I have noticed a little creamy colored moisture around the oil fill cap/breather and the opening of the dip stick tube. The oil itself looks fine - still Root Beer colored and not like a Milkshake. Is this cause for concern? I guess it could be from the humid & rainy conditions Ohio is known for...? Or maybe just cause it has not been run enough over the winter to get it hot enough for the moisture to vent out...? I am using old fashioned breathers rather than a PCV that is connected by hose to the air cleaner. I know that the breathers are functioning because I see wisps of vapor vent from them when the motor is running. Perhaps the PCV with hose works better due to the vacuum the intake makes...? I dunno...Any ideas?
You might want to drain the oil and watch if water comes out the drain hole. Water is heavier than oil and will settle to the bottom. If there is water in the pan, starting the motor will bring the water into the oil pump first. Hopefully it's what you say and it's the hot and cold making condensation, but play it safe and drain the pan.
I made the discovery after a 10 mile drive. I was fairly certain it was only condensation because the oil was not whipped up & frothy from a big amount of water in the crankcase. I will absolutely change the oil.
I have seen that in older engines that don't get driven much. Up near the top of the breather tube is pretty cool compared to the rest of the engine, so water vapor can condense up there. If you get the engine good and hot, you probably won't see much of that. The source of the condensation is blow by from around the pistons of normal exhaust, which contains some water vapor. If your oil starts turning creamy, then you might have other problems like a leaky head gasket. If you drive an older car with no thermostat, the engine is often running too cold, and you'll get more of that creamy crap condensing in the oil fill tube. A thermostat helps get the engine up to normal operating temperature quicker, and keeps it there.
I worked at a shop where the owner would sell the customers engine jobs and head gasket jobs because of that. Alot of these people were his friends or fellow church goers. They trusted him. I thought it was pretty chickenshit of him to do it. I didn't work there long. I do not think you have anything to worry about. if it gets to where water vapor is puffing out the fill tube or the exhaust all the time, then its time to worry.
it's not hard to convert an older engine to pcv, only good emissions thing ever made much better then a plain breather. air is pulled in through the breather and circulates picking up moisture, then it's pulled out of the engine and through the pcv valve.
Any engine that is repeatedly run for short periods without reaching full operating temperature will have this happen. Humidity adds to the problem some, PCV helps the problem some, but if the engine isn't allowed to dry itself out there is going to be some degree of condensation.
Hey, just to chime in Rick Sis is right, it's a heat thing. Not enough, for long enough. Running V-Drive and Jet boats it is common problem, as most thermostats pop at 140 f or so. A quick check of the thermostat (suspend in a pan, submerged in water, not touching sides, should be open when water is just starting to boil) Re install and go for a long drive to cook the water out of the crank case. No need to rebuild, add to the beer budget!! Tork
Not to hi-jack this thread but I just noticed something similar on an off topic car im im working on. I have the valve cover off and noticed the same film on top of the head bolts. It has fresh oil and a new head gasket. So its no worry right?
If the motor did not run a PCV valve wouldn't it be normal to see some "puffing" (not neccesarily water) thru the vented oil fill cap? Not discounting you, just have seen quite a few early motors do this. Please fell free to correct me if I'm wrong. Certainly willing to learn. That's why I'm here!
No you are right, I mean something to the effect of a smoke machine, or constant water vapor with noticeable coolant loss, and eventual overheating.Something more extreme than light blowby, or the engine having a little puff of steam while it is warming up. If its huffing out oil smoke like a mosquito abatement truck (not sure its oil in those, but it looks like it) it might need a little attention.
yes this is probably not a concern for a car without a pcv however, on newer vehicles or aluminum heads its a sure sign of a cracked head or blown head gasket...
Yes! Thanks to all that had knowledge to share! I guess I got momentarily panicked when I saw the moisture. I've built up this car over ten years and only got to drive it a few times last summer. I'd be mortified if something happened to it now. Sounds like mostly I need to drive it more and that condensation will go away. That makes me happy...another reason to drive the Jalopy!
Keep an eye on it. I worked on a circle track car that the owner found some moisture in the valve cover. Told him no big deal, just a combination of the carwash and moving it around the shop. Couple weeks later it hydraulic-ed, I was wrong.
The road draft tube is the only thing that vents your crankcase, If you havn't been out on the high way with the car in a while or the tube is blocked by sludg the condensation just stays and accumulates in your engine. My suggestion is to install a PCV and ditch the old vent system.
That is a classic sign that the breather system is not working correctly. When we saw this condition on a factory built daily driver, we knew the PCV system was plugged and needed to be repaired. Do you really want to leave condensation inside your engine? I don't! A hose to the air cleaner from a breather will never draw enough to pull fresh air through your engine. People get confused when they see a "closed" PCV system. The hose from the breather to the air cleaner in a "closed " PCV system is just there for the short term extreme load conditions when the PCV can't remove all of the blow by gasses under heavy load. It's a backup part of a PCV system. It won't do the job by itself. If you want to prevent sludge, remove acidic gasses and moisture from the inside of your engine that causes the mud, do a search here for PCV systems. There are plenty of ways to do it. You will need a PCV valve hooked up to manifold vacuum and a breather as far away as possible from the PCV valve to allow air into the engine. The air should flow through the engine carrying moisture and harmful gasses with it as it goes through the engine. Your system is just pulling off the excess build up that comes out the connected breather leaving all the rest of the shit inside the engine to form sludge. This is a 48-53 flathead Ford built long before the PCV ever became the accepted norm. I like this picture because it shows the actual path of the air in the breather system. Your engine and path may be different but you do need the flow. IMHO Notice that the arrows show the air movement through the engine. They knew back then that they needed air flowing through the engine to prevent sludge that had been a big problem prior to this. It was an improvement over the old pan road draft vent. A breather is not just a relief valve for built up pressure. It is supposed be a place for the fresh air to enter the engine replacing the gasses that are removed by either a road draft tube or a PCV valve. The filter mesh inside breathers is not there to filter the gasses that are escaping out of the engine. The mesh is there to filter the dust from the air as it enters the engine. Breathers were designed to be points of entry not exit. Others may not think it's a big deal but I don't want that shit left inside my engine. JMHO How it works
Just a short follow-up... Now that our weather has warmed up & dried out, no evidence of the milky oil can be seen around the vents now. Apparently enviromental contiditons caused the problem.
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