condensation in oil

[thordistortion]

I recently got back from a trip after parking my e30 for over a month. The car was left outside under an awning, and i had someone warm it up once a week. when i got home i changed my oil and found small white swirls in it, i also found white on the dipstick before that. I didn't think much of it because there was so little of it, and i was being rushed by my parents who needed me to drive the car 900miles the next day. I then drove the car the 900 miles without a single problem. When i got back i checked under the valve cover and drove the car again, everything seemed normal. There is no longer any white on the dipstick or under the valve cover. Is it possible that the white in the oil was a result of condensation? thanks

[jlevie]

Given what was done while you were gone, I think it highly likely that there would have been combustion blowby condensates. An M20 engine needs 20 minutes or more of sustained highway speed driving in moderate ambients to reach equilibrium temperature where the condensates will boil off. Just running the engine until the temp gauge reads normal will have the sump and valve cover below the condensation point.

[thordistortion]

Thank you very much. I was told it probably had something to do with the head gasket. I was about to order a new one before i read this.