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Engine help!

H

HumptyDumpty79

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I noticed when i take the oil cap off my 79 jimmy, theres sludge on the inside of it. The white sludge that happens when oil and coolant mix. I had to replace the valve cover gasket anyways so when i took it off there was alot of moisture on the inside of the valve cover. I cleaned it off and drove it around then took it off again. MOISTURE AGAIN!:mad: When i change the oil its not milky and it doesnt appear to have coolant in it. Although the oil does get dark pretty quick. It runs good but does smoke a bit once and a while. I dont have to add coolant all the time (it has a minor radiator leak). What could it be?? It does have the crappy 896 heads and the spark plugs do appear to have been burnin a bit of oil. Any opionions? Im stumped.
 
Lets talk about your driving style with this truck. Do you use it for short trips say less than 20 min? It sound like the engine does not ever get to warm up enough and long enough to burn off the condensation trapped in the engine. Do you have a good PCV valve and fresh air inlet in the opposite valvecover? If not it will leak and burn oil. Did you smell a sweet smell when you changed the valvecover gaskets?
 
my gfs little 4 banger hyndai had that too, mechanic that did the oil change didnt mention white sluge and there was none on the dipstick. White sludge on the cap though and when the engine was hot steam coming out when you opened the fill cap/ Im curous as to what it could be too.
 
Given your climate I suggest that is the problem. You may think that I am crazy but substituting 1/2 quart of oil next change for a 1/2 quart of ATF fluid will clean up the engine. Do that for a couple of changes and see if it helps. 1/2 quart in that small engine but 1 full quart in a V8. I have saved many older and tired engines by doing this. Reduces smoking and the extra detergents in the ATF really clean up the inside of the engine.
 
I used to do that atf thing in my other truck. It did clean well but caused more leaks. I have a fairly new pcv but there is no other breather in the other valve cover. The "oil cap" is the breather. And now that u mention the breather, it blows smoke out the oil cap breather thing when the engine is warmed up also. And after about a day of blowing smoke out the breather, the outside of the valve cover is covered in a light coat of oil. Related to the moisture problem??
 
Marvel mystery oil also works instead of the ATF. The idea is to use these products to clean up the old sludgy(sp) oil and break down the carbon buildup on the piston rings thus helping the engine to not have as much "blowby" and internal pressure inside the engine. This will reduce the oil leaking out your filler plug. I am not sure of the "vented" filler cap that you speak of but all of my engines have a PCV and filler plug in one valvecover and then on the opposite valvecover there is a fresh air tube that goes from the VC to the base of the aircleaner or to the side of the aircleaner. No this is not related to the moisture problem. IMO.
In my experience the milky color is from not enough distance driving to warm the engine long enough for the condensation that collects inside the engine each time the engine cools off to burn back off...That is why I asked about a sweet smell in the oil as that would lead me to think that there was antifreeze leaking into the oil somehow.

Sorry for the book. Tom
 
Quick thought, Are you sure that the "baffle" is still mounted inside your valvecover below your breather? The fill hole should be open so that you can fill the engine with oil quickly. The fresh air inlet point should have the "baffle" so that oil does not have direct access to the opening.
 
dyeager535 said:
If you've got a low-temp thermostat, ditch it and go with the stock 195*.
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Good idea. I believe it doesnt have one at all and its been that way since i got the truck. I keep tellin myself that ill just put one in when i install the new manifold i have but i keep fixin other things instead. And i have the edelbrock valve covers that have the pcv on the passenger side and the breather/oil fill on the driver side. And it does have the baffle inside it.
 
HumptyDumpty79 said:
Good idea. I believe it doesnt have one at all and its been that way since i got the truck. I keep tellin myself that ill just put one in when i install the new manifold i have but i keep fixin other things instead. And i have the edelbrock valve covers that have the pcv on the passenger side and the breather/oil fill on the driver side. And it does have the baffle inside it.
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you mean it doesnt have a thermostat at all? well there lies your problem, the stat lets the engine warmup to where it should, and having no stat wont let that happen. what my dad did to our old suburban that my mom would drive 5 miles to the bus garage everyday in the winter would be to put it in 2nd and drive like normal, letting the engine rev up there and get hot. it seemed to do the trick, i would watch black soot and junk come out of the pipes. or just come up with a reason to drive 50 miles on the interstate:wink1:
 
It does get to opperating temp tho. I believe they took the stat out as a cheap fix to an overheating problem. In the cool weather it stays below 210, but in the summer it hovers around 235.
 
HumptyDumpty79 said:
It does get to opperating temp tho. I believe they took the stat out as a cheap fix to an overheating problem. In the cool weather it stays below 210, but in the summer it hovers around 235.
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235!?:eek1: i start to get nervous when the needle goes above 210* i think you might also need to clean your radiator, if with no t-stat it gets that hot.
 
Yeah, I'd be looking to replace the radiator, especially if whoever owned it before was cheap enough to pull a t-stat to try and hide that problem.
 
I have done a flush several times already. I has a small leak by the cap so i guess ill go ahead and replace it. Thanks for the help guys.
 
Never seen a flush work good enough to get a bad radiator into usable shape. The calcium buildup is usually pretty bad at the very bottom where you can't see, and the cores start to get thin as they rot out, so you are just waiting for it to pop. :)
 
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