Found Water In Oil

[Aaron from Texas]

Well, I'm gonna use this thread to document my issues and resolution.

So I removed my oil cap the other day, and found milky oil. Crap.

Pulled my dipstick and it didn't look bad at all. So I drove a bit that day, pulled it again, and it looked worse.

I asked about bypassing the oil cooler to test it here:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/756241-bypass-replace-oil-cooler.html

...but decided to just remove it entirely and have it pressure tested like a radiator. This should tell me whether the separation between water and oil is fried or not.

Looks like my oil was even worse than I thought. Thankfully, I haven't been driving it too much since I first noticed this.

 

[IdahoDoug]

So, what was the result?

 

[superstan26]

Not certain I follow your thread.

By no means do I consider myself fluent with the mechanics of the 80, but from my basic understanding of most oil coolers they are just a radiator style heat sink that allows oil to pass through tubing, and be cooled by air passing through the fins. If the 80 uses a standard oil cooler I don't see how the oil cooler would be relevant to water in your oil. My first point of inspection would be the head gasket, and I would not recommend driving until the issue has been resolved otherwise you stand a good chance of ruining your engine.

 

[Aaron from Texas]

So, what was the result?

Just pulled the cooler and posted this tonight. Taking it in tomorrow.

Not certain I follow your thread.

By no means do I consider myself fluent with the mechanics of the 80, but from my basic understanding of most oil coolers they are just a radiator style heat sink that allows oil to pass through tubing, and be cooled by air passing through the fins. If the 80 uses a standard oil cooler I don't see how the oil cooler would be relevant to water in your oil. My first point of inspection would be the head gasket, and I would not recommend driving until the issue has been resolved otherwise you stand a good chance of ruining your engine.

Of course not, truck's been parked since the findings. The oil cooler on the 3FE uses coolant to pass through the cooler instead of a traditional, air-cooled oil cooler. Like so...

This separation between oil and coolant has been known to fail, and that's what I'm testing this first, instead of the head (head gaskets are not prone to failure on a 3FE, but I'm not ruling it out. If this passes, and even if it fails, I will move onto the head and have it fluxed and checked for straightness. If all else fails, well... 3FE short blocks aren't too pricey...

 

[superstan26]

Funny, i also have the 3fe, but haven't examined the oil cooler, in fact I'm not even sure I have one on my 92? I'll keep an eye on your thread to see how things pan out. Good luck to u.

 

[Aaron from Texas]

Funny, i also have the 3fe, but haven't examined the oil cooler, in fact I'm not even sure I have one on my 92? I'll keep an eye on your thread to see how things pan out. Good luck to u.

If you have the 3FE, then you have the oil cooler. Right by the oil filter and distributor.

 

[Aaron from Texas]

Well, the oil cooler checked out at the radiator shop. Held 30 PSI...

So this weekend, it's off with the head...

 

[DSRTRDR]

is there oil in the water/coolant, too ?

 

[Aaron from Texas]

is there oil in the water/coolant, too ?

No, and that was my concern that it wasn't the oil cooler... but I still held out hope.

 

[Aaron from Texas]

Well, got the head off today. Started off like this...

Biggest obstacles were the exhaust flange nuts to the down pipes... About 6 hours later, and...

Nothing stuck out like a sore thumb, other than the head gasket looked odd. I'll post up a pic a bit later...

Taking it to get fluxed on Monday.

 

[scottryana]

Hard to tell but don't see an obvious fail in the HG, but damn it was time to do a rebuild anyways, clean that top end up and it will be a happier motor Any pics of the other side of the head?

 

[Aaron from Texas]

Hard to tell but don't see an obvious fail in the HG, but damn it was time to do a rebuild anyways, clean that top end up and it will be a happier motor Any pics of the other side of the head?

Yeah, it was very filthy. The other thing I noticed was how much oil was in the intake. I've got a new PCV valve, but I'm also thinking of setting up an oil separator.

The head gasket looked absolutely fine, but there was actually water sitting on top of the head in the low spots. I haven't been able to find anything noticeable after pressure washing it, but that's what the flux is for...

I'll get some pics when I move it again on Monday, because this thing weighs a TON.

 

[94SRUNNER]

Are you going to drop the lower half and inspect/clean out the oil pan?

 

[Aaron from Texas]

Are you going to drop the lower half and inspect/clean out the oil pan?

Dunno yet...

Another question for those in the know... Is there a way to get just the plastic wire connectors (female ends) for all the fuel injector wire connections and other misc. wire connectors? Every single retaining tab on every single connector broke off while removing them. This engine must have gotten HOT!

 

[Aaron from Texas]

Any pics of the other side of the head?

Here ya go, man...

I actually found something sitting inside one of the water jackets, but I'll have to get my light and some pliers to inspect... This is on the back side where the water / milkshake was the worst on the valve cover. Might not even need a flux if I'm pulling out parts of the head.

 

[Aaron from Texas]

Got it out.

Anyone have any ideas what this is? Looks like old rubber, pliable, found in the rear-most water jacket of the head...

 

[western flyer]

Got it out.

Anyone have any ideas what this is? Looks like old rubber, pliable, found in the rear-most water jacket of the head...

Looks like gasket material. Since it is in the cooling system, I am thinking someone got a bit sloppy at some point with a cooling system part replacement, such as a water pump, and dropped/left that in the system.

 

[Aaron from Texas]

Looks like gasket material. Since it is in the cooling system, I am thinking someone got a bit sloppy at some point with a cooling system part replacement, such as a water pump, and dropped/left that in the system.

Yeah, I figure it's some sort of gasket or seal and presumably from the water system, but I'd like to pin down the exact source.

 

[scottryana]

Hard to tell but kind of looks like the gasket that goes around the outside of the thermostat?

 

[Aaron from Texas]

Hard to tell but kind of looks like the gasket that goes around the outside of the thermostat?

Might have a winner there...

EDIT: Just verified. Cracked open the thermostat housing, and that o-ring is completely missing.