I pull the dip stick all the time to check the oil since it leaks quite a bit and I know the oil filter base mount and valve cover gasket both leak and have not noticed anything abnormal with the oil being milky or anything but I do however keep noticing when I go to add oil that the filler cap has a milky looking residue forming? Is this a sign of an early head gasket leak or something else?
I'd say thats an indicator of moisture getting in to your oil, most likely a head gasket possibly something worse.
What would be worse? I am also aware that 2 of the plugs looked like they have had water droplets on them or some type of moisture....Originally Posted by harvo
corroded or cracked head/block which is what happened to another one of my cars, thought it would be a straight forward head gasket but ended up needing a new head due to corrosion eating away the alloy.
So should I attempt to tear it down or run it till it blows? You can tell the car has had neglective past owners and shoddy at best maintenance work over its life time but I like the car and would like to keep the old girl going. I'm hoping at some point to be able to purchase another 3rd gen from maybe the Tennessee area that isn't as rusted with a cleaner body. Hopefully a 5 speed lxi model but till then I need to keep this one rolling. I was planning on replacing the oil filter base mount gasket probably monday but this other issue has me concerned.
If it runs good then it runs good. Why are you gonna tear it down on the off-chance that it might break later?
Dr_Snooz
"I like to take hammers, and just break stuff, just break stuff." - Beavis
1989 Honda Accord LX-i Coupe, 240k miles, MT swap, rear disc swap
Shop manual downloads available here: CLICK TO VIEW
It runs ok but I wouldn't think a milky colored oil filler cap and being able to tell there had been condensation is normal and I should just ignore it when I could possibly prevent more damage from occurring should I?
The milky oil in the cap is nothing to be too concerned about. I have had many cars that have done this and none ever had any problems.
Do you make alot of short trips? I theorize that short trips don't allow the engine to get hot enough to actuallt burn off any moisture from inside the engine and it condenses in the cap as it is the highest point. This is just from my observation.
If you haven't checked the operation of your PVC system it couldn't hurt to take a look as it should in theory help with this some.
88 LX 5spd l 32/36 weber l KYB GR-2's l Refreshed A20A3 engine l
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