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milky oil

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Old 12-28-2011, 10:28 AM
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so this is the second winter i have owned my jeep. and i have noticed when it gets cold outside the very tip of my dipstick is milky, indicating i have water in the crank case. i know that my headgasket is fine. and the hoses coming off the valve cover are going to their proper places. HOW IS WATER GETTING INTO MY SYSTEM?!?!?
Old 12-28-2011, 12:28 PM
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It is condensation, check it after the car has been driven for 20 minutes and see if it is gone, should be.
Sorry about caps, @ work
Old 12-28-2011, 12:30 PM
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Do you use valvoline
Old 12-28-2011, 12:59 PM
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Originally Posted by Scott_Sport99
It is condensation, check it after the car has been driven for 20 minutes and see if it is gone, should be.
Sorry about caps, @ work
This most likely is the issue. Do you use your jeep for short trips where the engine may not heat up all the way?
Old 12-28-2011, 08:57 PM
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I use Rotella year round with a quart of Lucas. and for the most part my drives are about 5 miles down the road. if its condensation does it just come in through the air intake and through the PCV valve?
Old 12-28-2011, 09:26 PM
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Originally Posted by kansasxj
I use Rotella year round with a quart of Lucas. and for the most part my drives are about 5 miles down the road. if its condensation does it just come in through the air intake and through the PCV valve?
I honestly don't know where it comes from, but since your just doing short trips like that, the engine doesnt have time to burn off the condensation. Not really anything to worry about
Old 12-29-2011, 09:04 AM
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Originally Posted by kansasxj
I use Rotella year round with a quart of Lucas. and for the most part my drives are about 5 miles down the road. if its condensation does it just come in through the air intake and through the PCV valve?
Completely unrelated but you are running a very thick oil with a thickening agent (lucas) and you are driving short trips where the engine doesn't reach full temp often. If it was me, I'd go with a much thinner oil because you are causing a lot of strain on your oil pump by running an oil that won't ever get hot enough to thin out.

Don't get me wrong, I love Rotella oil in 4.0's but I'm also doing a lot of longer distance driving where the oil is warm and thinner.
Old 12-29-2011, 10:00 AM
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As mentioned, this is likely a bit of moisture working it's way inside. Not much to worry about really. As mentioned, short trips and lack of frequent oil changes can make this a bit worse.

You also should be sure that your CCV (crankcase ventilation) system is working properly. There is no PCV valve here. A clogged CCV system could also aggravate this. A clogged CCV system actually happens quite a bit on the Jeep 4.0 engine.

The CCV consists of the two hoses leading in and out of the valve cover and the grommets. To rebuild the system, remove the valve cover, clean the inside of it thoroughly, replace the grommets and the hoses, pop a new valve cover on there and you're good to go. The parts are not expensive either from aftermarket or the dealer here....
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