMAL:



The Time for Raising an Alarm would happen if you find that your Crank-Case Oil displays a "Milk-Shake" appearance when the Motor Oil is pouring pell-mell out of the lower engine and into a Drain Pan. Such events are proof positive of Coolant Leaks into the Motor Oil either due to a Cracked Cylinder Wall into an adjacent Water Jacket... or via a Leaking Head Gasket.

As long as the bulk of the Motor Oil in your Motor is normal in appearance and lubricity and you are not finding Oil Droplets in your Coolant Reservoir ...this discovery should not cause you any further concern. All of this happens because Hot Air Rises...and the water vapor in it moves this way as Light Steam and the Oil Catch Can is the Last Stop in the Journey.

A Compression Test will give you a strong indication as to WHY so much Water Vapor made it that far due to Worn or Carbon-Trapped Piston Compression Rings. An ACDelco TEC (Top Engine Cleaner) treatment in tandem with pouring a Big Bottle of Chevron Techron in through the Fuel Tank would not be a bad idea for addressing this issue. You would see a modest improvement in compression and a dip in your Fuel Consumption with a bit more power from performing these applications.

For More Details...

NEED HELP - "Top End Soak" ... question

This has probably been covered in "clips and phrases" in various threads throughout the site, but maybe we can collect valid advice and how-to's here, as well as clear up some concerns I have: I've seen multiple references to "Top End Soak" for these platforms. I believe these to refer to the...

gmtnation.com

A.C. Delco Foaming Top End Cleaner....

Good Evening All, I've read about this procedure here on the forum. I'm wondering if it would be OK to do, regardless of if I have carbon build up or oil consumption. I have noticed a small amount of oil accumulated in the intake plenum. I do have a little piston "slap" that goes away upon...

gmtnation.com

 

[Brgalinak]

Welcome to GMT Nation...

If your local Texas Weather has been dipping down to near freezing... once your Suburban V8 Engine is shut down... the Natural Condensation of Water Vapor as a by-product of combustion in the Blow-By gasses will cool down rapidly and condense in the upper regions of the Motor at the Highest points.

Older, High Mileage Engines with more Blow-By occurrence due to Carbon Trapped Rings will NOT display this phenomena during the hotter ambient air seasons because the higher temperatures give the water vapor the chance to completely escape before it can condense.

The Time for Raising an Alarm would happen if you find that your Crank-Case displays a "Milk-Shake" appearance when the Motor Oil is pouring pell-mell out of the lower engine and into a Drain Pan. Such events are proof positive of Coolant Leaks into the Motor Oil either due to a Cracked Cylinder into a Waster Jacket... or via a Leaking Head Gasket.

As long as the bulk of the Motor Oil in your Motor is normal in appearance and lubricity and you are not finding Oil Droplets in your Coolant Reservoir ...this discovery should not cause you any further concern. All of this happens because Hot Air Rises...and the water vapor in it moves this way as Light Steam and the Oil Catch Can is the Last Stop in the Journey.

A Compression Test will give you a strong indication as to WHY so much Water Vapor made it that far due to Worn or Carbon-Trapped Piston Compression Rings. An ACDelco TEC (Top Engine Cleaner) treatment in tandem with pouring a Big Bottle of Chevron Techron in through the Fuel Tank would not be a bad idea for addressing this issue. You would see a modest improvement in compression and a dip in your Fuel Consumption with a bit more power from performing these applications.

For More Details...

NEED HELP - "Top End Soak" ... question

This has probably been covered in "clips and phrases" in various threads throughout the site, but maybe we can collect valid advice and how-to's here, as well as clear up some concerns I have: I've seen multiple references to "Top End Soak" for these platforms. I believe these to refer to the...

gmtnation.com

Thank you very much. Suspected something to this effect, but wanted to confirm. Appreciate all the info.