Rusty sludgy oil on dipstick - 92' laredo
 

Hi all! Wow, been a while since I posted something on here. Wish I had something positive to post, but alas....I do not.

Our beloved Jeep, in which I now am having a love HATE relationship with hasn't been running very well for a bit. :pinch: Just a bit sluggish - not like the fuel injectors are having issues - just doesn't feel good. Let's pretend it's got a cold and is dragging it out as long as possible. Probably till I pull all my hair out.

Today while waiting for the bus to come to get the kid I nanny for, I checked my oil. Hey, it's freezing outside and I was bored so why not....upon pulling the dipstick out, I see all this nasty sludgy rusty colored phloem looking liquid. All up and down the stick. I smelled it and it didn't have a burnt odor or anything odder then the normal smell of oil.

What in the world could it be? The engine was still slightly warm from my drive over (takes about 25-30mins to get to work) so it definitely was warmed up all the way. I have never seen this before and from my googling I have read a consensus that it's the head gasket.

PLEASE tell me it's not that, or I will find the nearest cliff and push her off. I hope its a high cliff too. Make it hurt. I love love love my girl for what she is capable of, but so far she has done nothing more then disappoint me mechanically :censored:

worst of all, my pocket book is pretty thin at the moment so replacing a headgasket....NOT gonna happen. Unless someone near me wants to do it in a day for like a fraction of the cost a mechanic would charge :guns:

Help!

p.s. sorry for the story telling post, I am not quite awake yet, nor has the nasty coffee kicked in. And I am getting more and ore agrrivated with this :censored: rust bucket.

Start pushing.
That is emulsioned oil, (coolant+oil). Check the rad cap, if there is sludge too it is 90% a bad head gasket.
Is water missing from the reservoir?

X2. Sorry to hear about your situation, but it's good to see you back on here.
Dan

On the money. Except no pushing just yet... this is a problem that should be addressed much sooner than any later... coolant and oil mixing = fluid orgy in your engine which = over heating and possible damage to internal components

Fairly easy job... a couple of dedicated hours of DIY time or you can find a trustworthy mechanic to do the work for a reasonable price. Love the straight sixes though so easy... on my Cherokee and on my M3 lol

If your Jeep is not missing then it just might just be an intake gasket.

Well, just had my mechanic's son check it out and there is no coolant mixed in and he said it looks like just a mix of condensation and oil due to the engine warming up in such cold weather. Topped me off with THICKER oil as he said what I had was practically water (went to a cheap oil and lube place last oil change).

Recommended an oil change to make sure there is all the same oil, but said if needed it can wait a few days (I had to rush back to work, no time). He was happy with what the cap and everything looked like, happy to see my coolant was still relatively green-ish with no signs of sludge in there.

THANK GOODNESS it was not the headgasket. He said he would know right away if it was and that I'm in the clear.

So now, just have to get the "check engine" light looked at and see whats going on there, replace the tires all around, prolly needs and engine flush, need a vibration address when I hit about 55 and up on the highway, definitely needs a serious brake job all around (no squealing, just warped feeling), needs a tune up, need to replace the vacuum hose and little plug thingy (sorry, I forget the name of it, you twist it 1/4 turn and its supposed to pop off I guess) connecting from the valves to the air filter cause previous owner did a oh so swell job at fixing that problem *eye roll*. Once that is done I should notice a little difference in how it drives.

so much bullcrap to do. So tired of it. Oh and whats funny, is the old owner has recently been emailing me asking how his "old girl" is doing. Boy was he shocked to find out just how well she IS doing. Yeah, be shocked cause you're a freakin' clown when it comes to taking care of your cars genius.

Ckee down the cliff postponed...:thumbup:

trust me, I will tape the event should it come about. :detective:

I'm seriously going to try and find a cliff high enough to make this a mighty moment in history. Might even throw and tail gate party afterward with lots and LOTS of beer :cheers:

:shifty:

Your probably just better craigslisting your Jeep for another Craigslisted Jeep of equal value in better condition... I see crappy & excellent examples selling for the same price on CL all the time. I got mine, minimal rust, 1 owner, fully serviced with new tires/rims, brakes, tune up, black hastle free 2 door sport for $1500..... 18mpg and it has 190k... you just cannot beat that!

I have a similar issue, but I have since changed both the oil and coolant, and there isnt mixing either. I dont know what causes it.

I guess its what you said.

Either that or its years of crappy oil running in it, the guy who owned it before me didnt take care of it at all, found bottles of oil from the dollar stores, you know that no brand stuff

the PCV elbow and gaskets? on an I6 or I4 they are not the twist type. they use the regular old fashioned push in style ones. cheaps parts too. job only takes a couple minuets to do.

What exactly needs done?? I have this exact problem! 🙃
 

What exactly needs done I have this exact problem??