Today I was draining the oil from my car because I intend to remove the oil pan to fix a gasket leak. It wasn't warmed up because I have the transmission removed. I noticed while draining it that there appeared to be cream colored oil on the bottom and regular clearish oil on top. It's been leaking oil at a ridiculous pace, and has trouble maintaining oil pressure once it heats up. Stop leak didn't even help.

Now I know the main reason for oil that is discolored in this way is due to an internal coolant leak because of a bad head gasket or crack somewhere in the block. Is there any other potential reason for this problem or way to check for an internal coolant leak without tearing a bunch of stuff apart?

Also to note, I just replaced my manifold gaskets and the car has never overheated. There is a coolant leak that just started as well, I believe it is the hose that goes into the water pump. That started about a week before I decided to remove the transmission. Thanks.

 

The color is water in the oil which is bad and the fact that it can't hold oil pressure when hot is worse. On the bright side, now you can build the 383 you've probably been wanting.

 

Get a coolant system pressure tester. Put some pressure in the system and look for leaks. Also, take a look at how quickly the pressure drops. Since coolant is getting in your oil you will probably have to take the engine apart to find where it is leaking from and fix it. My guess is either intake manifold or head gaskets. If it is really bad maybe a crack in the block. Any oil in your coolant?

 

i would check your intake gasket first since you said you just changed it.....you may not have gotten it sealed all the way. what type of gskets did you use, did you use rtv silicone around the water ports on the heads. also did you torque the intake down in the correct tightening sequence (center out)

 

If it was just a small small amount of the "cream colored" oil, it could be from condensation. Anything more , and you certainly need to find where it is leaking. Coolant in the oil eats the bearings very quickly.

 

It was a relatively small amount, and it sat in my damp garage for like a week before I drined it cold from my engine. I used a complete manifold gasket set with black silicon when I replaced the gasket. I troqued the gaskets in the right patter and to spec using a torque wrench. One thing ocurred to me though. I never did verify that the coolant leak I have was for sure at the water pump hose, so it may very well be spraying out the front of the cylinder head if a gasket is blown there. I also looked in my coolant for oil and really found no clear cut answer. There were a few minor splotches of film on the top layer, but nothing I would think of as unordinary if I wasn't looking specifically for it.

I attributed the bad oil pressure to the oil leak I've had. It would start out fine and as I drove it, then it would just lower more and more. It never overheated and the oil pressure stayed ok on the throttle while at operating temperature. The oil leak was extremely severe - upwards of a quart per day. If it was wet outside you'd be able to follow the splotches every 10 feet to where I parked lol.

A buddy at work mentioned the whole condensation thing too, so I think I'm just going to hook my transmission back up, drive it, keep an extremely close eye on it, do a couple tests, and let you know what I find out. Thanks.