Blown Head gasket or what ?

[JWagner]

Just noticed some milky sludge on the garage floor, under the blow-by drain tube... Checked the dip stick, and it appeared normal... Checked the radiator and had same milky sludge on the cap... . Head Gasket gone or what do ya think? Any suggestions on where to take it other DC, near Stockton, Ca..... I don't have the time... .



TIA,



Jay Wagner

 

[rhoads]

milkey sludge

W what you describe is a sign of oil getting into the coolant system. sometimes the other way around.

it takes a lot of coolent to show up on the stick,where you will find it first is in the under side of the valve cover's , (on a stone cold eng) (eng left off for say 12 hours)when it gets really bad you will notice the need to add antifreeze /water in resv. and then shows up on the stick...

Oil pressure is greater than water press and being this eng doesn't have liners ,there o-rings and pin holes it them is out. .

The most likely source is the oil cooler area. Havent looked at the break down of that assy to know if is is like the big rigs,but you can take a sheet steel make a test fixture ,tap a hole and with a regulator so you can preassure it (15 lbs) leave the oil passage open and fill with water ,turn on the air and look for bubbles. .

in theory it could be from the head--but it would a worp or crack from the water port to the oil hole with out picking up compression,??? tough call,should have kept brother-in- laws head gasket to refresh my memory . IF you pull the head have it mag'de and surfaced planed---Didnt say if this thing ever got hot on you??? Got to check my cummins break down book. After taking wife to the movies!!!

 

[rhoads]

repairs

Do your self a favor thake ti to mother cummins--If it is over 100k they will work on it. .

Not IH/fliner/ford/ect. . Mother cummins. .

 

[JWagner]

tdrramrmber-



hottest its ever been was about 180 degrees... oil pressure was fine last night, and there's still coolant in the tank... . I'll have the oil cooler looked at..... Thanks for info.



Jay Wagner

 

[WeirCummin]

Ditto on the oil cooler. About a month ago I had a friend call and tell me that the head gasket on his '93 had blown. I told him that he better first look at the cooler. Saved him a big haedache in time and money.

 

[Brandon]

it has rained alot in our area lately and i have seen my tube all milky looking while driving in rain alot..... is this possible? for anyone else? just a thought..... may as well check everything else while your at it



B

 

[illflem]

I've had quite a few rigs get milky looking deposits under the oil fill cap during high humidity times, can look real bad especially if you aren't running the rig long enough to burn the moisture off. I wouldn't worry much unless the coolant level starts dropping.

 

[Cummins Corvette]

I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM!!! I ignored it for a while, regrettably. It turned out to be the oil cooler. Don't take it to Cummins, they charged me over 900 bucks to replace it. When mine started to leak oil into the cooling system the only sign was a brown sludge on the bottom of the rad. cap and some in the overflow bottle. Then one night I noticed coolant coming out the overflow bottle when I started the truck to let it warm up (~10*F outside). On the way home the oil light came on and when I pulled over to check the oil, there wasn't any. It was all in the cooling system. What a mess. I wish that I knew what that stuff was and replaced the cooler sooner. A local shop quoted me around 400 for the job and I wish I took it there. Hindsight is always 20/20. Good luck.

 

[JWagner]

Oil Cooler

Thanks Guys,



Well it was the oil cooler. $650. 00 later, and all should be well.



Thanks again...



Jay Wagner