Oil Residue on engine

[ihaveavibe]

Hi all,

I took off the engine cover the other day and noticed what looks like oil residue near the fill cap. I don't remember this from before, but is it normal?

I filled with 5w-30, the dipstick (original to this 2003 base 1zzfe) shows the level is a bit below max, so I don't think I overfilled. (It was actually 4 quarts, I know there's some discussion about 3.9 vs 4.4). Also, I tightened the cap pretty good. Now this stuff is over the valve cover, the hoses, connectors, not sure how to get it off or how this happened.

Do fill caps ever leak or need new gaskets?
Is the pressure there high to push the oil out?
Is it frothing too much?

There s a flap under the fill cap which is broken (posted about this a while ago) that I think was mean to keep the oil from splashing.

Thanks for any ideas regarding cleanup, cause or fix.

oil over engine.JPG (56.55 KiB) Viewed 997 times

Under the cap:

Oil Fill opening - small.jpg (128.5 KiB) Viewed 997 times

[Caretaker]

I think you and whomever may have done oil changes on this car in the past simply "missed the bowl." I frequently put oil on the sides as I hastily added oil directly from the bottle to keep my oil consuming Toyota Vibes full.

[ihaveavibe]

I think you and whomever may have done oil changes on this car in the past simply "missed the bowl." I frequently put oil on the sides as I hastily added oil directly from the bottle to keep my oil consuming Toyota Vibes full.

I thought about that but the came to the conclusion that the residue is too much centered on the oil fill cap and circular. Some got on the PCV hose insulation, and all around in general. That made me think it was coming up and around the cap, under pressure. But of course I can't be certain unless I clean off with something and it keeps happening.

[ihaveavibe]

Anyone know if brake cleaner is OK to get this caked on oil off? would it react with the hoses?

Any better ideas?

thx