Hopefully just an old gasket.

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'73 Root Beer

'73 Root Beer

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Been a good car owner, and only owning the car for less than 5k miles. I have been checking oil every 500 miles. Today...milk on the stick. I am hopeful it is only a gasket on a 40 year old 318 with 80k miles. Pray for Root Beer, she needs kind thoughts right now.
 
I have seen the timing cover develop a pinhole in the water pump cavity, letting a nice stream of coolant into the crankcase. Also had a newly assembled smallblock leak coolant from the passage in the intake into the lifter valley. A cooling system pressure tester will be your friend here. Worth the investment.
 
'73 Root Beer said:
Been a good car owner, and only owning the car for less than 5k miles. I have been checking oil every 500 miles. Today...milk on the stick. I am hopeful it is only a gasket on a 40 year old 318 with 80k miles. Pray for Root Beer, she needs kind thoughts right now.
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I have had alot of 318 from that era.
Most likely just condensation in the motor, how much do you drive the car every time you start it up?
Change the oil, clean the breathers on the valve covers and make sure you run it everytime you start it up full operating temperature.
20 minuates is the minimum time I run all my antiques, when I start them up, drive it every time to keep everything lubricated.

Does the bottom of the dipstick have about 1/2" of milk and the rest looks clean, then you are dealing with condensation.
 
Its my dd. I've replaced all the leaking gaskets and put in a new radiator. As stated I hoping its just the fact that before me it wasn't being driven. Oil filter changed when everything else was done. I am down to one arm due to rotator cuff. So I am useless. Shop has it they will run tests. They are a good bunch of guys.
 
sireland67 said:
I have had alot of 318 from that era.
Most likely just condensation in the motor, how much do you drive the car every time you start it up?
Change the oil, clean the breathers on the valve covers and make sure you run it everytime you start it up full operating temperature.
20 minuates is the minimum time I run all my antiques, when I start them up, drive it every time to keep everything lubricated.

Does the bottom of the dipstick have about 1/2" of milk and the rest looks clean, then you are dealing with condensation.
Click to expand...

x2 this is a possibility. depends on how much milkyness, your whole pan of oil isn't going to turn milky from this.
 
Mine gets that way every winter not enought running time, too man starts without warm up a good drive 20-40-miles will probably fix it.
 
SirDan said:
x2 this is a possibility. depends on how much milkyness, your whole pan of oil isn't going to turn milky from this.
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Yes but there is alot of difference between milk and antifreeze.
Does the radiator have milk, if not no gasket problem.
Dipstick, valve covers showing milk, blow by past the rings or condensation.
I ran a 77 ramcharger for years sometimes it would blow the dipsick out of the tube, milk would be coming out. It was blow by past the rings.
I ran the the ram hard for many years on 44" tires and it was mudded hard every friday and saturday night, the motor never blew.
When I sold the ram it had over 250K on the original 318.
I bought the ram it had 70K all stock, one month later I lifted it, so 150K of complete abused was a good buy.
 
Good News! I guess since I didn't care about any of the others cars I have driven in the past...I never noticed, or checked to oil as often as I do with Root Beer. I have been notified, that I swiped the condensation off the side of the dipstick tube. Change in the weather etc causing. Valve covers were pulled and engine is nothing but a nice oily machine, no milk showing!

Thanks for the replys and thoughts, as I did mention to the shop what some thoughts were.
 
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