LT1/LT4 Tech 1993-1997

Head gasket questions

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  #11  
Old 11-13-2012 | 09:04 AM
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Originally Posted by Camaro 69
Oops, looks like Gorn did an Edit instead of a Quote. Welcome to the club!
Lmao I was looking at it like wha.....

Alright guys, I just drained my oil and took some pictures for you guys.. this confuses me.. I thought it would look different.

This is the oil fill neck on the valve cover:



This is what I found on the cap:



This is the stuff from the cap on a paper towel. Didn't really pick it up but it's yellow?



Here's the oil. The top portion is the only part that looks funky, and I don't know if that's from my car. I used an old catch can that I've had antifreeze in. It came out normal from the car.

 
  #12  
Old 11-13-2012 | 09:50 AM
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got lucky, looks like only a small amout of coolant got in there. be good to do a compression test on all cylinders
 
  #13  
Old 11-13-2012 | 11:33 AM
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Originally Posted by Mikey.
Here's the oil. The top portion is the only part that looks funky, and I don't know if that's from my car.
I used an old catch can that I've had antifreeze in. It came out normal from the car.
Then I wouldn't jump to any conclusions that you're getting coolant into the oil. Besides, oil floats on top of water. Any coolant in the oil would settle to the bottom. I know you're seeing some "smoke or steam", but have you noticed that your coolant level has gone down too? That glop on the oil cap and filler neck could also be a build up of moisture if you have a tendency to take a lot of short trips with the car. Short trips doesn't always allow enough time for all natural moisture in the crankcase to burn off. I'd dig a little deeper and make sure you're seeing what you think you're seeing before ripping the engine apart.
 
  #14  
Old 11-13-2012 | 12:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Camaro 69
Then I wouldn't jump to any conclusions that you're getting coolant into the oil. Besides, oil floats on top of water. Any coolant in the oil would settle to the bottom. I know you're seeing some "smoke or steam", but have you noticed that your coolant level has gone down too? That glop on the oil cap and filler neck could also be a build up of moisture if you have a tendency to take a lot of short trips with the car. Short trips doesn't always allow enough time for all natural moisture in the crankcase to burn off. I'd dig a little deeper and make sure you're seeing what you think you're seeing before ripping the engine apart.
There's definitely something not normal coming out of the exhaust. Of that I'm certain. What it could be, I have no idea. Is there any chance that coolant could be lost in the exhaust and bypass the oil? I have noticed a very small amount of coolant loss.
 
  #15  
Old 11-13-2012 | 02:55 PM
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Your oil is fine, That is not the nasty milkshake you would see if there was coolant in there. That looks like the condensation that is normal is cars the do not get run enough. I have seen it in many valve covers. I think moisture just sits at the top of the covers. You should replace you PVC valve.

Even if you headgasket is blown its not very common to get coolant in the oil.


This is what milkshake of death looks like. If your whole jug looked like this the only thing left to do is call the scrapper and check the current rates for scrap metal.

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Last edited by Gorn; 11-13-2012 at 03:10 PM.
  #16  
Old 11-13-2012 | 03:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Camaro 69
Oops, looks like Gorn did an Edit instead of a Quote. Welcome to the club!
I knew it was just a matter of time. I am so use to the quote button being the. The edit button should on the other side of the screen, or I should be a little smarter.
 
  #17  
Old 11-13-2012 | 03:29 PM
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The "new button to the left" caught me by surprise a couple of times at first too.
But I haven't had a brain fart and done that since...............this morning! lol
Yep, it still tricks me once in a while.
 
  #18  
Old 11-13-2012 | 08:10 PM
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Is there any chance this isn't the heads at all? Can anything with the intake manifold cause steam/smoke from the exhaust? Trying to be hopeful here. lol
 
  #19  
Old 11-13-2012 | 08:21 PM
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yep cracked block, cracked head. are you seeing any oil in the coolant? failing oil cooler can transfer fluids back and forth with oil going into coolant when motor running and coolant to the oil when motor is first shut down after running.
 
  #20  
Old 11-13-2012 | 08:59 PM
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Originally Posted by craby
yep cracked block, cracked head. are you seeing any oil in the coolant? failing oil cooler can transfer fluids back and forth with oil going into coolant when motor running and coolant to the oil when motor is first shut down after running.
Nope, haven't seen any oil in the coolant. It just seems weird.. the car runs really strong (not that I'm driving it around.) I'll do the pressure test before I get ahead of myself.
 


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