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Milky Oil

2K views 11 replies 5 participants last post by  R6Biker 
#1 ·
Ok so I did an oil change about a week and a half ago. First change since getting the car. Ran full synthetic. I've been careless since the change and haven't kept an eye on my oil. Today I finally pull out the dipstick and see a bit of water in the oil on the dipstick.

As it stands, there are only streaks or spots on the dipstick that is milky colored. The rest of the oil looks pretty damn good and clean minus a small streak of water here and there. I check the filler cap for the oil and it has a yellow gunk buildup underneath it. The oil level isn't high, in fact is just barely over the 'Add' level on the dipstick.

Checked the coolant and its completely full. Not losing any coolant. Nor am I getting white smoke from the exhaust. Also temp gauge does not go over 210 while running.

Small Gasket leak? Winter Condensation?(Im in Missouri where its been hitting around the 20s lately). Any ideas?
 
#2 ·
Is the oil at the end of the dipstick milky or is there just milky stuff at the top of the dipstick?
Do you do a lot of short trip driving, less than 5 miles or so, and is the milky stuff is at the top of the disptick.
If so, that will cause what you see.

Take it out for a good 1 hour or so run on the freeway.
 
#3 ·
There looks to be kind of rust buildup on the top of dipstick but the milky oil is on the bottom of the dipstick, where its actually dipped in oil. For the most part. My drives are to work and back. That's about 7 miles to work and 7 miles back. Although usually one or two times a week I will do a decent drive in it.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Define decent drive.
To me it's at least a half hour at normal operating temp and highway speed

If the oil itself is milky, that is not good.
Sign of water / coolant in the oil.
Could be water from the engine not fully reaching operating temp.
The gage might indicate it but the engine is not fully warmed up in 7 miles unless it's a lot of stop and go driving.
 
#6 ·
Is the coolant level in the recovery tank going down?
Milky oil is not good, especially after a long drive.
However it might possibly be an issue that you just switched to synthetic,
but I kind of doubt it.
 
#7 ·
The coolant level in the recovery tank has been empty pretty much since I've had it. I've been meaning to do a flush and put more fluid in it but i've been lazy. But from what Ive seen from the sorta "dipstick" that is used on the cover of the recovery tank. It hasn't really dropped at all or at least much.

EDIT: Also as long as Ive had the car the oil never looked bad. It wasn't until the oil change and checking the oil today I saw that.
 
#8 ·
It might be cold weather condensation.
Especially with the 7 mile drives.
I would sure keep an eye on coolant levels and the oil though to rule out a coolant leak.
 
#12 ·
Keep an eye on your engine temp and if your car ever shuts off while driving it. Pull it off the road, check your oil and if it looks really milky and have a while smoke coming from the exhaust, odds are then you've got a gasket problem. I'm not sure what engine you have but the 3.8l's are notorious for upper intake gasket failures. Next time you pull your dip stick, try to snap a picture with a cell phone or camera and post it here so we can get a better idea of how much of it is looking milky.
 
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