Coolant in the oil?

I recommend you replace the PCV valve and be warming up your vehicle properly before you move it-caused by moisture.

If not condensation could be coolant leaking into the crankcase

When I had my oil change there was white milky water on my oil cap. Everyday, since there it has been the same; however, there is no water showing on my dipstick when I check my oil, what all could this be?

Coolant mixed with oil. Most likely caused by blown or leaky head gaskets.

Ford Man in Michigan

It does not look like coolant just water. What do I need to do to figure this out? I heard that is could be condensation, is this true? If it is a leaky or blown head gasket, how expensive it that repair?

Could be condensation. Does the motor get to operating temp for more than a few minutes each time you drive this truck? Do you live in a really damp or wet area? Is the milky substance white, or more towards a creamy color? Cost depends on the area you live in, here where I am...(depending on motor size)....a couple hundred bucks plus parts.

Ford Man

Hey guys, I am having a problem with my 2003 ford f-150. I am getting coolant in the oil. It only shows up on engine cap, but not on dip stick. I've done a pressure test on all cylinder heads. Had no leak. Ive heard that on the 5.4 l have had some problem?

I have no idea why this has happened I just am hoping it ain't a blown head

Great site :-)

If it's only showing up on the cap it's only condensation and nothing to worry about.

WHAT YOU ARE SEEING PROBABLY LOOKS LIKE "WHITISH" OR "YELLOWISH"!

COMBUSTION PRODUCES ALL KINDS OF GASSES, TO INCLUDE WATER VAPOR

"BLOW-BY" IS WHERE SOME OF THIS STUFF SORTA "GETS PAST" THE PISTON RINGS AND "SEEPS" INTO YOUR CRANKCASE (IF WE LIVED IN A PERFECT WORLD, THIS WOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN!)

BUT IT DOES, NEW OR OLD ENGINE, THE MORE WEAR, MAYBE THE WORSE BLOW-BY IS

YOUR POSITIVE CRANKCASE VENTILATION (PCV) REMOVES THE GASSES, THEN SORTA RE-BURNS THEM, AS SOME OF THESE GASES ARE CORROSIVE (THE WHOLE REASON, THE PCV IS THERE, IS TO REMOVE THEM)

INSURE THE PVC SYSTEM IS STILL CONNECTED CORRECTLY, MAKE SURE THE PCV VALVE OPERATES (IT'S SORTA A TUNE-UP EXPENDABLE ITEM, THAT MAY BE OVERDUE ON REPLACEMENT)

THE SOURCE FROM WHICH THE VACUUM COMES FROM, COULD BE PARTIALLY BLOCKED, AS IT ENTERS TE MANIFOLD. ON MY JEEP, THIS WAS THE CASE A LONG TIME AGO, I HAD GOOD VACUUM ON A GAUGE---JUST NOT ENOUGH FLOW. THERE WAS GRAYISH/ SILVERY BUILD-UP IN THE "N.IPPLE" AT MY INTAKE MANIFOLD. AFTER CRUNCHING IT OUT, I HAD TO READJUST THE CARB. IT WAS GETTING CORRECT AIRFLOW NOW, IT HAD BE ADJUSTED EARLIER WITH THE WRONG FLOW OF AIR. THE "SNOT" SOON DISAPPEARED FROM MINE.

CAN YOU HANDLE IT, OR DO YOU MAYBE NEED DIAGRAMS OR SUCH?

THE MEDIC

If you have foam on the cap, it is condensation, nothing else. Blowby has absolutely nothing to do with it. Please ignore the previous answer.

HAD TO WIPE THE SNOT OFF OF MY MONITOR

SEE THIS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1Jb_sfpZsI

THE MEDIC

It does not look like coolant just water. What do I need to do to figure this out? I heard that is could be condensation, is this true? If it is a leaky or blown head gasket, how expensive it that repair?

It could be either. Keep an eye on the coolant level to determine if it is going low. Next, try replacing the PCV to eliminate condensation. Finally, expect around 600.00 for a headgasket.

Again..... PCV and/or blowby have absolutely nothing to do with moisture or coolant inside the filler cap.

