2F Head Weeping? (1 Viewer)

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Ming89FJ62

Pig farmer extraordinaire
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It's that time of the year here in Chicago when I start getting ready to put the herd into storage for the winter. Oil changes, lube, air up the tires... Arnold (FJ55) wouldn't start. I replaced the battery which was almost 10 years old (trickle charging is a wonderful thing) and pulled the top of the air cleaner to give the truck a shot of starting fluid. The truck started up after a few moments and idled without any issues. Then I looked into the bottom of the air filter housing and found a liquid mess weeping from valve cover vent into the air filter. I looks milky as if there may be coolant mixed in - but when I changed the oil the old oil was "clean" in that there was no visible signs of coolant mixed in. I haven't pulled the valve cover yet to look at the head - that will occur this weekend. I'm curious if anyone else has ever had this happen to them.
 
I'm assuming you mean where the valve cover vents into the air cleaner...how's the oil cap look? Might just be the usual condensation if you take short trips?

 
It's that time of the year here in Chicago when I start getting ready to put the herd into storage for the winter. Oil changes, lube, air up the tires... Arnold (FJ55) wouldn't start. I replaced the battery which was almost 10 years old (trickle charging is a wonderful thing) and pulled the top of the air cleaner to give the truck a shot of starting fluid. The truck started up after a few moments and idled without any issues. Then I looked into the bottom of the air filter housing and found a liquid mess weeping from valve cover vent into the air filter. I looks milky as if there may be coolant mixed in - but when I changed the oil the old oil was "clean" in that there was no visible signs of coolant mixed in. I haven't pulled the valve cover yet to look at the head - that will occur this weekend. I'm curious if anyone else has ever had this happen to them.
If there is a issue with crankcase ventilation (PCV valve) that pressure has to go somewhere. If there is no “flow through “ the pressure backs up into the air cleaner. An overlooked possibility is the pipe on the intake manifold that the hose from the PCV valve attaches to, is completely clogged with carbon deposits.
 
Sorry - yes, it's the vent hose from the top of the valve cover to the air cleaner. No residue on the oil filler cap. I do have a new PCV valve and grommet that I can put in this afternoon. I'll check the PCV pipe too. The truck has all the emissions (Cali) in place and runs well. There is no noticeable drop in coolant from the overflow bottle.

I just want to make sure that I'm looking at the beginning of a bigger problem.

Thanks,
 
If there's no change in the coolant bottle level then you don't have a head gasket leak...at least not from a coolant passage.

Oil and water combined will give a milky look. Under engine heat they form a kind of mayonaise that will coat the crankcase. With head gasket/coolant leaks you will notice unexplained oil and coolant losses. The more the mixture is comprised of dirty oil the darker it gets. The more coolant, the lighter it gets. At least, that's my experience. If neither fluid level is changing then it's likely as others have said - just rust belt condensation :)
 
If there's no change in the coolant bottle level then you don't have a head gasket leak...at least not from a coolant passage.

Oil and water combined will give a milky look. Under engine heat they form a kind of mayonaise that will coat the crankcase. With head gasket/coolant leaks you will notice unexplained oil and coolant losses. The more the mixture is comprised of dirty oil the darker it gets. The more coolant, the lighter it gets. At least, that's my experience. If neither fluid level is changing then it's likely as others have said - just rust belt condensation :)
Can we have a new acronym: RBC?

:lol:
 

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