Frothy dipstick, white smoke on start up no other signs of blown head gasket

[67belvedere/225]

I've seen a similar problem like that , when i pulled the intake it was the gasket leaking to the head , and going into engine
if you smell inside the rad cap and it smells like exhaust , that is a sign, snap sells a kit and maybe now somebody else does
that you put a liquid in a tester and keep it on rad and it changes color if it sees exhaust gas

 

[67belvedere/225]

Lisle 75500 Combustion Leak Detector

 

[Frank Mopar]

Pull the spark plugs and look at them.

 

[BB BELLA]

if this car originated in a cold climate the expansion plug could have been where a block heater was originally. pressure test cooling system and make sure thermostat is bringing engine up to temp. a cold running engine will not get rid of moisture in the oil. make sure the crankcase breather clear. You need to address the external leaks before a decision can be made on internal coolant loss.

 

[mmissile]

Gotta get the engine good and warm, to evaporate condensation that gets in there. Over the years, I've seen plenty of cars that were repeatedly run for short periods, and developed lots of internal moisture. If you have a milkshake in there....you probably have other serious issue.

 

[1967coronet440]

With your car I’d rather pull the motor and fix it correctly but as Info to anyone We just used this blue devil product in my brother in laws 5.2 magnum ram, going through about a gallon of coolant a week. It Completely stopped all coolant consumption. This is an $800 dollar beater truck so we said what the heck let’s try it out, sure enough it’s cured. Anyone else ever use this stuff?

BlueDevil Head Gasket Sealer - 32 ounce(38386) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NOO798/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_pp1oCbG0JS8GM

 

[khryslerkid]

Stop by your local parts store that rents out tools and get a radiator pressure tester. Install it and pump it up to 15 lbs and watch for leakage. See if it holds pressure.

 

[bearman]

Fill radiator then pull plugs let set for 24hrs. Tomorrow crank engine over by hand and see which cyn has water in it. When you pull the plugs does one look different from the other ones. Also did you send in the oil to get checked out to see if you have coolant in it. Also if you have headers or just pull exhaust manifolds to see if you have a rusty looking whole. Intake leak could be but looks head a head problem or even a crack in the cylinder wall. Ask me how I know had the same issues thought was a head pulled heads had them checked. While waiting for the heads number 3cyn on passenger side had coolant in it. Had the engine blocked sleeved. Just my 2cents

 

[Cranky]

When I start it up I just let it idle in the garage for about 10 minutes, with all garage doors open of course.

I believe that's your main problem.....in a cold climate, letting it sit in the garage at idle isn't going to do much but create condensation and even if you drove it, 10 minutes ain't nearly enough time for an engine to burn off the condensation that collects within. Yeah, it's got a lot of miles and you very well could have a coolant leak but in my experiences, what you're doing is the problem.

 

[Ranger16]

Could it just be condensation from sitting for so long in such a cold climate?

Are you running a PCV system and if so, is it operating properly?

 

[Bad Sport]

When I start it up I just let it idle in the garage for about 10 minutes, with all garage doors open of course.

That right there will create condensation issues. I bought a Dodge Ram from my FIL many years ago, and when I pulled the intake I found exactly what you have going on, large gobs of that milky white crap in the valley..

He typically didn't drive more than 20 minutes at a time, so it got to temp but wasn't there long enough to do any good. He was **** about changing the oil so that wasn't an issue.

Ideally you want to bring it up to temp and actually drive it for at least 30 minutes, a bit longer is better, to burn off condensation.

Yours seems extreme. As mentioned do a pressure test and see if it holds pressure, that would be a good place to start.

 

[Bad Sport]

Are you running a PCV system and if so, is it operating properly?

Great point!

 

[Dennis H]

How about something like that K Seal or stop leak to try to save it after an oil change or won’t that work.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Are you running a PCV system and if so, is it operating properly?

Had white puke came out of valve cover cap, no PVC. Added one no more pukin'.
As cranky short start up won't evaporate moisture.

 

[LemonWedge]

Simple fact: if you’re losing water from the radiator, it’s going somewhere. If you also see moisture on the dipstick..... well, safe to say we know where it’s going. From everything you’ve posted, I’d say you have a breached head gasket or a crack in a head or the block somewhere. I’d pull the heads and inspect the gaskets closely, HOPING to find the culprit. Good luck.

BTW: regarding starting your car and letting it idle for 10 minutes, then shutting it off..... that’s not good. Also.... LOSE the 0-20 Wt. oil. Older cars have larger bearing clearances and needed thicker oil. Use a 10w-30 or 10w-40 oil.

 

[khryslerkid]

I've seen a leaking exhaust manifold bolt/stud that had coolant leaking into the exhaust port. Coolant was coming out the exhaust and getting into the cylinder.

A white, perfectly clean spark plug is a sign of coolant in that cylinder.

Think simple things first, don't start pulling heads, ect. until you locate the source first. Pressure test should show something.

 

[jogirob]

Tons of great ideas to get through. Thanks all.

I drove the car a good 20 minutes into town yesterday and today the dipstick is clean.

PCV: Not running a stock PCV system. As you guys can see from the photos the crank case breather is pretty gummed up, I was going to research how to clean that type of breather....will a kerosene dip and swish do the trick? I was also looking into going back to a type that recirculates gasses back into the engine since there's little performance gains from simply having the stuff spill right into the atmosphere. This isn't a show car.

Loosing coolant: Particularly after cold nights I open the garage to a huge puddle that goes all the way to my garage wall. Yes the coolant is going somewhere, right unto the ground. With the mileage on this engine I wouldn't be surprised if it was also seeping into parts of the engine where it doesn't belong. I need to do something about that weeping expansion plug. I can put more torque on it but I'm afraid it'll get to a point where the nut pressure on the metal disk will fold it in. *update* Now that I know what it is I looked it up. I'm confident enough to really torque that thing down now. That should stop the seepage.

Plugs show some ash deposits. #8 had oil on the electrode and the first few threads. #4 had some oil on the first few threads. I did the sizzle/hot plate test on the oil I pulled yesterday. There was barely any sizzling. Maybe one or two bubbles generated every now and then. Radiator cap smells sweet. Can't detect an exahust smell. The coolant system was flushed about 500 miles/3 months ago.

Will Lisle 75500 Combustion Leak Detector test the same thing as a cooling system pressure tester?

 

[jogirob]

How about something like that K Seal or stop leak to try to save it after an oil change or won’t that work.

Haven't tried any additives yet. The problems seems to be slight so maybe catching it and using the additive while it's still early is a good thing to try?

Right now I'm letting the car sit with the spark plugs out. I'm gonna hand crank the engine and stuff some clean paper towels where the plugs would go to see if I get anything.

 

[Ranger16]

Will Lisle 75500 Combustion Leak Detector test the same thing as a cooling system pressure tester?

No. The combustion leak detector test for hydrocarbons in the air above the coolant in the radiator, surge tank or recovery tank.

A pressure tester simply pressurizes the cooing system to find an external leak. It's not likely to expose a breached HG unless it is pretty bad.

 

[Ranger16]

PCV: Not running a stock PCV system. As you guys can see from the photos the crank case breather is pretty gummed up, I was going to research how to clean that type of breather....will a kerosene dip and swish do the trick?

Yes, kerosene, gasoline, carb cleaner, part cleaning solvent, etc. Hell, even a bucket full of Dawn dish sopa and water would do the job.