Pics of milky/cloudy oil -- coolant contamination?

[Pajamarama]

I suspect this is due to a head gasket leak, but I just want to see what you guys think.

Here is a pic from under the valve cover about six months ago. Notice the deep dark color of the small pools of oil in the lower left corner:

The 2 pics below are from this weekend. I noticed the oil is creamy, cloudy, milky -- however you want to describe it.

Would this be a typical result from coolant contamination -- i.e. leaking head gasket? If so, this would confirm my suspicions.

 

[aquariuscsm]

What kind`ve oil? Do you do a ton of short trips in cold weather?

 

[Lead Shoes]

Your f22 vtec either has some fuel dilution issues or it has a leaky HG; I would do a UOA to confirm before I spent the wrench time changing the HG, or $ if you take it to a shop.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
What kind`ve oil? Do you do a ton of short trips in cold weather?


Our 5.4 routinely does this on short trips, especially since it doesn't get used much.

Some engines run hot enough to "burn" off the moisture, even with a leaky head gasket / cracked head.

 

[clarkflower]

Mine looked like a milk shake.
When I drained it into a clear jug there was no doubt as there is water too

 

[Pajamarama]

I am going to drain the oil tonight. I'll post pics of what it looks like in the drain pan.

To clarify, the car currently won't start. Starting a month ago, I had problems with losing coolant with no drips under the car. Engine ran rougher and rougher until it finally did not start.

 

[Lead Shoes]

Originally Posted By: Pajamarama
I am going to drain the oil tonight. I'll post pics of what it looks like in the drain pan.

To clarify, the car currently won't start. Starting a month ago, I had problems with loosing coolant with no drips under the car. Engine ran rougher and rougher until it finally did not start.


Likely because there was too much coolant/water was entering the cylinders when running and now it cannot compress the fluid enough to start from all the coolant in the cylinders.

Don't bother changing the oil now, change it after you tear into the motor and replace the HG, wouldn't take me but a few hours and a 6 pack

 

[skyship]

Originally Posted By: Pajamarama
I am going to drain the oil tonight. I'll post pics of what it looks like in the drain pan.

To clarify, the car currently won't start. Starting a month ago, I had problems with losing coolant with no drips under the car. Engine ran rougher and rougher until it finally did not start.


Thanks for posting the pic. I will take a wild guess that the main block is probably beyond repair unfortuntely. It would be interesting to see a UOA to see how much water and anti freeze is mixed with the oil, although it looks so bad that it might be more a case of how much oil is in the coolant.

 

[Lead Shoes]

I doubt the block is ruined, but things will defiantly have extra wear.

Remove the fuel pump fuse and spark plugs and turn it over and see if anything other than the remnants of fuel come out to see if a super blown HG is making it not run.

You can also use a bright LED to look down the hole and see if there is standing water if you don't want to make a mess when you turn it over.

 

[electrolover]

Originally Posted By: skyship
Originally Posted By: Pajamarama
I am going to drain the oil tonight. I'll post pics of what it looks like in the drain pan.

To clarify, the car currently won't start. Starting a month ago, I had problems with losing coolant with no drips under the car. Engine ran rougher and rougher until it finally did not start.


Thanks for posting the pic. I will take a wild guess that the main block is probably beyond repair unfortuntely. It would be interesting to see a UOA to see how much water and anti freeze is mixed with the oil, although it looks so bad that it might be more a case of how much oil is in the coolant.



How would a blown head gasket hurt a block besides the remote possibilty of a fire slot? I swear every time you open your mouth word vomit spews out!

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I can't see the block being bad.

The bearings inside the block ... yes.

 

[demarpaint]

Just out of curiosity did you pressure test the cooling system? How low was the coolant level? A pressure testing of the cooling system with let you know what's going on, and if it is leaking you can proceed from there and try and locate the leak.

 

[skyship]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
I can't see the block being bad.

The bearings inside the block ... yes.


Agreed, when I said block I should have said bearings and rings.

 

[The_Eric]

From my past experience, it is consistent with moisture in the oil. We've have several engines come through with leaking head gaskets or intake gaskets, and their oil would look like that, unless of course, it was REALLY leaking, then it'd be a vanilla milkshake.