Milkyness under the oil cap????

[Mikey0211]

Hey guys, Just a quick question......

Being winter and all, is it common for a little bit of milkness under the oil cap from condensation?????

I have had a brand new head put on bout 12 months ago and no coolant loss at all...... so I doubt its anything major but it still has me a little worried as I have spent big $$$ doing the head last time.


Cheers

Mikey

[toy yoda]

Mikey, i dont think you will like the answer, Its hard to tell with out seeing the "milkyness" but it is not normal for Milky condensation to form.
It is one of the signs of a head and or gasket issue. a head can fail in many ways water in oil is only one, but usually if you have contaninated oil in rocker cover then check the oil on the dipstick to see if any signs of contamination there,

[Mikey0211]

Yeh mate, Nothing on the dipstick, It was only a tiny bit of SH#T under the cap......
I cleaned it of and will check it after driving a bit more....

Fingers crossed.... I have only done 15000km since the head was done..

[toy yoda]

If none on stick, then it could just be a bit of old crap, 15k since head done, has it has an oil and filter change since then prop due now. Oil these days is only at its best till 10k anyway. that should get rid any excess shit laying around

[Mikey0211]

Yeh, its just comming up to 10k now, so an oil change is due next week...

Just out of curiosity.... I put an aftermarket gauge in after the head went last time cause I don't trust the dash one....
Its always reads around 200F..... is this normal??

Its is on gas aswell, I have heard that gas will run a little hotter than petrol cause when I switch to petrol it sits on 195 - 200F...:confused:

[fullmetaljacket]

the problem with checking the stick is that water will settle at the bottom of the sump and oil will sit on top of it. Dont think you have anything to worrie about, chech the o'ring on the filler cap (if it has one fitted), may just be condensation

[trains]

If you do lots of short trips, and the engine never gets up to temp, you will also get water vapor condensing under the filler cap/ rocker cover etc.

Sounds like in your case, after a head repair, there has been water in the block from the previous problem/ repair, and its showing up.
I would reccomend a service within 1000kms after a head repair, just to get the gunk and water out of the engine, no matter how clean you are, there will be stuff that finds it s way into the oil galleries/ block etc.
A quick oil change addresses this, and the posibility of high moisture content in the block after the repair.


Had several older ladies who used to have this problem with their cars due to the very short trips they did.

Trains

[Mikey0211]

Cheers guys,, You are right, I only live a couple of mins drive from work so most of my driving is short trips..

I feel a bit better now, I nearly shat myself when I saw it under there again...

[Terry]

take trains advice as i had the same issue with a new car!

[Anjitago]

I used to work as a mechanic and we found this to be a common problem primarily with elderly people that only used their car to go to the shop

so yeah trains right on the money withvehicles that do short running

[toy yoda]

the problem with checking the stick is that water will settle at the bottom of the sump and oil will sit on top of it. Dont think you have anything to worrie about, chech the o'ring on the filler cap (if it has one fitted), may just be condensation

Your right dude buts it still one of the easiest checks, may not show anything as u said but if i does youve got some info to work with

If you do lots of short trips, and the engine never gets up to temp, you will also get water vapor condensing under the filler cap/ rocker cover etc.

Sounds like in your case, after a head repair, there has been water in the block from the previous problem/ repair, and its showing up.
I would reccomend a service within 1000kms after a head repair, just to get the gunk and water out of the engine, no matter how clean you are, there will be stuff that finds it s way into the oil galleries/ block etc.
A quick oil change addresses this, and the posibility of high moisture content in the block after the repair.


Had several older ladies who used to have this problem with their cars due to the very short trips they did.


I agreed too re clean crap out of block left behind plus looking at removed oil will tell how bad or contaminated the oil is or isnt.

