cleaning water out of my oil pan

[droolmonkey]

i just finished a top end rebuild, and need to clean the water out of the oil. ..what additives can i use to flush the water/oil mixture so i can refill without contamination?

 

[true66gt]

drop the pan.

 

[gijoecam]

Ditto. Drop the pan. On the SOHC, it's a piece of cake.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158086&highlight=oil+pan

If you can't (I've heard the OHV is a pain), why not flush it through from the top down with some fresh oil and let it drain out the pan? Heck, if you had to, pick up a 5 gallon pail of the cheapest oil you can find, pour it all in the engine at once (without starting it, of course) then pop the drain plug and let it drain.

Remember: Any coolant that made its way down into the pan is going to be sitting on the bottom of the pan itself. The best way to get it out is to drop the pan itself. Otherwise, I'd flush out what I can and not worry much about the rest.

 

[droolmonkey]

its an ohv so i am definately not dropping the pan.

heres the plan.

will drain

add 3 gallons

drain

add synthetic

change after a few days to more synthetic.

then run regular after that

sound ok?

 

[2000StreetRod]

Why waste the synthetic?

Synthetic oil is superior to normal oil unless your bearings are excessively worn or you have leaks. I'd flush with the less expensive normal oil and end up with synthetic unless you think you need the normal oil to break in your top end rebuild.

 

[droolmonkey]

DAMNIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i just flushed the oil, put in the synthetic, and it is still blowing sweet smelling white smoke/steam

on a side note, it does run a lot smoother and starts up with no problems!! (it didnt even want to start before.

even when i let it warm up, i could still see the steam wtf???? any thoughts?



...and you guys are great so thanks!

 

[explorerguy89]

yea i say change to regular oil then in a week change to syn. oil

 

[droolmonkey]

will the reg oil help the valve guides? or ....what is the reg oil going to do that syn. wont?

 

[thumper477]

DAMNIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i just flushed the oil, put in the synthetic, and it is still blowing sweet smelling white smoke/steam

on a side note, it does run a lot smoother and starts up with no problems!! (it didnt even want to start before.

even when i let it warm up, i could still see the steam wtf???? any thoughts?



...and you guys are great so thanks!

Sounds like you are burning coolant in the combustion chamber(s).Or possibly there was a lot of coolant in the exhaust system and in the cat converters.
did you use the same heads?4.0 ohv heads crack a lot and warp a lot.You need to drive it 20 miles to burn the coolant out of the exhaust if that is the problem.If it still has a sweet odor and smoke after that,you may have to tear it down again and have the heads checked at a machine shop for cracks/warpage.

 

[droolmonkey]

hahaaha. ...ok, so i drove it around, and i do have to tighten 2 exhaust manifold bolts, and the manifold to down pipe bolts, so thats no biggy. ...the smoke/steam from the tail pipe is gone which means the head gasket was the only problem

but now the oil pressure gauge shows nada and the temp gauge is showing a tendency to run hot.

...im not sure if my frustration is clouding my logical abilities, but i cant seem to solve all of the problems ...ideas? i checked the oil, its there i actually put about a quart too much
there is coolant (i just refilled that too), so what do you think?

this site is my saving grace btw!!!

 

[budwich]

I think perhaps that you need to explain what you did when you said you "rebuilt your top end" and why??? Anyways, "some water" in your oil isn't necessarily a problem as condensation exists all the time.... however, IF you are losing coolant over the long term then you have a problem that wasn't address with the "rebuild". Depending on your location, bring your engine up to "temperature" for a good period of time... this will "burn" off some / all moisture that might exist. Keep an eye on your oil color and your coolant levels.... "things" should stablize if you have addressed your original issue. In terms of your oil pressure, the sensor may compromised as antifreeze is not a nice thing (corrosive) on things so you might need to replace it.... or check the connection or get an external pressure gauge.

 

[ranger7ltr]

You may have air trapped inside the cooling system...

hahaaha. ...ok, so i drove it around, and i do have to tighten 2 exhaust manifold bolts, and the manifold to down pipe bolts, so thats no biggy. ...the smoke/steam from the tail pipe is gone which means the head gasket was the only problem

but now the oil pressure gauge shows nada and the temp gauge is showing a tendency to run hot.

...im not sure if my frustration is clouding my logical abilities, but i cant seem to solve all of the problems ...ideas? i checked the oil, its there i actually put about a quart too much
there is coolant (i just refilled that too), so what do you think?

this site is my saving grace btw!!!

You probably just had coolant still in the exhaust as was stated that needed to evaporate out...The oil pressure problem could be a bad sending unit or connection on the sending unit...I don't trust the non-gauge so I installed an electric oil pressure gauge...

Is your truck a 4wd unit? If not the only pain to remove the oil pan is removing the starter before removing the 23 bolts that hold the pan...I use a drill with a socket attached to remove and replace the bolts the times I have dropped the pan in my 99 Sport

And the temperature rising could be air in the system... Heat cycle the engine [start it with the coolant bottle full, bring it to temperature, then shut it down and let the engine cool] and see how much coolant flows into the engine from the coolant resevoir bottle...If the coolant level drops, the vacuum inside the cooling system has replaced some or all of the trapped air inside with coolant...You may see the level drop over the next week or so and if the level drop stops after a while there is no more air to displace...

Now this is assuming the cooling system is sealed and the thermostat is working properly...Did the engine overheat or pop a hose before this work was done? If so I would replace the thermostat before going any further...

 

[Bill Kemp]

I assume you had an overheating problem with the head gasket. Did you change the thermostat? Probably should if it got overheated.

Sorry....Didnt read all or the above post.....

 

[droolmonkey]

no over heating problems. ...it was sweet smelling steam coming out of the exhaust and a severe rough engine that made me take it apart.

as far as the rebuild: new guides, seats, seals etc... the head was checked for level, and it was spot on. no cracks it was just a blown head gasket between cylinder 4 and the rear of the block. ...

i am going to change the thermostat tomorrow cuz i just worked a 12 hour shift with some crazy ass kids and that **** is tiring, so i will let you know how it goes. ...as far as the oil, it has to be the pressure switch because i let it idle for over 10 mins before i noticed the oil gauge and it ran strong (but the temp gauge kept cycling), ill check that tomorrow as well and replace if necessary. thanks for the troubleshooting