85 2.3 water in the oil

[coleboy11]

So I noticed when I check the oil, there is a very small amount of water at the end of the dipstick and also water mixing with oil around the oil cap. It is not much water at all, but my first thought was head gasket. I was loosing very small amounts of coolant, but found a small leak at the thermostat housing....The truck runs fine, idles fine, no bubbles coming from the radiator at startup, no moisture from exhaust. It seems to be using more oil than normal, but I drive it 100 miles a day still and no major issues other than the perplexing bit of water and oil mixing. Could it be a tiny head gasket leak? What else would cause the water and oil to come together. Any help here is great.

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

Go rent a block tester from your local parts store.

You install it on your radiator, put the blue fluid in it. Let it idle for a while. If there is a presence of carbon dioxide it will turn yellow. Even a small headgasket leak will show up.

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[UrbanRedneckKid]

Or you could pressure test the cooling system, and check for coolant in the chambers, through the spark plug holes.

But that is difficult and sometimes inconclusive...

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[Mark_88]

Depending on where you live, it could be condensation. Do you not use anti-freeze in your rad?

Are you seeing brown froth on the dipstick??? Water is hard to detect without actually dropping the oil into a pan...not really sure how you are seeing water...so maybe a bit of elaboration is needed...

Using oil could mean it is burning it or pushing it out through the valve cover or around the dipstick (or other openings)...this is usually associated with blow-by...which means you should probably plan to have the bottom end reworked...but that is another story...

 

[LIMA BEAN]

Check for a clogged PCV too.

 

[coleboy11]

I am in Alabama and it is cold and humid, so I considered the condensation part. I currently only have water in the radiator but plan to add antifreeze when i fix the thermostat leak. The truck kind of fumbles and bumbles when starting in a new gear which it didnt do when I left for a 6 month vacation (my poor dumb bastard brother drove it while I was away). I am so paranoid about this head gasket having a leak! I don't have a problem with doing the gasket replacement, but I'd like to do it right and replace the other things that you should when changing a head gasket...I just don't have the time right now and I drive it ALOT. And the oil is not frothy-looking, there just appears to be what looks like something milky on the very end of the dipstick when I check the oil, but the whole rest of the oil looks normal.

 

[coleboy11]

The PCV is less than a year old and I checked it out today. Looks fine. I have new spark plugs and wires, fuel pressure regulator, timing belt, fresh oil change, new fuel pump. It runs pretty well except for the little fumbling in between gears when its cold. I love this truck. My late grandfather passed it to me and I plan on keeping it a long time...hell, I might get buried with it. 85 ford ranger sport, 5 spd 2.3 liter efi manual brakes, manual steering, got more character than Disney........I'm suffering here.

 

[RonD]

With engine cold, remove rad cap and overflow hose.
Start engine
Put a latex glove or small plastic baggie over rad cap opening and pinch it tight, put finger over overflow outlet.
If glove/baggie starts to inflate you have a head gasket leak.
400+ psi in a firing cylinder with a leak won't take long to inflate the glove.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Have you cleaned the breather cap and changed the breather filter?

 

[kimcrwbr1]

How often do you change the oil, change the PCV with every other oil change. There is no way to check or clean a PCV and if your putting 100 miles a day on your truck you should be changing the oil at least every other month or 5000 miles. Change the PCV regular and the moisture should go away. Keep the breather cap clean or change it also they are cheap.

 

[adsm08]

Also, is the engine getting fully up to temp? If not you may not be boiling all the condensation out of the engine while you run it.

 

[coleboy11]

It doesn't have a breather that I know of. As I stated earlier, it's fuel-injected. I have almost talked myself out of believing its a head gasket problem somehow, but I am keeping a very close eye on it. I think I will know for sure once I change from water to antifreeze because I will be able to smell it coming from the heater (whoever said Alabama was warm was misinformed).

 

[LIMA BEAN]

It doesn't have a breather that I know of. As I stated earlier, it's fuel-injected. I have almost talked myself out of believing its a head gasket problem somehow, but I am keeping a very close eye on it. I think I will know for sure once I change from water to antifreeze because I will be able to smell it coming from the heater (whoever said Alabama was warm was misinformed).

Running straight water is just asking for trouble. If you put glycol in it and get a big wiff that much you would have a heater core leak or engine/cooling system external leak. "The Dr.Come Hither Glove Test" is dam near free and fast and the chemical test for PPM of hydro carbon is cheap too. Drain and refill the thing with glycol then do one or both of those tests first, if they come up negative go for PCV/breather before the next phase. YOUR ENGINE/COOLING SYSTEM IS NOT DESIGNED TO RUN WATER LONG TERM.

 

[cody93]

as a boat mechanic, i can say running strait water in the winter time is a VERY bad idea.. guess how many people with stern drives come in the spring complaning of cracked engine blocks, its because they didn't drain the water out of the block and it froze and expanded. do the above checks to see if you have exhaust gases in the cooling system, if so, you may have a crack cylinder wall or head.. did it ever freeze while running strait water?

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

The 2.3's PVC system is in the side of the block, under the intake manifold. Unlike other engines that have it in the valve cover, or on the back of the intake.

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