'91 GM - milk and smoke

[monterey1962]

Yep, just what I needed in the middle of winter. Got home from work and checked the transmission fluid ... it was good to go. For some reason, I pulled the oil dipstick and was met with a continuous cloud of smoke. Milky substance all the way to the top of the dipstick, too. Smoke also comes out of the oil filler tube.

Car runs smooth, but has had idle issues for about three months, now. Has been slowly increasing it's coolant consumption over the past two months. Radiator was pretty empty a couple weeks ago. Engine does not overheat. Have only been driving to and from work with the car (3.5 miles one-way at 25 mph or so). Had found a small amount of milky substance on the tip of the dipstick the past couple of times when checking the oil cold.

Due to the cold weather, it's just going to have to be parked. I'll start with a visual inspection, then pull it apart. I just hope it's not head gaskets. I'm open to any advice or tips on this subject.

I'll keep you guys posted as to what comes of all this, but it may be a while.

[marquisman]

if you have an internal leak its either head gaskets or jus might be the intake manifold gaskets

[gadget73]

replace the gaskets at the egr spacer. they fail and it sucks coolant in that way. You might be able to see coolant scum if you open the throttle up and look around in the tb.

[cld783]

short trips in winter will cause what you described but only on the fill cap and is nothing to worry about really.. its from the engine not getting hot enough to burn off the condensation from winter.

from what i understand though, if your losing coolant and you have it on the dipstick mixed with oil that would be a head gasket.

[miss vicky]

try draining a small amount of oil into glass jar & let it sit awhile,it should seperate & tell you whats mixing with what !.do the same with rad. too.!. you can also get your coolant system pressure tested. just my 2 cents , mick

[monterey1962]

What I'm going to try and do is just wait until I get the time to tear the whole thing down. I was planning on replacing timing chain, water pump, and resealing the whole thing later this year, anyway. Just happened to crap out sooner than I expected.

[miss vicky]

prolly condensation,hi mileage fords I owned did this.i'd change the oil & drive it awhile. why create work & spend money. mick ,good luck!

[Pesty351]

Ive also seen this happen with cracked heads. It would account for a poor idle.

[87_crown_vic]

the way you take care of your cars Justin, sounds like i would start with the easy stuff and do the EGR gasket and also check out the lower intake. sounds like this spring you will be taking care of the other area where it could leak from. i would do as Thain suggested and double check the EGR area if it is getting sucked in there.

[gadget73]

well, losing coolant + milky overfull oil means something is more wrong than simple condensation. Hopefully its just the stupid egr thing, if not, you'll have to diagnose it more. Could be heads or head gaskets. Compression and a leakdown test would tell you but in the meantime, quit running it before it ruins the bearings. They do not like coolant at all.

[monterey1962]

Checked the car after work today. No milk on the end of the dipstick, however, the car sits at an angle in the parking spot. Checked the Throttle Body and really couldn't tell much. Can see a little bit of the lower edge of the EGR to TB gasket and it looks dry in there. The oil filler tube and cap are full of milky residue. No oil residue visible in the coolant in the radiator, however, the coolant was down 1/4 of the way.

[Pesty351]

Time to bust out the compression checker.

[monterey1962]

Parts list, so far:

VC gaskets, fuel filter, water pump and gasket, timing cover gasket set, intake manifold gasket set, EGR spacer gaskets, water pump stud kit, balancer, trans cooler line connectors, elec. oil pressure gauge, coolant, coolant hoses, loctite, RTV silicone, and some new tools.

Anything I'm missing?

[Pesty351]

Id throw some head gaskets in there to.

[monterey1962]

Id throw some head gaskets in there to.

I need to pick up a compression tester first. I'll get the head gaskets only if I need 'em. It's looking like it's going to be another two weeks or longer before I can even work on the car. Just trying to get most of the parts/tools together so I can jump into it if the opportunity should arise.