i have a 1989 4.0L Renix. I just found that there is water in my oil. it was milky on the dipstick and where it blew back on the air filter, but not under my valve cover. any ideas? I'm worried it might be the head gasket. just curious if there are any other causes.

 

Is it just a little drip on the tip?

 

not quite, when we first pulled the dipstick the end was covered, then when we dipped it again it was just the tip. and the filter had a decent sized gob on it. it did rain recently here and i have a bad rear seal. i don't know if that changes anything.

 

Sounds like a head gasket to me. I had a blown gasket on mine, but it was between cylinders and didn't leak to the water jacket. A bad rms won't let rain water in. You might do a compression test, if it's letting water in at least one cylinder might show low. Hey, if you end up replacing the head gasket, it'd be a good time to replace the lifters. I didn't think of it when i did mine, but i wish i had. My old '93 is ZERO leaks anywhere, but still sounds like a sewing machine on steroids.

 

1. How many miles on that oil before you changed it?
2. What type of driving? ie: city/highway/combined?

Some condensation in the oil is not all that unusual (especially in the winter) and can result in a bit of milkshake oil. Especially if the vehicle is used most often for short trips. Or if the oil isn't changed frequently enough. Long drives are helpful as it "burns off" the moisture.

Do you have any driveability symptoms?

 

maybe 2500 on the oil. and the drive-ability hasn't changed at all. I drive it mostly on the highway.

 

How often? Or does it sit up a lot?

 

Same with mine. I always ave the little drip but no white, sweet smelling smoke or performance issues (except for the dang crush pipe )

 

it sounds like condensation to me i would go ahead and change your oil and filter and pvc valve on the valve cover.also check your coolant to see if its low. if when you change the oil and all of it is milky than its possible it has a blown head gasket but the 4.0 is bad about condensation as well as the rest of mopar engines.

 

After i bought my cherokee I kept getting some milkshake on my dipstick and was worried, so i did and oil change and the oil was totally fine coming out. Filled it back up and after a few drives i've yet so see any more milkshake on the stick. Moral of the story, drain the oil to find out for sure if its condensation or not.

 

Thanks guys. If i do have to do the head gasket, what else should i do while i'm in there?

 

Mine too. I had to dump some oil for my boss. There is no mistaking coolant in oil.

 

let the jeep sit over night. do not start it. slowly loosen the oil drain plug. watch what first comes out. water is heaver than oil if you slowly loosent the plug you should be able to see if it is water or oil. if it is water than more that likely you have a busted hg or a warped/cracked head. hope this helps