Grey oil?

[runninrich]

Hello all-

My suzuki samurai is having a few problems as of late - it over heats, but only after long drives (~30 mins), It burns oil, and the antifreeze tends to disappear over time, too. When I take off the radiator cap, I can see vapours escaping, and it sort of smells like exhaust though I'm not 100 percent sure as my nose can't really smell all that great. I did a compression test and got these results:

110
120
150
150

Also, when ever I check my oil, it's sort of a grey, watery colour. I'm not quite sure what this is, as I've always been told coolant in anti-freeze yielded a milky white sludge?



oil from my dad explorer on the left, suzuki's is on the right. As you can see, bit of a difference.

I just added 2 quarts to the suzuki like, two or three days ago aswell, and the dipstick hardly even reads right now...

 

[toneydoc]

Trade it in while it is still running and let someone else deal with the bad stuff

 

[chevrofreak]

Ever done a UOA on it? Likely has tons of aluminum or lead in the oil.

 

[runninrich]

No, never done a UOA on er. If that's the case, than my bearings are most likely shot, correct? I'm hearing no noise though, so I dunno if I might still have some life left in the engine?

 

[SuperDave456]

You have coolant that disappears, funky looking oil, and it over heats.
Sounds to me like you have a headgasket issue.

You may want to get rid of it while it still runs.
Either that or get the heads redone.

 

[runninrich]

she's uh, kinda my daily driver haha. But yes, that's kinda what I figured it was, but always thought the oil turned white and not grey - also thought a bad HG would cause it to over heat very quickly, but I guess I could see it overheating after a while due to a small leak...

 

[JimPghPA]

If you have any means to measure temperature of a piece of metal, such as a no contact infer-red thermometer, or a contact thermometer such as the type used for a BBQ, you could heat a piece of metal to a temperature hot enough to boil off any water in the oil, but below the flash point of the oil. If you have any leather gloves and a full plastic face shield you could protect you arms with a old coat, and wearing safety equipment to protect your hands and face, drip a drop of oil from the dip-stick onto that hot metal. If there is water in the oil it will violently boil off, and cause the oil to splatter. Also try a drop of unused oil of the same type for comparison. Unused oil should just sit and look thin when hot if you don't have the metal too hot.

 

[JimPghPA]

Over-heating is a sign of a bad head gasket, especially when the outside temperature is low like it has been lately (I see that you are in NY).

 

[Rand]

those were pretty tough but sounds like yours is on its last legs.. definitely trade in or look for another vehicle now while yours is still running.

 

[Chris142]

Its not going to be your daily driver much longer

 

[runninrich]

So what am I looking forward to in terms of repairs? Headgasket set? Could I flush out the crank case and change the oil with some Lucas and zinc additive and be somewhat good at this point?

I hear no internal engine noise at all at this point.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: runninrich
So what am I looking forward to in terms of repairs? Headgasket set? Could I flush out the crank case and change the oil with some Lucas and zinc additive and be somewhat good at this point?

I hear no internal engine noise at all at this point.


You need to fix the problem, not throw "new engine in a can" at it.

Get a coolant pressure tester, or go to a garage that has one and have it tested. If you need a head gasket, then you need a head gasket. Get it fixed.

 

[runninrich]

This I know - I plan on fixing it, but someone told me that there could be excessive aluminum in the block, which in my mind is most likely the bearings, correct? I was just wondering if I should throw some kind of additive into the oil after I fix'er up, and if that would slow the progressing of bearing wear (if that is indeed why my oil is grey) until I get out of school for the summer...

I know full well that chemicals are not a solution for hard parts.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: runninrich
This I know - I plan on fixing it, but someone told me that there could be excessive aluminum in the block, which in my mind is most likely the bearings, correct? I was just wondering if I should throw some kind of additive into the oil after I fix'er up, and if that would slow the progressing of bearing wear (if that is indeed why my oil is grey) until I get out of school for the summer...

I know full well that chemicals are not a solution for hard parts.


No, leave the oil additive free, but I suggest a few quick changes after you get the problem fixed to flush out any latent crud that is floating around due to the coolant ingress.

 

[Dakota1820]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: runninrich
So what am I looking forward to in terms of repairs? Headgasket set? Could I flush out the crank case and change the oil with some Lucas and zinc additive and be somewhat good at this point?

I hear no internal engine noise at all at this point.


You need to fix the problem, not throw "new engine in a can" at it.

Get a coolant pressure tester, or go to a garage that has one and have it tested. If you need a head gasket, then you need a head gasket. Get it fixed.


110% correct! Diagnose thoroughly before junking it or fixing anything. Also the first 2cyl are lower on compression one is what 27% lower the other is 20% maybe a combustion chamber to coolant system leak, I know its a little bit of a stretch since the numbers are not way awful but I would look closely at those 2. Just my .2 cents

 

[Dakota1820]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: runninrich
This I know - I plan on fixing it, but someone told me that there could be excessive aluminum in the block, which in my mind is most likely the bearings, correct? I was just wondering if I should throw some kind of additive into the oil after I fix'er up, and if that would slow the progressing of bearing wear (if that is indeed why my oil is grey) until I get out of school for the summer...

I know full well that chemicals are not a solution for hard parts.


No, leave the oil additive free, but I suggest a few quick changes after you get the problem fixed to flush out any latent crud that is floating around due to the coolant ingress.


Yep if bearings are chewed up scored or anything there isnt anything worth the money to do. Old saying kinda goes here you can polish a turd but its still a turd. If the engine is damaged already slowing it down now (if you could) is a waste of effort in my opinion. Im going to go on the assumption however if the engine sounds fine its probably ok. I would drain the oil put fresh cheap stuff in there just in case. Then diagnose thoroughly, if the head gaxket is bad replace the gasket , and oil go 500 miles change oil again then 500 more change it again and then go back to your normal oil change routine. Thats how I would do it. Of course keep in mind you can see feel touch smell and taste whats going on, we cannot so also use your own good judgment.

 

[Kuato]

Sounds like you plan to keep it; if it were mine the plan would be:

Head gasket and oil change. Oil change and UOA at 2000 miles and evaluate from there for wear metals.

 

[skyship]

In my opinion,
You should send off a sample asap to an oil lab like Blackstone (Mid stream 200mls), it looks like possible fuel contamination to me BUT that's a guess as it may in fact be OK. The lab will e mail you back after a few days with some figures to post in the UOA section. Some labs will send you a free sample kit and forms if you e mail them and a basic analysis is around 25 dollars.
Remember if in doubt, change the oil out! (BUT grab a sample)

 

[The_Eric]

Also, you should not simply assume the head gasket is at fault and just replace it. It would be prudent to have the cylinder head checked for cracks while it's off.

 

[Propflux01]

You need to get that fixed today, not next week, not after the school year. If you have grey oil, that tells me you have some serious issues going on that aren't gonna wait. Plus we all know what antifreeze does to bearings.