Was over in Eastern Washington this weekend... cold as all heck... low teens, etc.... Ended up with a bunch of condensation under the oil fill cap due to short drives around town. On the 3 hour drive back, it did get the motor hot enough to burn it off, but took quite a bit longer to burn off than I would have thought. More than an hour into the trip, I stopped to get gas and there was still some condensation, though when I got home, it was fine.

Two questions:
1) does this indicate a bad PCV valve? And if so, can you get at them easily without removing the intake plenum?

2) Anyone use a piece of cardboard like truckers do to block the airflow through the front grill on a long cold trip? Curiousity more than anything, as I would be afraid of overheating....

 

That is normal, as long as there is no creamy gunk or crud on the fill cap you are fine.

The PCV "valve" (it's not actually a valve just a hole as far as I can tell) is on the end on the plenum. Take it off blow through it and the hose to see if they are blocked. You can put cardboard on if your engine is not getting hot enough but keep an eye on your engine temps. Check your thermostat first though and make sure it is closing.

 

I actually did get a bit of gunk on there.... which went away as it warmed up... on my Ford F150 I get all sorts of creamy gunk under the cap during winter, and it dries out in summer... happens every year...

I will pop the hoses and blow through them to check...

 

what you are seeing is the water entrained in the oil is evaporating and then being held by the oil fill cap, since you are seeing this it would be better for the engine if you drive it further before shutting it off,
also putting a piece of cardboard in front of the rad would also be a good idea , this will let the coolant stay at a higher temperature when it is returned to the engine, and thus the higher temps will assist in evaporating off the water vapors.
That said you should also consider replacing the oil/filter more frequently as the water vapors will also cause acids to be built up in the oil........