Milky looking oil?

[wadentrisha]

checked my oil last night and it looks like coffee with creamer. Couldn't determine the smell but was wondering thoughs for having oil like this. I'm guessing water or gas in the oil? No oil leaks but it does use a bit of water. Also, the wrong head gasket (F instead of 2F) was installed by previous owner and I am replacing that also. No oil AT ALL on top of head. The oil hole was blocked by the wrong gasket. Not sure if the 2 are related but thought I'd throw that out there. If I have bigger problems than the wrong head gasket, It might be time to rethink what I want to do. Any suggestions on the milky oil issue? 74 fj40. F motor with 2F head.

Thanks
Wade

 

[miker]

I have no idea abot the head and gasket mix and match issues but the milky oil is from water. Gas dosen't turn oil milky, it just makes it smell like gas.

 

[Robert LaDuke]

How long did you run it without oil to the head? Mine had the correct gasket installed but upside down covering the oil port. Caused a bit of damage to the rockers.

 

[wadentrisha]

Well, I guess I've been wheeling it for 4 years with no oil to the top of the head. I thought everything was fine. Never had any problems so I didn't think the gasket was wrong. After removing the head cover, It was pretty obvious there was no oil or barely any if that. When you guys pull your head cover off, is it pretty much dry or should there be lots of oil in the (trey) area? Does it drain back down? I know the oil feeds from under the rockers but not sure if it leaks out and puddles up in the head. Also, does oil come out of the small hole in the rocker? If so, they are bone dry along with everything else. Still runs fine just has a lifter or valve tap. I'm going to order a head gasket from Cruiser Dan but if I have internal problems (milky oil) I might do a complete rebuild or maybe a 350. Rockers seem tight on the shaft but have rust on them. I guess I get the dumb as# penalty for this one. If it's water in my oil, I have no idea how it got there unless water leaks in somehow doing water crossings? Not sure how it could though.

 

[Trollhole]

Blown head gasket is the likely culprit. No oil to the head is not good either. I would bet your gonna need a new valve train. If the oil passage was blocked I'd just scrap the head and find another one and rebuild it.

Putting a 350 in is a lot of time and $$$$

 

[Robert LaDuke]

Well, I guess I've been wheeling it for 4 years with no oil to the top of the head. I thought everything was fine. Never had any problems so I didn't think the gasket was wrong. After removing the head cover, It was pretty obvious there was no oil or barely any if that. When you guys pull your head cover off, is it pretty much dry or should there be lots of oil in the (trey) area? Does it drain back down? I know the oil feeds from under the rockers but not sure if it leaks out and puddles up in the head. Also, does oil come out of the small hole in the rocker? If so, they are bone dry along with everything else. Still runs fine just has a lifter or valve tap. I'm going to order a head gasket from Cruiser Dan but if I have internal problems (milky oil) I might do a complete rebuild or maybe a 350. Rockers seem tight on the shaft but have rust on them. I guess I get the dumb as# penalty for this one. If it's water in my oil, I have no idea how it got there unless water leaks in somehow doing water crossings? Not sure how it could though.

You should see oil in the tray. Yes , the oil should be coming out of the rocker hole.
I got some good feedback when I posted about the gasket problem.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=23353&highlight=flipped+head+gasket

It's amazing to me what these engines will put up with. I think the water in your oil is related to the same headgasket problem.

 

[Finally Mine]

One of my other vehicles was experiencing the same problem. First noticed that the temp gauage kept rising but never overheated, then had to keep adding antifreeze to the radiator. Then one day get a call from the wife that the she is on the side of the road with the car, couldn't go faster than 20mph, knocking badly and finally overheated. Seems antifreeze was mixing in with the oil. Gasket or head I can't remember, but the discoloration of coffee creamer is from the antifreeze.

 

[osagecruiser]

we had a similar situation with my sons 40...chevy 283...milky looking oil...tore the top end apart...everything looked fine...except an unusual amount of water...clear water...droplets all over....turns out...the boy was only driving a couple of blocks to school...without a thermostat...the engine never got hot and what we were seeing was condensation...installed thermostat....changed the oil...problem gone...

osagecruiser

 

[BC Cruiser]

I see this all the time at work, milky oil and the fact that your adding coolant equals coolant in the base. Time for a rebuild. Osagecruiser is right about getting condenstion in the oil, you should let it sit for a while and then drain the oil, if there is coolant in the base then it should come out first, but you can usally tell from the dipstick.

 

[wadentrisha]

Thanks guys. took the rocker assembly off last night. Pulling the manifolds and hopefully get the head off tonight. I'm bringing it in for a check/rebuild. Napa quoted me $120 to rebuild my head if it comes to that. Is there also a good way to check my compression? I'm guessing if my top end is not getting oil, my piston rings are not either. Again, thanks for all your help.

 

[BC Cruiser]

you might wanna pull acouple main and rod bearings to see if there is any damage to them.

 

[miker]

you might wanna pull acouple main and rod bearings to see if there is any damage to them.

X2. Water is very hard on engine bearings.

Is there also a good way to check my compression?

No, not that I know of with the head already off.

However, with the head off, you can check the cylinder bores for scoring and for wear. Scoring is just a visual check and will be seen as vertical lines in the bore. Anything deep enough to catch a finger nail when run across it is not good. You should see the cross-hatch hone lines in each cylinder if the bores are fresh.

You will need a set of gauges to accurately check the cylinder wear but one rough way to check the wear is to see if there is a rim or lip at the top of each bore. If there is none, or just very, very small, maybe .001", then you should be ok.

Generally cylinder wear is also checked for taper (top to bottom differences) and out of round (side to side vs. front to back) because the bore does not generally wear evenly top vs. bottom, and front-to-back vs. side-to-side. It will generally wear faster at the top of the ring stroke and it will also wear faster perpendicular to the crank (side-to-side wear will be faster than front-to-back wear).

 

[Shift_This]

kind of have the same problem myself have a 73 F motor oil on dip stick is clean. Now when i open up the valve cover ( oil fill ) very milky in valve train and top of cap any ideas ? did a compression test a few months back any where between 120-140 or there abouts motor seems pretty week ! does not use any water burns about 1qt of oil every 400-500 miles and low oil pressure too ( my fix for that issue was 20-50w oil seems to help)