condensation or headgasket

[midnite]

i checked my oil in my truck today after work and noticed that there was alot of "milky" liquid on the top 1/2 of the dipstick but none from the crankcase on the actual oil. but the dipstick was literally covered from the handle to about 1/2 way down. so i checked my breather tube coming from the oil cap and it was there as well(i would expect there to be condensation in the breather due to moisture in the air) but im still puzzled. the truck doesnt misfire or lose power when going up hills or anything and there is no white smoke from the exhaust and no oil in the radiator either. im just wondering if this would be normal or do i have a potential problem brewing here. ill continue to check the oil(i do daily as it is) but some days the "milky stuff" is there and somedays its not. so should i be worried?? thanks for the help as always its greatly appreciated,bill

 

[DNFXDLI]

It sounds like condensation. When you have your truck out, do you let it get up to full operating temperature or do you just drive short distances?

 

[m78]

Also check to see if your PCV valve is working properly.

 

[midnite]

i usually run the truck to work and back(7 miles round trip) but it seems to get to normal temp pretty quick even on the chilly days. and i leave it run for a few mins before i leave the house and after i get to work and then do the same after work. i dont let it idle much due to the price of gas and that it only gets about 12 mpg. also i took out the pcv valve and gave it a shake yesterday and it was rattling so i think its good. also sprayed it out with carb cleaner and let it dry before re-installing it.

 

[DNFXDLI]

That sounds like a pretty short trip....is your stat working correctly?

 

[m78]

i usually run the truck to work and back(7 miles round trip) but it seems to get to normal temp pretty quick even on the chilly days. and i leave it run for a few mins before i leave the house and after i get to work and then do the same after work. i dont let it idle much due to the price of gas and that it only gets about 12 mpg. also i took out the pcv valve and gave it a shake yesterday and it was rattling so i think its good. also sprayed it out with carb cleaner and let it dry before re-installing it.

Check to see if the vacuum port that it hooks to is clogged. The engine does need more time to burn off the moisture.

 

[blacksnapon]

YEP! Short trips and pcv valves will definately cause this!

 

[dustybumpers]

I seem to remember in another of your posts you blocked off the pcv. Did you hook it back up yet?

 

[midnite]

as far as i know the thermostat is working properly. it doesnt bounce around once it warms up. when i pull up a long hill the temp goes up a little bit but once i start goin down the same hill it goes back to where it usually sits which is between the e and the m on the guage

 

[midnite]

i didnt block off the pvc valve someone had it hooked to a steel vac line on the carb and i just simply unhooked it from the vac line and then plugged the vac live the pcv tube and valve are still attached on the engine

 

[blacksnapon]

i didnt block off the pvc valve someone had it hooked to a steel vac line on the carb and i just simply unhooked it from the vac line and then plugged the vac live the pcv tube and valve are still attached on the engine

UH, the pcv valve doesnt work unless its hooked up to vacuum.

 

[midnite]

i dont know anything about pcv systems. all i know is that when i removed the carb to clean it i unhooked the all the vac lines and the one that the pcv valve was hooked to was loaded with oil i un hooked it and oil just dripped from the top of the carb where the vac line screwed into it. and it dripped for about 15 straight mins before it finally stopped then i took off and cleaned the carb.(did not dis-assemble it) just took it off and hosed it down with carb cleaner really good

 

[DNFXDLI]

Some good info here...

http://www.fordtruckfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30348

 

[79460f100]

PCV not connected to vac source = NOT WORKING.

Not getting the engine heated up very long with short trips = sludge.

Washing the carb only = NOT FIXED.

PCV installed with no vac source makes it a plug for the hole in the valve cover and nothing else.

If you don't know what a part is for why do anything to it with out some information before hand ?

The only thing wrong with the truck is BAD MAINTENANCE .__

 

[primetime]

I say condensation. I get the same thing on my dipstick, just not that bad. Now, I drive my truck to work and back. Work is five miles away. I also have electric fans that are set to come on at 200*. With the 460, and the 351 before it, the fans don`t come during the trip to work. They sometimes come on during the trip home. Usually when I pull into the drive at home.

It makes heat in the cab, but this tells me it probably isn`t building the heat that the engine needs.

 

[fatherdoug]

I say condensation also. I drive to work 1.5 miles one way, and if I don't make a trip out of town, between oil changes, then there is a pretty good layer of snot underneath the fill cap. A trip out of town(70 miles or 160 miles round trip) will make that disappear.

 

[midnite]

since the pcv valve was foolishly disconnected (by me) i hooked it back up to a vac line on the carb. so got some good news and also found the source of an earlier problem that was more of an aggrivation. i re connected the pcv hose to the carb. drove the truck to a friends(bout 6 miles or so away) stayed there for a few and then came home. on the ride home my (whistle) came back. im sure most of you remember that previous post where it may have been a vac leak at norm temp. well turns out that it only does it when the pcv is hooked up and the engine is nice and warm(scratching head at this point) also when pcv is connected the truck burns oil when warm but not when disconnected(another head scratcher for me) the good news is that the condensation is almost completely gone now.

 

[Alvin in AZ]

My dent had a LOUD whistle! LOL

It was the can of tomatoes had rusted along the edge.
I soldered it up like I meant business.
Didn't take long for it to go to leaking and whistling again...

I use fuel hose for all my engine-bay vacuum lines, yes...
you can get 3/16" fuel hose. xD

------------------------------

But what about that thermostat?
160F thermostat by any chance? :/
BTDT and got sludge just like what you got.
It was ok in AZ but started that crap in Sacramento.
Where's it reading on the gauge?
...over by the R and M?

I've gotten 'em where they were stamped 195F and actually
measure 160F. Measure 'em before you install 'em. Measure
'em when you pull 'em too.

Alvin in AZ
ps- I moved the ICM to the other side of the fender/apron
"spine/box" to protect it from the radiant heat.
YMMV on a need for that?
Wasn't as easy as I thought it'd be, had to make it fit under
the hood and the spring/lever mechanism both...

...I think where I messed up was trying to use an existing
bolt or bolt-holes or something silly like that tho.
...Don't copy mine's position.

 

[m78]

Alvin, I like the idea of moving the ICM to the outside. I just put 1" spacers under mine. I used 1" pieces of 3/8" copper tubing

 

[79460f100]

Interesting about relocating or spacing out the IMC . Is this a heat problem in some states ? Since the 80s i'v owned 5 dentsides plus my 79 bronco and have never had any problems with the ICM. All of these trucks were work trucks in my construction trade and used daily putting about 200,000 miles on them each . I liked that system well enough that after retiring when i put a 302 in my 73 i changed it over to it and have had no problems. So i was wondering if this is more of a problem in just some areas or have I just been lucky with the ' DENT SIDE GODS ', L.O.L. ___