DO AS YOU WISH

WIPE THE SNOT ON YOUR PANTS LEG AND DRIVE ON, AS SUGGESTED

......OR INVESTIGATE WHY YOUR TRUCK HAS SNOT AND EVERYBODY ELSE'S DOES NOT

I ONLY TRY TO HELP, AND GIVE OPTIONS

THE MEDIC

I will change the pdf tomorrow. But the milky substance isn't foam its like a runny goo. When this first started I noticed it and my trucked started running really hot. So I assumed it was a head gasket. I tried this stuff called steal seal. And all systems went away for about 1a year. Now I am getting that goo again and I called steal seal and they sent me another set of sealer to try again. Well now I have a oil leak somewhere high near top of engine. But no overheating yet. Should I get the pcv and pinpoint leak to c if that fixed problem or should I try something different?

There is no such thing as "mechanic in a can". All those additives will end up doing is plugging up the rest of your system. I'll say again, the guy posting that stuff about PCVs and blow-by is not a mechanic and way off the mark with that advice. If you truly have a blown head gasket, which i doubt, you need to remove the head and repair it properly but it requires a lot mot testing first to find out if that is even the case.

Could a failed intake gasket let water get into the oil

It depends on the engine. If coolant passages go through the intake, as they used to do on V-8 engines, a leak could occur between a coolant passage and an oil drain-back hole. There would be no oil pressure there, but the coolant could get up to 15 psi and get pushed into the oil passage.

4.6 romeo vin(w) only symptom is coolant in oil(alot, 8qts in approx 15miles). no drivability issues other than when coolant gets low engine heats up. ran some tests suspect faulty head/head gasket. removed heads, both measure straight and gasket shows no apparent signs of crossleak

Hi there,

check the tops of the pistons for wash, that is the carbon deposits on the piston are washed clean, this is a sign of coolant in that cylinder. the coolant becomes superheated steam and cleans the piston. also have the heads crack tested as this is often overlooked.

Mark (mhpautos)

if what he said doesn't prove true, try checking the valve cover gasket-it may be leaking from the coolant passage to the timing gears and pumping straight from the pump to the crankcase.

Thank you so much for all the info. Can you possibly send me the list you were referring to? Also, do you have any idea what another motor might cost? Any ideas where to look for one? Of course, we are not sure what is exactly wrong with it yet. Have to take it and someone check it out. Again, thanks so much for all your help!

please reply to your topic you already started not another.

[quote:774802c0d2="blackop555"]please reply to your topic you already started not another.[/quote:774802c0d2]

I am new to this site and I didn't quite know how to navigate around it!

No problem, I can send you the list. For future postings, after you log in, you should see three options to the rightof the page, just below the log in options. One should say "view you posts." Select that to find your original post. I'll post on that one.
8)

My husband was driving home today and his truck started making a "noise". He was watching his gauges and the truck never ran hot, temp had increased, but not to the running hot point. He checked the water reservoir and it was empty. He filled it back up, the noise stopped.water reservoir became empty. He filled it up again, drove a little ways, noise started again, stopped checked water, had small drops of oil in reservoir. Took water pump off, drained oil, there was approx. 4 to 5 gallons of water in oil. What could this be? Blown headgasket? Blown intake gasket? Bad water pump? The truck never ran hot, never had steam coming from under hood or tail pipe. It has the 4.6 liter.

sounds like a warped/cracked head or a bad headgasket, the intake manifold wouldnt do that more then likely, and the water pump shouldnt either,

perform a compression test to check or you can fill up the radiator till no more air comes out, start it up and look for bubbles to appear, bubbles indicate a blown head gasket.

you should also put compressed air into each cylinder and if bubles appear or the cylinder wont hold air then its a bad headgasket or warped/cracked head.

Hi i have a 1997 ford f-150 that has the 4.6 liter triton v8. i am experiencing a problem where the engine oil is mixing in with the engine coolant, but the coolant is not mixing in with the oil. Do you know what could be causing this problem.

Can you tell if it's engine oil or trans? Chances are the oil cooler is bad leaking into the cooling system.