Coolant in sump oil

PeterBo

PeterBo

Junior Member
I have just changed the engine oil - No problems.

I was emptying the drain pan into a drum for responsible disposal when at the bottom of the pan, I noticed some white streaks. These milky white streaks (see picture) are evidence of coolant in the oil, but only a very small amount!!

The question is, how much is too much? Should I be concerned about so little coolant loss and keep running but keep an eye on the amount, or should I lift the head, check the block for cracks etc. etc.? I am aware of the damage the coolant can do if it gets on to the bearings. Note too that I am running with 50:50 antifreeze. EEA95E93-218F-4774-B354-059F4C022CD0.jpg
 
Fingers crossed. Never had water in oil. Before you start taking things apart, try some stop leak.

You don’t want anti freeze around your bearings.
 
Before you have a full scale panic attack, are you sure it is coolant in the sump? Could it be condensation? How long is it since you did a decent, long drive in the car and got it thoroughly warm and kept it that way for a while?
 
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Was there any condensation in you catch pan? Did you get the engine nice and hot before draining the oil? Drain the antifreeze and retorque the head, refill with water and some anti rust water pump lubricant and go for a drive. Drain the oil and check for water. My fingers are crossed!
 
Don't jump off a bridge yet. Very likely it could be condensation as mentioned above. You can put a sample of it in a jar or clean container and have it analyzed. Then you KNOW what is going on.
 
I agree with it could be condensation since you are in winter down there. I never start an engine unless it's going to get to operating temp and run for at lease another 30 minutes. Mine stay parked for 6 to 7 months of winter, which will be here all too soon.
 
Hmmmm, that condensation idea is a really good thought. It has been bl...dy cold where we are and I only ran the car for 15 minutes before draining the oil. The ‘condensate’ is really white, not green, as is the antifreeze. Not an option to test the white fluid as I didn’t keep it after taking the photo - Whoops....

The other thought I had was to do a compression test. This would indicate if I have a blown head gasket or a head crack and the likely cylinder. Obviously a gasket would be preferred as it’s a relatively simple fix assuming it is a coolant leak.
 
Are you losing coolant where you must refill? Is there any seaping around the head gasket? is water blowing out the radiator? Regardless, before doing a bunch of stuff, Start out with Jacksonlll suggestion of tightening the head bolts. As an FYI, this is accomplished with a torque wrench, for all nuts but the one by the Distributor and what I did for that one nut is used a crows wrench for that one nut. The method of tightening the head is one of loosening the nut and then retightening it to the proper foot pounds. I went slightly over on mine and went to 55 ft-lbs. Use the same tightening pattern as specified by Ford. Do what you can to flush the oil pan, fill with new oil. Afterwards fill the radiator with antifreeze and add some kind of stop leak and run the car for week or two and monitor. Then if milk shows up again, more investigation is needed. Hope things work out!
 
Tom Wesenberg said:
Any white condensation in the oil fill pipe?
Click to expand...

What Tom said!! I wasn’t running a thermostat for a couple years, and in the winter time the engine didn’t get warm enough. When I went to change the oil in the spring the fill tube was full of milky guck. It was just condensation accumulation caused from not running the engine warm enough or possibly long enough.
 
The major suppliers have a special wrench for tightning head bolts. It is not much money and it makes the job easy. It is u shaped and is the right size for your 1/2 inch torque wrench on one end and the head bolt on the other end. I would follow the advice of number 7...Ernie in Arizona
 
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