jogirob
Well-Known Member
After doing some reading I'm not sure anymore if I have a blown head gasket or not.
With the crummy weather I'be been driving the car maybe once every other week. Today was a good day to take her out for a spin. It was still cold out, probably 40 degrees. I checked the oil and low and behold I find this congealed milky brown forth all up and down the dip stick.
These two were taken after I wiped up the dipstick and re-inserted it. I wish I had my camera phone on the first run.
When I saw this immediately I thought about a blown head gasket because the last time I drove the car it was smoking a lot (during start up during a cold 35' night).
I checked the oil filler caps and crank case vent filter expecting some grodie stuff but it didn't look bad at all:
I started the car up and it just billowed white smoke, especially out of the passenger side side exhaust. I figured it was just cold so I let it run for about 10 minutes and the thickness of the smoke was all the same. I turned the car off before I did any damage.
After reading through some pointers on the forum I went ahead and drained an oil sample. Looked normal with no water droplets at all. Was really dirty though as if I hadn't changed the oil in like 5k miles. It's only been like 1k miles.
I opened the radiator cap while the car was cold and engine was running and no bubbles. Coolant levels were low though, probably a good half gallon. There have been signs of coolant leakage ever since I started storing the car in this freezing cold weather. The leak went all the way to my garage wall. This is the seep area:
What is that half dollar looking thing? I snugged it up, it was definitely not tight. The metal seems so flimsy I didn't want to overtorque the nut and bend the metal and cause an even worse leak. I don't even know what the thing is called so I can't look up the torque specs :-/
Now that the weather is nicer, like 60'F there is no more smoke at all. I still see that milky froth on the dipstick though, particularly on one side of the dipstick. Car runs fine, no weird noises.
What's funny is that I was doing the oil change on my Tacoma and I noticed the same spooge on its cap. Way more accumulated than on the Charger but the Tacoma dipstick is totally clean. All the oil I drained looked normal.
So what's the deal here!? Is it just something in the Sacramento air?
With the crummy weather I'be been driving the car maybe once every other week. Today was a good day to take her out for a spin. It was still cold out, probably 40 degrees. I checked the oil and low and behold I find this congealed milky brown forth all up and down the dip stick.
These two were taken after I wiped up the dipstick and re-inserted it. I wish I had my camera phone on the first run.
When I saw this immediately I thought about a blown head gasket because the last time I drove the car it was smoking a lot (during start up during a cold 35' night).
I checked the oil filler caps and crank case vent filter expecting some grodie stuff but it didn't look bad at all:
I started the car up and it just billowed white smoke, especially out of the passenger side side exhaust. I figured it was just cold so I let it run for about 10 minutes and the thickness of the smoke was all the same. I turned the car off before I did any damage.
After reading through some pointers on the forum I went ahead and drained an oil sample. Looked normal with no water droplets at all. Was really dirty though as if I hadn't changed the oil in like 5k miles. It's only been like 1k miles.
I opened the radiator cap while the car was cold and engine was running and no bubbles. Coolant levels were low though, probably a good half gallon. There have been signs of coolant leakage ever since I started storing the car in this freezing cold weather. The leak went all the way to my garage wall. This is the seep area:
What is that half dollar looking thing? I snugged it up, it was definitely not tight. The metal seems so flimsy I didn't want to overtorque the nut and bend the metal and cause an even worse leak. I don't even know what the thing is called so I can't look up the torque specs :-/
Now that the weather is nicer, like 60'F there is no more smoke at all. I still see that milky froth on the dipstick though, particularly on one side of the dipstick. Car runs fine, no weird noises.
What's funny is that I was doing the oil change on my Tacoma and I noticed the same spooge on its cap. Way more accumulated than on the Charger but the Tacoma dipstick is totally clean. All the oil I drained looked normal.
So what's the deal here!? Is it just something in the Sacramento air?
