Changed the oil in my 94 Loyale last night and noticed that the underside of the oil cap was the frothy oil that makes me think head gasket. The oil coming out of the pan was just fine though.

 

Do I have to worry about an impending, catastrophic failure or should I just keep driving until it makes itself something to worry about?

YEP! That is, in my experience, the tell-tale sign for a blown gasket. Might as well start gathrering parts, clan out the garage, and get ready for some wrenching.

not always a hg , the cap can draw alittle moisture , i had alittle underneith my cap on my 88 dl last year , did a compression test , things were all right,

YEP! That is, in my experience, the tell-tale sign for a blown gasket. Might as well start gathrering parts, clan out the garage, and get ready for some wrenching.

 

AAARRRGGGH!

 

The body doesn't warrant a rebuild (rust)... I'll drive it until it dies and part it out/scrap it. What is the failure? Can I expect a deterioration or will it give up all of a sudden?

I agree with Jim (86Subaru) condensate can

form on the cap. Lots of my Roo's have it.

(I own and operate about ten)

 

Not a concern

 

NOW bubbles in the rad

coolant out the overflow

 

different matter

 

Having a leak down test performed on the coolant

system is the only real test.

HAH HAH, what subaru of that era doesn't have that under the oil cap? In all my experiences, you're ok. What I do, every now and then, is let my car idle, while warmed up, with the oil cap off...an attempt to have the moisture steam out.

I once had "frapacino" all under the lid and all over the inside of the rocker covers. One bottle of GOSS chem-i-weld (there are other similar brands) into radiator repairs the water passages. After thinking HG change, new motor , etc. Ended up driving car to sydney (3000 km) and then for six months, then sold car and the bloke that has it is still driving it. Not bad for a ten dollar bottle of goo. Would often see steam out exhaust in mornings as condesate is turned into steam.

I found "froth" on my oil fill cap too for a while when it was cold. I just wiped it off and haven't had a problem. No sign of oil or antifreeze where it doesn't belong - except a drip or two on the driveway. A little bit of it belongs there, doesn't it?

Dont worry about it. Condensation builds on the cap, and thats where it is most apparent. Clean it off and check it again in a few weeks.

 

I wouldnt worry until the oil comming from the pan looks like that.

 

-Brian