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Triumph TR6 - contaminated oil

Gentlemen, I pose a really interesting question. What would cause the dipstick on my '72 to look a little milky when the engine is warm? When cold the oil looks absolutely normal, but after warming up a bit it appears milky. Seems a bit irregular and I fear some sort of contaminant is making its way into the oil. The level doesn't really change, as one would expect if fuel or anti-freeze were getting into it. Verrrrry interrresting.
Joel

It sounds like it is foaming
Don k.
DON KELLY

If your oil level isn't too high, as Don eluded to, I bet it's condensation. Kind of a malted milk look? It doesn't it smell kind of sweet - like antifreeze does it?

It's not uncommon on our infrequently driven cars with fairly open crankcase breathing. Take it out for an hour or 2 and it'll probably be fine.

Tim
Tim Brand

Joel--Don is on to it. Did you put any additives in your oil? [Lucas oil stabilizer is notorious for 'air entrainment']. What does it smell like?

Rick O.
Rick Orthen

I have used Lucas stabilizer for 3 years
and have no foaming or odd colour to my oil...maybe the brand you use has to much detergent ?
Charlie
Charlie Ballard '75 TR6

Thanks for the responses guys. I think Tim may have the answer. There are no additives in the oil(Castrol 20-50). The oil level actually is a little below the full line and there is no sweet smell and the anti-freeze level has been the same for over a year. I suspect it's just the once or twice a week use. It's usually the worst after just a short run.
Joel

Joel-Take it out and get it hot for a while. Just what the doc ordered,for the car and you! Tell the misses it is madicinal (sic?).
Don K.
DON KELLY

Milky oil always indicated contamination with water. You could have a small crack and coolent is getting in but perhaps your car is burning a bit of oil then then you would not notice much of a change in oil levels.

Perhaps it looks fine when sitting for a while as the 2 things separate ie oil and water (they don't mix and can't stay mixed)
steven

Charlie--I stopped using Lucas in the crankcase when I saw the seventh picture down on this page: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm

The conclusion is up to you of course.

Rick O.
Rick Orthen

Interesting Rick, though I'm a little confused as when I drain my oil I always do it after a good run ( and once after a 2 hour Hwy run ) to get it hot and the oil comes out as regular black oil..no frothing or lighter colour of any kind and when I pulled the pan last spring to reseal it there was no film or anything other than the usual oil film up in the crevices. You would think if it got that foamy white colour as shown it would be visible when draining ? I'm not completely convinced Lucas is a bad thing, just my findings...
Cheers
Charlie
Charlie Ballard '75 TR6

I use a mineral oil and have noticed a similar 'milky' colour in the oil catch tank when the oil vapour condenses. I thought it was OK in the catch tank as condesation almost certainly includes a small amount of airborne water(the oil in the sump is OK though, when hot (dipstick), cold (dipstick) and drained hot.

I figured it was probably more apparent when the engine was cold - it seems better when things warm up after a while.

Nice link Rick - I wonder if there is similar 'unsponsored' info available on petrol additives?
Roger H

You know me, I like to stir the pot a bit.
bobistheoilguy definitely went to a lot of trouble to accomplish one thing. Dis-credit LUCAS products.
Take note of what he is comparing at the onset.
A blended (semi-syn) 80W90 to a full syn 80W140.
Correct me if I am wrong, but is this like comparing skim milk to whipping cream? Would it not have been better to start the comparison with similar weight oils ( I am not comparing semi-syn to full syn)? I read the entire 3 pages of the "see what others have to say".
I am not convinced that I am doing harm to my engine or tranny using LUCAS OIL products. I have never seen any change in "oil colour" after a run.

If LUCAS products where "damaging" vehicle gears then one might think that LUCAS would have been out of business long ago.
Rick C
Rick Crawford

I agree with Rick. I don't think it has anything to do with Lucas products. I think Steven is on the right track. If you have milky oil, you have an emulsion. In order to have an emulsion, you need water. From somewhere. Could be condensation, could be a bad head gasket, could be a cracked head. When the car sits, the oil and water layers separate do to the reduced temp and lack of circulation. When you start it back up you blend them together again. I hope it's not serious, but I would keep an eye on it to see if it gets worse. If it is a head thing, you'll see your coolant level drop and your oil level rise.

Good luck
Jim
Jim Vandenberg

Well, the Lucas discussion is moot since Joel doesn't use it. The main problem with additives is finding definitive evidence that they work. You won't find the manufacturer (including Lucas) offering that info up. Since the manufacturers won't do it, you have folks like BITOG doing it. I will not argue Lucas or any other product; the information is out there to deal with. Consider carefully that oil manufacturers advise against additives.

But beware--manufacturers are driven by profit ONLY; as long as the product mystery is maintained, revenue is king. So if you wan't to plop down $7 USD for a bottle of Lucas, go for it. I'll use that for new plugs instead.

Rick O.
Rick Orthen

This thread was discussed between 17/11/2004 and 18/11/2004

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