Ok, I know you can get a yellowish 'crud' in the oil filler but how much is just due to condensation and how much is trouble? Is the picture too much? (C2 2003, 47k miles, last service in Jan 07 with 31k) The stuff was only at the fill end and didn't go down the tube, also the dip stick had clear/ clean oil. Seen a few facelifts and all have a little but was concerned by this one, actually liked the car...

Thanks

 

Chances are, if the sludge is appearing in the oil fill tube, it is accumulating in other areas if the engine. This is often be caused by the car being driven for short trips. The engine MUST be brought up to maximum temperature for longer periods of time if you want to reduce the sludge risk. There is no other way of eliminating it short of eliminating all humidity the car is exposed to. This also means you have substantial moisture in your cylinders at startup which is the leading cause of engine wear.

 

I would check the coolant tank...is there brown foamy stuff in there? If so there is an intermix issue somewhere, if not, its just "sludge"....