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Milky dip stick after head gasket replacement

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Old 11-30-2017, 09:45 PM
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Default Milky dip stick after head gasket replacement

Hey everyone, i have read enjoyed reading this forum for years and have finally found a reason to post.

I changed my head gasket two weeks ago due to having a milky dipstick and sludge in my radiator fill neck. I got the head looked at and the valves done and told there was no crack in the head
I checked my oil last week, everything was fine but today i checked and it is milky again. Oil pressure is good, the temp is at 210 and it seems to be running good. I am wondering what is causing the milky oil on the dipstick.
i torqued the head bolts correctly, used the sealant on #11 also.

I have read about it possibly being the CCV? Is there anything else that could be causing this?

1993 4.0 5 speed
Old 12-01-2017, 08:52 AM
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Originally Posted by Jsimpson
Hey everyone, i have read enjoyed reading this forum for years and have finally found a reason to post.

I changed my head gasket two weeks ago due to having a milky dipstick and sludge in my radiator fill neck. I got the head looked at and the valves done and told there was no crack in the head
I checked my oil last week, everything was fine but today i checked and it is milky again. Oil pressure is good, the temp is at 210 and it seems to be running good. I am wondering what is causing the milky oil on the dipstick.
i torqued the head bolts correctly, used the sealant on #11 also.

I have read about it possibly being the CCV? Is there anything else that could be causing this?

1993 4.0 5 speed
Did you happen to check the block real well before reinstalling the head? I found that these have a way of "bubbling up" over time where the water ports in the block meet the gasket. I just recently rebuilt my 97 engine and had to mill these high spots down. They would have prevented the head from even getting close to torquing down flat and evenly like it should.
Old 12-01-2017, 11:22 AM
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I looked over the surface of the block and everything seemed okay. I made sure to clean the surface well before putting the gasket on. Could it be from left over coolant in the block at all?
Old 12-01-2017, 11:31 AM
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Originally Posted by Jsimpson
I looked over the surface of the block and everything seemed okay. I made sure to clean the surface well before putting the gasket on. Could it be from left over coolant in the block at all?
Yes there could be some residuals, but normally not enough to cause the whole system to churn milky again and the filter will usually catch what little residuals there are. Is it just a little bit on the stick with normal looking oil below it? Or is it all milky? You did say the "oil" was milky again right? Or did I read that wrong?
Old 12-01-2017, 02:15 PM
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Its a little milky towards the top end of the dip stick reading, the oil below looks good.
Old 12-01-2017, 03:07 PM
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Maybe its whats left in the oil tube? thats my guess if it looks good on the bottom side. Did you check the oil?
Old 12-01-2017, 10:29 PM
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My dipstick shows some moisture on the top end sometimes. Not quite "milky" but some moisture build up. Didin't seem to do it in summer....
Old 12-02-2017, 12:15 AM
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How many miles is your normal drive? If you dont drive it long enough to get the oil up to temp, it never burns the water off. Causes the same thing to happen.
Old 12-02-2017, 05:41 AM
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Originally Posted by Jsimpson
Its a little milky towards the top end of the dip stick reading, the oil below looks good.
That's a good sign... It may be just residual condensation. If you live in a wetter climate this can happen also. Bet the underside of your oil fill cap has the same thing building up on it too? I would make it a regular plan to take these out once in awhile and wipe all you can off of both the stick and the oil fill cap. Eventually you might get it all and it will stop.

I would also change just the filter a few more times in 500 mile intervals and top it off again. But if it doesn't stop after this then you are definitely still getting some coolant in there from somewhere. It won't be a big concern until it starts to turn all the oil on the stick milky or starts to run at a lower oil pressure.
Old 12-02-2017, 05:46 AM
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Originally Posted by 5-Speed
How many miles is your normal drive? If you dont drive it long enough to get the oil up to temp, it never burns the water off. Causes the same thing to happen.
Yep, sounds like just condensation residuals. As hard as we try to get it all out sometimes we just can't.
Old 12-06-2017, 10:34 PM
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I usually drive 20 miles one way to work but long distances over the weekends. I changed the oil tonight and flushed the coolant so hopefully it was just junk left over.

Thanks for all the replies.
Old 12-07-2017, 07:57 AM
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Originally Posted by Jsimpson
I usually drive 20 miles one way to work but long distances over the weekends. I changed the oil tonight and flushed the coolant so hopefully it was just junk left over.

Thanks for all the replies.
We got our fingers crossed.

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