I've got tan sludge on the dipstick... but none under the oil cap. Car still runs, thought I notice a very slight loss in power. How likely is it that this is the head gasket? What else could it be? Thoughts?

TIA

 

It's very unlikely.

It's actually quite common in the winter time to get this build up on dipstick, one of those unknown mysterys.

However if your PCV is old it'll help to change it.

Mine is brand new under 5K on it and when the weather is weird in the winter i get some buildup. I have heard it's caused by many short trips.
High quality oil will also help if you run lower end oil (motomaster)

 

saw the same thing on my dipstick today. The tan stufff looked partly frozen. But the oil is fresh (week old!) and there is none under the oil cap.
Unless you see a drop in antifreeze levels, I dont think its anything to worry about.

My car is only used for short trips around town...as matt01 mentioned.

got any engine codes?

 

It's just condensation mixed with oil, probably.

 

No engine codes...

Is there some kind of engine oil flush that I can have done to get all that gunk out?

 

my thoughts as well.
temps have been swinging between 20 at night to 45-50 during the day here.

 

the best thing to do is leave it alone.. dont run crap through your engine, it wont stop the condensation.

 

Im pretty sure at least 2 of my volvo 740's did the same thing. Neither of them gave me any issues, and I never flushed the oil (or changed it often enough for that matter)
As long as its not covering the dip stick, or you see you are loosing antifreeze I dont thing you need to do anything about it.

Sometime, with an old engine flushing the oil causes problems(like new leaks that didnt exist before)

 

That sludge can be a mixture of things or just one thing i.e. condensation, wear and tear on the engine, build up from low grade oil etc. Its not a big deal except for in older engines it can cause power loss or smoke from the exhaust. I use Lucas oil stabilizer to take care of it that is if you care to get rid of it.

 

Please don't bother with that. You have 6 quarts of oil in the car and 2 drops of something on your dipstick that likely found and clung to the dipstick. If you don't have a bunch of that stuff in the oil when you change it, don't do anything about it. NOTHING needs to be done.

 

What he said. Normal condition.
Wipe the dipstick off and keep going.

 

I had the same problem but it went away. I replaced the PCV, changed oil myself, connected loose hoses at the TCV, and used premium gas. One of these helped or could be just that the weather warmed up here in California.

 

when i 1st pull the dip stick out...there is the tan sludge on much of the stick. wipe it of and check again and there is a tiny drop on the end of the stick. I think its moister in the dipstick tube.