Water in my oil?

[bcwilson_1]

Hi guys, I recently changed my valve covers and noticed a bubbly whitish liquid pooled in one corner as you can see in the pic, is this water or coolant, or something else? When I bought the truck, it only had 35k miles on a brand new crate 350 "Goodwrench" and I had to tighten some of the bolts on the valve covers and intake manifold. It only has 38k now. It doesn't seem to run rough, for now, but I can't seem to find any info on the web that shows similar substances in this area. Also, in the second pic, it looks like one of the springs is starting to rust, but this was the only spring on both sides that looked like that. Any help would be great!

[Wrenchbender Ret]

A small amount of moister like that is probably from condensation. Make sure the PCV valve is working & there is a ventilated oil cap or vent tube going to the air cleaner. The rusty valve spring must have come from the engine setting for a period of time without running.
George

[weq92f]

Check your dip stick. If it looks like a milk-shake, then yeah, you've got a problem, otherwise you'll probably be fine!

-klb

[bcwilson_1]

Originally Posted by Wrenchbender Ret

A small amount of moister like that is probably from condensation. Make sure the PCV valve is working & there is a ventilated oil cap or vent tube going to the air cleaner. The rusty valve spring must have come from the engine setting for a period of time without running.
George

Ok. Ya it sat for at least a year. And I actually have removed the pcv valve in favor of a breather. I didn't think that would matter? And the same for the tube going back to the intake?

[bcwilson_1]

Originally Posted by weq92f

Check your dip stick. If it looks like a milk-shake, then yeah, you've got a problem, otherwise you'll probably be fine!

-klb

Thanks! Ya it's totally clean. Sounds like maybe just condensation then, otherwise the oil seams to have a nice color.

[61K10]

You need to put the pcv stuff back on the motor. It's there for a reason.

[bcwilson_1]

Originally Posted by 61K10

You need to put the pcv stuff back on the motor. It's there for a reason.

Forgive the ignorance, but I never understood the reasoning for the pcv especially on a vehicle where it isn't electronically regulated? I always take all the extra intake stuff off vehicles as it seems to let oil residue into the intake (which I never understood either why you would want oil in your carb or throttle body). I'm not a mechanic and don't claim to be, but just an observation. To me it's like puting catalytic converters on a vehicle, when they are completely useless and restrictive ( sorry to all the people who live somewhere with inspections and regulations.) Thank God I live in a free state like Wyoming where there aren't such meaningless rules.

[bcwilson_1]

Well, unfortunately after getting everything bolted on and done, I went back to look at the old valve covers and there is a slight milky film coating them. So looks like there is a slight issue, or maybe a major one in the future? Does that mean the head gaskets are gone, or could it just be from the intake manifold and valve covers not sealed? I plan on an LS swap down the road, but wasn't planning on this soon!

[Clyde65]

What does the radiator coolant look like??

That looks like condensation, does the truck sit or a daily driver?

[bcwilson_1]

Originally Posted by Clyde65

What does the radiator coolant look like??

That looks like condensation, does the truck sit or a daily driver?

Well right now it looks normal. I just put a new heater core in and it looked fine then too from what I remember. It's a daily driver since I bought it a year ago.

[YoungPup1977]

Do you have a PCV on this engine ? If you do, how do you have it connected ? Please provide a pic of the top side of your engine to show the PCV connectivity. Thanks.

[bcwilson_1]

Originally Posted by YoungPup1977

Do you have a PCV on this engine ? If you do, how do you have it connected ? Please provide a pic of the top side of your engine to show the PCV connectivity. Thanks.

No pcv and no "recirc" tube to the air filter...

[DieselSJ]

PCV, or positive crankcase ventilation, removes vapors from the engine by keeping it under a slight vacuum. The breathers are fine on a race engine, but are a detriment on a street driven vehicle. Keep one on one valve cover and reinstall the PCV in the other.

As for the moisture, clean that out and change your oil. Keep an eye on your dipstick and make sure it doesn't get milky. After a couple thousand miles, send a sample into Blackstone Labs for analysis and they will tell you the water content.

[cadillac_al]

I'd say it is normal condensation from not having a PVC connected.

[geezer#99]

Originally Posted by cadillac_al

I'd say it is normal condensation from not having a PVC connected.

Yup!
And it’s only the start of more fun to come.
That lack of a pcv allows the moisture to stay inside, and then along comes the oil and fuel fumes to make some nice black sludge. Then that nice sludge gets into the oil and reeks havoc with the bearings and lifters. Meanwhile the crankcase pressure finds the weak gaskets. You fix them and new ones pop up. It’s a never ending cycle.
Amazing what the addition of 10 bucks worth of parts cures.
Now, do you need a pcv or not!
Let your wallet decide!

[YoungPup1977]

So when others on the internet take a look at this post they will understand that its not really "actual" WATER in the OIL.....its because there is no PCV on this engine and its most likely NOT the head gaskets that are bad..... I hated to see some one spend the time and money to replace the head gaskets which in fact its just the PCV missing on the engine....

[GASoline71]

Originally Posted by bcwilson_1

Forgive the ignorance, but I never understood the reasoning for the pcv especially on a vehicle where it isn't electronically regulated? I always take all the extra intake stuff off vehicles as it seems to let oil residue into the intake (which I never understood either why you would want oil in your carb or throttle body). I'm not a mechanic and don't claim to be, but just an observation. To me it's like puting catalytic converters on a vehicle, when they are completely useless and restrictive ( sorry to all the people who live somewhere with inspections and regulations.) Thank God I live in a free state like Wyoming where there aren't such meaningless rules.

The "meaningless rules" have nothing to do with a PCV...

Gary

[bcwilson_1]

Originally Posted by DieselSJ

PCV, or positive crankcase ventilation, removes vapors from the engine by keeping it under a slight vacuum. The breathers are fine on a race engine, but are a detriment on a street driven vehicle. Keep one on one valve cover and reinstall the PCV in the other.

As for the moisture, clean that out and change your oil. Keep an eye on your dipstick and make sure it doesn't get milky. After a couple thousand miles, send a sample into Blackstone Labs for analysis and they will tell you the water content.

Awesome! I've never heard that side of it before... I still have the pcv and will be putting it back on. Is the recirculate hose to the air filter base necessary for that as well?

[geezer#99]

All you need is a pcv valve and a breather. It can be like yours or hooked to an air filter. The breather let’s air in to be mixed with the fumes and pulled out by the pcv valve.

And fwiw race engines usually use a pan evac system.

[bcwilson_1]

Originally Posted by YoungPup1977

So when others on the internet take a look at this post they will understand that its not really "actual" WATER in the OIL.....its because there is no PCV on this engine and its most likely NOT the head gaskets that are bad..... I hated to see some one spend the time and money to replace the head gaskets which in fact its just the PCV missing on the engine....

Ya I understand. Honestly it wouldn't be worth going through all that if it was the head gaskets or similar to me, since this is my daily driver. i would just go ahead and do a modern swap.

[Dead Parrot]

If your air filter housing has a PCV inlet, use it. It will suck up excess blow by during times the PVC valve is low suction. Not as critical as having a properly working PCV valve.

BTW - most street carbs and FI units are calibrated on the assumption that PCV is present. Not having one can mess up the mixture and hurt your performance and mileage.