I probably should have asked this when first saw it, but quite a while back I pulled my drivers side valve cover to change a leaking gasket and saw some yellowish foam on the inside of the cover. I scraped out as much as I could and replaced the cover. There was also a strong gas smell. I cant say that the smell is derctly related to the foam as I had been fooling with the carb and throttle return spring the same day and flooded the motor. Is the foam the result of a leaking intake manifold gasket? Or perhaps thats coolant getting in there? Maybe water from the bad seal on the cover? I didnt notice anything abnormal when I did my last oil change (no smell, funny colors...) The cars been running fine, but if somethings wrong, I dont want to destroy something by being ignorant. Thanks in advance.

 

WELL .... greyish foam that maybee looks yellowed due to being in there a while i would have to say without seeing it its most likely water condensation in the oil. most likely from your leaky gasket.

 

Ok, thanks. Is there anything I should be looking for, signs, symptoms, etc... Just in case there is some water left in there. Of course, wouldnt it end up at the bottom of the oil pan eventually seeing as oil floats on water? And going with this theory, it should all flow out during an oil change. Of course reality is never that simple, or my luck that good. I just dont want to have my motor randomly sieze up on me anytime soon.

 

nope think about it for a second. say you get water in your oil. you dont relize it and you start your engine.worst case scenario it seizes imediatly.second scenario your oil pump sucks from the bottom of your pan and unfortuanatly this is were the water is going to be.(oil floats on top as you said) Next thing you know you just sent water through every moving part in your engine and mixed it with your oil (milky greyish yellow when mixed). also asuming its heat up to operating temp being lubricated by a water/oil mixture the hot metal is steaming the water out of the oil turning the inside of your engine into a steam room. and we all know what hot bare metal does when it gets wet. If there is still water in this thing get it out ASAP and dont run it. clean the condensation out as best you can. run oil flush and change it several times with new filter too. Gook luck

 

Condensation in the oil is normal, and it should be evaporating off as the engine warms up. It's not as bad as a steam room inside the engine, since the vapors are removed from the crankcase by the PCV system as they form. Every surface inside the engine is covered with an oil film as well, so there's no hot bare metal to rust.

The milky emulsion circulating through the engine is a poor lubricant though and will cause all sorts of wear in a short time if there's a substantial amount of water or coolant in the oil, such as from a cracked block or leaking gasket.

 

Ok, thanks guys. I dont think it was as bad I made it sound out to be. When I did my last oil change, the oil was normal, not milky at all. So Id say that it was just a small amount of water that evaporated onto that valve cover due to the leaking gasket. The cars been running for a year since I changed that gasket, and who knows how long before then (I changed the gasket right I after I bought the car) Is it ok to pull the valve covers and replace them with out new gaskets if the ones that are there stay in one piece, or do I need to buy new gaskets again just to clean out that bit of foam?