Antifreeze in oil

Aok

Aok

Well-known member
Changed my oil today and it looked like a green-gray milk shake. So I am thinking/hoping head gasket, Did a search and read some good information but saw a few comments about antifreeze being a concern. Why is antifreeze more of a problem then water and yes I run antifreeze.
 
From what I understand the antifreeze particles are smaller than water particles and can escape where water particles couldn't.
 
Anti-freeze and bearings don't get along with each other very well. I'd suggest filling with water and new oil and run it for awhile. Drain everything then figure out where the leak is.
 
If you are driving in cold temps without a thermostat you will see this. Also if you have a blown head gasket you will see this oil milkshake. How does the exhaust look while the car is running? White exhaust is a good sign of a leak. Have you re-torqued the head gasket lately.
 
Some kinds of antifreeze (I can't remember which kinds, because I always use alcohol) will destroy your babbitt if it gets in the oil. If you have insert bearings this isn't an issue, but you still want to find the leak.
 
Aok said:
Changed my oil today and it looked like a green-gray milk shake. So I am thinking/hoping head gasket, Did a search and read some good information but saw a few comments about antifreeze being a concern. Why is antifreeze more of a problem then water and yes I run antifreeze.
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Hope it is just condensation from not getting up to temp in the cold weather. Change the oil run it a while and see if it returns. It should not take long it you truly have a leak. If it does, move ahead with troubleshooting. If it does not you got lucky.
 
If you don't start the engine for a couple days, and then unscrew the drain plug just enough to leat out a couple tablespoons, any coolant should come out first. If only oil comes out, then you got lucky. Since you mentioned a greenish look, I'm sure you have a leak, and most likely it's the head gasket. Careful inspection of the gasket might show where the coolant leaked. Also the coolant leak will often turn to steam when the engine is running and this will clean off the top of the piston. Let us know what you find.
 
This a return of the milk shake problem it was there when got the car last year but it had no maintenance for years sat in a garage. I had cleaned up every thing (did not think about retorqueing head) new oil and ran water it look ok . Near the end of summer put antifreeze back and saw the mess again when I changed oil. I have not drive it much because I still need to reinstall the top. Did a compression check last year 50,50,45,50. It seems like it came back with the antifreeze or maybe I just see it because of antifreeze. I needed to replace the water pump, so I will order the new pump and head gasket and get to work.
 
I always use the copper gasket and spray both sides with Copper Coat. I torque the head gasket in 4 steps, working up to 55 lbs. Something like 5 lbs, 20, 40, 55lbs. would work fine.
 
I agree with 700rpm (Ray Horton) . Antifreeze is BAD NEWS for Babbit, that is one reason why I no longer use it in our model A's .
 
Antifreeze is bad for both babbitt and inserts. If you have green/gray goo, you probably have already damaged the babbitt. I would suggest pressure testing it and look for cracks in the top of the valve chamber or on the head surface. By the time you get the creamy emulsion, you have a serious leak. if it is the head gasket, it would be easy to spot when you look at the gasket. It would usually go into the cylinders and be burned up then, so I would lean more towards a crack. The last four blocks I worked on were cracked.
 
Thinking positive and hoping for a bad head gasket. I had compression readings of 50,50,45,50 I thought they would be much lower with a crack.
 
If you are 100 percent positive you see antifreeze then you have blown headgasket or something more serious. If it's just milky then your issue is low temps and not burning off the excess condensation.
 
Taste test? If the tip of your tongue gives a sweet taste, you've got ethylene glycol in the oil. Do not swallow! Do a rinse before eating or drinking anything after the test!
If you are not comfortable doing this test --- then don't do it.
 
A small crack wouldn't change your compression much. Is there oil in the antifreeze? Could be the antifreeze leaking under the pressure to the crankcase if not. More than likely head gasket. At least lets hope.
 
check the water jacket INSIDE the valve chamber.

I fussed and fooled for three years with our Town Sedan trying to stop water getting into the oil.

finally James Rogers suggested I check the valve chamber. there was a crack running around intake valve #3 and extending over to #3 exhaust port. pulled the engine to fix it and discovered the main bearings were toast and there was an old crack between the #3 cylinder and exhaust port before the block was sleeved.

James supplied me a rebuildable block with new mains, pistons & rings and exhaust valve seats. all the other components were in excellent condition and I'm putting the engine back together today. not exactly a cheap fix but certainly a long-term one........
 
Best I can tell its antifreeze looks green and have a few other old vehicles with limited driving and no problems with oil so not a temp problem. I plan to start disassembling middle of next week as time allows once I get it apart I will hopefully figure it out if not will get some photos posted.
 
With good compression I would suspect a crack. If you don't see a crack readily, wave a little propane torch over any suspect area. The crack should show itself. I would still drain everything as soon as possible, add new water and oil and run it for a while in an attempt to try and get good fresh oil thru the bearings. Anti-freeze and bearing material do not like each other and I can't stress that enough even though I mentioned it earlier.
 
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