Bad Oil

[92explorer]

I took my 92 xlt 4.0 with just over 70k in for an oil change. The mechanic came out and told me my oil was mixed with some foreign substance, possibly coolant or gas. He said it looked like chocolate milk. He said the problem could possibly be the head gasket and that it would cost $1700 to repair it. He also mentioned it might be the fuel pressure regulator. Two questions:

1 Does any of this sound correct?
2 Is this a problem that needs to be taken care of immediately or can it wait?

 

[Glacier991]

a leaking head gasket is the more likely culprit. Have him show you the dipstick. I cannot speak to the price, but you cannot go on without repairing this ..... also look at the coolant. Does it have oil in it? Not sure how the FPR could have a role....

Call me a skeptic. But if there is truly water in oil you can SEE it... or oil in water.... GO see with your own eyes....

$1700? Hmmm I'll leave that to others... seems VERY high.... depending on what is proposed.

 

[Blee1099]

I took my 92 xlt 4.0 with just over 70k in for an oil change. The mechanic came out and told me my oil was mixed with some foreign substance, possibly coolant or gas. He said it looked like chocolate milk. He said the problem could possibly be the head gasket and that it would cost $1700 to repair it. He also mentioned it might be the fuel pressure regulator. Two questions:

1 Does any of this sound correct?
2 Is this a problem that needs to be taken care of immediately or can it wait?

Welcome to the site. Are you experiencing any oil consumption? Like Glacier said, pull the dipstick. Does your truck produce any white smoke? If it does, it is probably your head gasket. It could be low compression, bad rings, etc.. Are you experiencing any coolant loss and running poorly? Definately take it somewhere else if you are un-sure of the diagnosis.

 

[92explorer]

Thanks for the welcome. No my truck doesn't produce any white smoke. I haven't experienced any coolant loss since replacing the lower intake manifold gasket and the radiator and it does not run poorly at all. Seems very normal. That's what doesn't make sense to me, it runs and drives fine so how could i have a very expensive repair necessary and with such low mileage.

 

[Jeeps&Fords]

Could you have possibly contaminated the oil when you changed the intake gaskets? Did you notice if any coolant leaked out of the ports and down into the engine? Chocolate milk color is definitely water contamination. If you got enough coolant into the oil to do that, then your coolant level will definitely be low. Even worse is that when the oil gets to that state of contamination, it loses most of its lubricating properties and you start eating engine parts.

 

[92explorer]

You're saying that it's probably not coolant in the oil because I haven't experienced any coolant loss, right? So the mechanic that changed the intake gaskets could've contaminated the oil when he changed the gaskets, in which case i wouldn't really have a problem and have to repair anything after changing the contaminated oil, correct? I just need to figure out what to do about this situation.

 

[Xplrswede]

Change the oil, drive car, and check oil often for a while just to look for baileys.. (chocolate milk) you can olso check for water in oil if you take your oilstick (with oil on) and a lighter and when you burn the oil on stick you will notice if its water in it, because it the water will boil.

 

[Glacier991]

Don't let your wishful thinking mislead you. You have coolant in you oil, which is a BAD thing. Change the oil. If you wishfully think it was a one time thing, go ahead and drive it but check that oil, at first anyway, EACH TRIP. Also as I note earlier check for oil in the coolant too.

You may be ok, but if I were a betting man I'd put money on 10:1 odds that you are going to find out it repeats. Sorry.

 

[92explorer]

Thanks for all the insight guys. I will continue to monitor the oil and coolant and hope for the best. If it does repeat do you think a mechanic will be able to determine for sure what's causing this problem?

 

[Glacier991]

"monitor the oil"? I am trusting this means AFTER you CHANGE IT!!!!!!!!!!! Change it before you run that engine another minute... and then change it again in a couple hundred miles... Start your "monitoring" after you change it. YOU have little lubrication going on right now and a very corrosive environment. Get the milkshake OUT of there. NOW!!!!

Did I make my point?

 

[92explorer]

No I already changed it. You really think I need to change it again in a couple hundred miles? Yes you did make your point and I thank you for all your help.

 

[JackC]

Is it still water free after a few hundred miles??
And NO oil in coolent?
If so, you may have lucked out and had the oil contaminated when the intake gaskets were changed..
Like others stated, check it every time you get ready to start the truck.

 

[glfredrick]

No I already changed it. You really think I need to change it again in a couple hundred miles? Yes you did make your point and I thank you for all your help.

Just so that you know why Glacier is asking you to change the oil again after only a couple hundred miles, I want to tell you what happens when you get coolant in the engine...

The first thing it does is eat all of your bearings - you will start to hear loud clunking and banging noises right before it spins a rod bearing and destroys your camshaft bearings. The next thing you will hear is the sound of the person right behind your truck in traffic center-punching your tailgate as you come skidding to a halt from a siezed engine.

The second thing it does is to corrode the entire inside of the engine - but after the first thing, who really cares? :>

Catch our drift?

The cost of an additional oil change is entirely insignificant compared to the problems you are about to have. You will certainly wish that you had done it...

 

[92explorer]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I will continue to check the oil, get it changed again in a couple hundred miles, and hope for the best.

 

[92explorer]

Hey guys, I was just wondering what's the best way to check for coolant in the oil and oil in the coolant? The method of burning the oil on the oilstick with a lighter to see if any water on the oilstick boils seems like it wouldn't work because it would take a long time to get any water to boil. So what is the best way to check for coolant in the oil and oil in the coolant? Thanks a lot

 

[Glacier991]

Visual inspection works just fine. Just check daily for a while

 

[Xplrswede]

Hey guys, I was just wondering what's the best way to check for coolant in the oil and oil in the coolant? The method of burning the oil on the oilstick with a lighter to see if any water on the oilstick boils seems like it wouldn't work because it would take a long time to get any water to boil. So what is the best way to check for coolant in the oil and oil in the coolant? Thanks a lot

ok... wrote boil because my english is bad.. but when you burn the oil on the stick it makes a "weasing" sound and bubbles can appear, if its water in it.. like when you trow water on fire.. and daa small amounts of water does´nt take long to boil (react with fire) ;-)

 

[Brock94]

On the head-gasket thing-- it cost me $1250 to get them changed on my Taurus a couple years ago at a dealer-- the hourly rate was $70.

 

[old mechanic]

If water is leaking into the oil you should be able to see it on the dipstick. Your radiator level will get low but low level may be too late. If your not sure what water in oil looks like, check another cars dipstick against yours.

 

[92explorer]

Thanks everyone