ok i just picked up a 78 C10 short bed truck for $25, its got a 350 and a th400, i think tranny.

i pull the dip stick and the oil seems to look good but it has a few small spots on it that liik like a milk shake, nothing like my bosses did like a week ago before i changed his head gasket, it took an hour for his oil to fully drain out, thats how thick it was. but this doesnt look to bad.

do yuo think its the gasket, i dont have the keys to try to start it because the guy hasnt found them yet, so i just towed it to my house.

it used to be a I6 with a 3sp manual, its going to have a 454 and a 4spd rock crusher when im done but i need to find out why it has milky oil like this without starting her.

can anyone help me?

 

Well I guess you're just gunna have to drain the oil pan and see what comes out.. If it's a head gasket and there's antifreeze in the oilpan, the antifreeze will come out first. (Oil floats in water).

I can't tell you if it's a head gasket or not. 80% of the time it's a head gasket, 20% of the time, it's either a cracked head or block.

Just gunna have to find out for yourself.

 

If the previous owner hasn't located the keys, it apparently isn't a daily driven vehicle. If the engine has sat inert for a long period, the milky oil appearance could be caused by normal atmospheric moisture. Once you get fresh fluids in it and start/run it for a while, you should know if it was some sort of leakage or more normal moisture from storage.

BTW - You should see the oil in some brand new machinery that is shipped across the Pacific - a little reminiscent of past presidents, blue dresses, cigars, etc.