95 Neon Water in the oil....?

I know that I am being extremely hopeful on this.

I checked the oil yesterday in my 95 Dodge Neon. Noticing that it was
a little low, I removed the oil cap, and noticed a creamy sludge on
the cap. (Kind of looks like the gear oil in the foot of an outboard
motor after a season of use.)

Now I know this is being really hopeful, but could this simply be
water/condensation in the oil?
The oil is a little over due for a change (Time, not mileage wise),
and with the odd weather we have had (cycling through from warm/wet to
very cold/dry), could this be condensation?
I am dreading that this is a head gasket issue, but was unable to
smell the sweat smell of anti-freeze when I checked the cap and rag I
used to clean it off.

Any ideas or things I can check to see if this is actually the head
gasket again, as it was changed to a bi-layer back in 97ish?

(BTW, the car is a Single cam, 5-speed, with just over 445,000km on
her.)

Mike
mlawrenc(at)gmail.com

On Feb 12, 1:40 pm, "maxpower" <damnnickn....RemoveThis@yahoo.com> wrote:
> "mike" <mlawr....RemoveThis@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:1171295791.734792.233410@s48g2000cws.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
> > I know that I am being extremely hopeful on this.
>
> > I checked the oil yesterday in my 95 Dodge Neon. Noticing that it was
> > a little low, I removed the oil cap, and noticed a creamy sludge on
> > the cap. (Kind of looks like the gear oil in the foot of an outboard
> > motor after a season of use.)
>
> > Now I know this is being really hopeful, but could this simply be
> > water/condensation in the oil?
> > The oil is a little over due for a change (Time, not mileage wise),
> > and with the odd weather we have had (cycling through from warm/wet to
> > very cold/dry), could this be condensation?
> > I am dreading that this is a head gasket issue, but was unable to
> > smell the sweat smell of anti-freeze when I checked the cap and rag I
> > used to clean it off.
>
> > Any ideas or things I can check to see if this is actually the head
> > gasket again, as it was changed to a bi-layer back in 97ish?
>
> > (BTW, the car is a Single cam, 5-speed, with just over 445,000km on
> > her.)
>
> > Mike
> >mlawrenc(at)gmail.com
>
> Mike, depending on how much it is will depend on a head gasket/head problem
> or just a ventilation problem from a PCV or breather filter stopped up.
> Pop the radiator cap and see if you have oil in there. If so......you got
> problems.
>
> Glenn Beasley
> Chrysler Tech- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Thank you Glenn for the information.
I have a bad feeling that I have problems. I checked the oil cap
quickly at lunch, and saw that creamy white sluge again.
It has been less then 24 hours, and about 25km since I did a complete
oil change/flush, and it is already back.
>From what I am understood however, is normally, if a headgasket goes,
doesn't this sludge smell sweat?
I noticed that it kind of smells like 2-stroke exhaust.
I also noticed that when I check the dip-stick, the oil looks clean.

If it is the head gasket, any recommendations on a bandaid fix? I am
just looking to get by a couple more months, until I can do the work
in my un-heated garage. (At -30'C, I am not going to even think about
doing anything major on it.)

Mike