Ive had vehicles come to me after other parties have tackled the head repair, 1 time people failed to change oil so when head removed water went into oil, then another time people changed oil after head repair but not filter, vehicle drove for some time b4 head was repaired, so filter was water stuffed and it went thru new oil aswell;)

Trains

[fullmetaljacket]

Your right dude buts it still one of the easiest checks, may not show anything as u said but if i does youve got some info to work with

toy yoda, I wasnt knocking your comment, if thats what it sounded like. But yea dipstick check is a good one, though you dont look for signs of water or milky oil, you check for excess oil level on the stick

oh and I hate the thought of people changing oil but leaving the old filter on..........its like having a shower and using dirty water and handfull of mud to clean yourself

[toy yoda]

toy yoda, I wasnt knocking your comment, if thats what it sounded like. But yea dipstick check is a good one, though you dont look for signs of water or milky oil, you check for excess oil level on the stick

oh and I hate the thought of people changing oil but leaving the old filter on..........its like having a shower and using dirty water and handfull of mud to clean yourself

I knew where you were coming from!!:thumb:

[taresk]

I'd play it safe and get it checked out anyway, my 4Runner had a small amount of milkyness under the oil cap, none on the dipstick, and very little noticible coolant loss.

Two days later, in Redfern of all places, it suddenly overheated and siezed, the head gasket had been leaking just a tiny bit, but had rotted and gave way quite quickly.

But then, the 4Runners were known for that, hence the recall.

[Mikey0211]

toy yoda, I wasnt knocking your comment, if thats what it sounded like. But yea dipstick check is a good one, though you dont look for signs of water or milky oil, you check for excess oil level on the stick

oh and I hate the thought of people changing oil but leaving the old filter on..........its like having a shower and using dirty water and handfull of mud to clean yourself

I checked the oring under the cap, and yes it is quite hard and a little cracked, also the oil level has not risen or dropped at all since my last change.

Where do you get those orings for the oil caps.... Auto barn????

[toy yoda]

yeh auto barn, repco super sheap all should have one

[Peter @ Aawen4x4]

.......dipstick check is a good one, though you dont look for signs of water or milky oil, you check for excess oil level on the stick
.....

But then when you DO pull out the dipstick and there is nothing on it but a bubbly white froth, sorta like the stuff on the top of cappucino!!

The feeling of 'Oh Sh!t!!' as your heart sinks to your boots, only to be immediately followed by the calming thought "Thank [all that's holy!], that it's NOT MY CAR!"

And then the realisation that regardless that it's not your car (or mine as the case may be!!) you are currently at least 300km from anyhwere and there are at least 200 sand dunes of approx 30m height that you will hafta negotiate between where you are and anyhwere, and it's YOUR very own responsiblility to get that vehicle there!! 'Oh Sh!t again!'

It can happen suddenly, despite the most rigourous of tests, and at the worst time possible! In fact, I've been assured by some normally very reliable sources in the Motor Industry that the advances in the 'Needs Detector' have far surpassed the rate of change in any other section of the motor industry! The Needs Detector of today can not only detect when the most inconvenient time for you to have a breakdown is, it can also pick the most inconvenient Place AND the most inconvenient component of the car!

So you KNOWthat the 'Needs Detector' fitted to your car is doing it's job when you find water in the sump in the middle of a desert somewhere, just after you've got the 'phone call from your 18y/o daughter baby-sitting the house back home, saying "The party went fine Dad, we didn't do any damage to the house, well... Not much, anyhow! See ya!" Click! This is Australian ingenuity, Australian advances in Design & Technology, and Australia taking on the world and showing that it can be better than anyone!! Doesn't it just make you feel PROUD to be Australian!!

[sudso]

Cheers guys,, You are right, I only live a couple of mins drive from work so most of my driving is short trips..

I feel a bit better now, I nearly shat myself when I saw it under there again...take the long way to work so the engine gets to full temp for a while.
Short trips day after day where the engine doesn't get to full temp will kill them prematurely. I know some will say "oh yeah that was years ago but todays engines......bla bla bla.....

We always hear of taxi's doing 500,000 to 1,000,000kms on a motor without a rebuild, thats cos they are running most of the time.

[Mikey0211]

Hey guys,, I just did the oil change and it was "CLEAN" WOOT WOOT!!!


Thanks for all the advice

Mikey

[toy yoda]

good news mikey you can sleep a little better now