Oil issues

[Combat Womabt]

It started when i noticed my oil pressure dropping off after long periods of driving. The oil is milky, water?, and there is oil down one side of the engine (96 Bonneville)
so, what i was wondering, which is more likely. the head gasket. or the valve covers?

[Kwinnie Bogan]

This is either the Head Gasket, or th work of Dragons again.

[OneSadisticFucker]

Head Gasket, you better get it changed soon because the antifreeze will destroy the engine.

[MunkeyQ]

Thirded, head gasket.

Once you get an emulsion of water and oil in a white mayonnaise form, it means water is mixing with oil. Your head gasket it most likely shot to pieces. And as Fucker said, water doesn't do much good to your engine when it's sat in the cylinders overnight.

[Combat Womabt]

ha, knowing my luck, its both.
the engine has not had any trouble running as of yet, but i am already taking measures to get this fixed. i should have a head gasket soon... sadly, i still have to drive this car around, no matter its condition.

[phmeworp]

Hey, look on the bright side: it might not be a blown head gasket at all... it could be something as simple as a cracked block!

[/sarcasm]

Seriously, if it is going be a while before you can get this fixed, let me share a simple tip with you: First change the oil and filter. Then remove the radiator cap (or whatever equivalent will prevent the cooling system from pressurizing). That will greatly reduce, or even eliminate the amount of coolant being forced into your crankcase.

Yes, this will reduce the boiling point of the coolant, but if you are in the northern hemisphere at this time of year, that should not be as big an issue as pumping something that really is no longer oil through your engine.

[Rocko]

Hey, look on the bright side: it might not be a blown head gasket at all... it could be something as simple as a cracked block!

[/sarcasm]

Seriously, if it is going be a while before you can get this fixed, let me share a simple tip with you: First change the oil and filter. Then remove the radiator cap (or whatever equivalent will prevent the cooling system from pressurizing). That will greatly reduce, or even eliminate the amount of coolant being forced into your crankcase.

Yes, this will reduce the boiling point of the coolant, but if you are in the northern hemisphere at this time of year, that should not be as big an issue as pumping something that really is no longer oil through your engine.

That is a shitty, shitty way to do things, but if you keep an eye on the temperature gauge and don't let it reach boiling point, it could work.

[phmeworp]

^^^
ToTaLy agree with you... best way to fix a problem is to just FIX it.

But when you really can't just fix it... it is nice to know there are ways to work around a problem.

Sometime maybe I'll share with you the time I lost 2/3 of my clutch on a 1947 Plymouth (Special DeLuxe) whilst traveling through the backwoods of Arkansas some 30 or so years ago with my younger brother.

[Combat Womabt]

^^^
ToTaLy agree with you... best way to fix a problem is to just FIX it.

But when you really can't just fix it... it is nice to know there are ways to work around a problem.

Sometime maybe I'll share with you the time I lost 2/3 of my clutch on a 1947 Plymouth (Special DeLuxe) whilst traveling through the backwoods of Arkansas some 30 or so years ago with my younger brother.

Might be similar to how my dad killed the clutch of his jeep when he was off roading way back when.