fnlyfnd Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Well it was sunny and 50 today :-\ so I decided to put my mt90 and syncromesh in. It call for 3.7qt...I put maybe 3.8/3.9 in - is this a problem? I checked my oil since I found that my left bank valve cover has a slight leak. It was down maybe half a quart. When I put more in I noticed a milky substance on the inside my oil cap. I was pretty light in color, almost like a off white/brownish. What is this nonsense? Its a 96 2.2 5spd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulwnkl Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 That milky substance is the emulsion that results from water in the oil. It could be something serious (if it is you'll see evidence on the dipstick), but most likely it's simply condensation under the filler cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blitz Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 The tranny overfill's not a problem, but the milky engine oil is. First check to make sure your PCV system is working. Second, if you make frequent short trips that never get the engine up to full temperature for any length of time, then make it a point to take an extended (preferably highway) drive once a week. Last, keep a very close eye on your coolant level. If coolant is getting into your oil, your bottom-end bearings are gonna go bye-bye in a hurry. You could do a used oil analysis to check for glycol and/ or sodium. Don't ignore this problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setright Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Yeah, what they said :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fnlyfnd Posted January 12, 2006 Author Share Posted January 12, 2006 I really dont think/hope its the HG. My coolant is fine, and I never hear bubbles. I haven't been keeping track of the coolant percisely, but it seems to be at the same level. The dipstick shows no abnormalities. I do take short 15min. trips everyday to work and back, I rarely go out after that. If i do its another very short trip - usually shorter. What would this have to do with it - ?not burning off the condensation? I talked to my mechnic and he said it most likely condensation from having very humid winters here. I am doing a oil change tomorrow morning, to see if any coolant show its face when I unscrew the drain plug. Mt90 and 1qt pennzoil Syncromesh - HUGE improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blitz Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Yeah, one of the byproducts of combustion is water, some which goes past the rings into the oil. If the oil doesn't get hot enough, long enough to vaporize the moisture, it forms emulsion, acid, and sludge (in that order). The idiot "temp gauge" rises to normal before the coolant is actually fully warm. On a really cold day, you'd have to go another mile before the coolant is really full normal, another 3-5 miles before the oil is full normal, then another 10 miles to clear the moisture really well. In other words: a nice brisk 15 mile highway sprint once a week. Get some full-throttle acceleration runs in the middle gears in there too near the end, to clear the carbon out of the combustion chambers and cats. Check your PCV system anyway, because it can go down either way. to wit: A plugged PCV can milky-up the oil in cold weather, or milkied-up oil can plug the PCV system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fnlyfnd Posted January 13, 2006 Author Share Posted January 13, 2006 I just replaced the pcv valve not even 1,000 miles ago when I did a sea foam cleaning. I didn't use a oem pcv, rather a pep boys pcv valve. I had trouble clamping the hose clamp on one of the hoses around that area. Is it possibile that some moisture got into the system thru this unclamped hose, and caused this dilema? I know its possibile for moisture to get in, but would it cause the problem? I am going to check this tom. morning when I change my oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulwnkl Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Without disagreeing with anything else that's been said, I note that you said it's been fairly warm there lately. Crankcase condensation from the atmosphere is much more likely and 'severe' when ambient air temps are going back and forth across the freezing point. As was said, take it out at least every week or so for a good highway drive (at least 60mph, and I would suggest 20 minutes or more if feasible). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fnlyfnd Posted January 13, 2006 Author Share Posted January 13, 2006 Thnks for the info. I changed my oil today and all is good. I unscrewed the plug very very slow to make sure I knew what the first drop out was, sure enough it was oil!! Man what a scare. I am going to hop on the highway and burn some gas at least once a week over these winter months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodney7286 Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 moisture is normal in an engine, as engine warms cool air pulled in condenses, most should evaporate off, but if some remains it can mix with oil and form that funky milky stuff, which contains acids that can attack bearing surfaces. saw a classic example in an engine running on propane (runs real cool), after new bearings changed to synthetic oil (Amsoil) synthetic oil doesn't react with water to form the funk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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