Water in oil/engine
 

Is there a way to determine if evidence of water in the oil, on the dip stick is from a cracked head or bad head gasket???
Truck arrived in the shop today. Photos will be included below

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

One of the first clues is "Brylcreem" or mayo in the oil filler cap .

John in very windy Suffolk County England .

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

Remove the head and inspect.

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

If water is in the oil, there's a high chance that oil is also in the water. Check your radiator.
To be sure you can just drain the oil, check it and then use it again if it is relatively new or just use new oil.
Have you used the car for short trips lately?

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

I find condensation to be brutal in mine then I make several short trips. Haven't seen water "in the oil" per se but the filler tube gets pretty slimed up real quick.

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

Living in Oregon and where my T is stored, I get the same thing. Short drives never gets the engine hot enough to burn off the condensation. Worried me to no end till I pressure checked the block and found no internal cracks so now just live with it.

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

A short update. The owner of the truck came by and said he found his radiator empty. He put in a gallon of water, and found a short time later the oil pan was full of water and it was running out of the clutch housing. It will be brought into my shop monday or tuesday as soon as it can be towed. I told him to immediately drain the oil pan.

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

I would be concerned about a cracked block or maybe head with that amount of water.

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

Fabbed up some plates to pressurize 24 Stud V8's,its not hard if your handy and have a drill press.Pressurize to 20 lbs or so,spray with soapy water to find cracks.Imagine the issue with that engine is big...irontite crack pins and tap is worth the investment,pinning isnt difficult,just time consuming.

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

I believe a crack relieves stress,properly repaired the block is better for it,within reason.

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

Ah ha, John I never knew where Brylcreem came from. Remember the add, I little dad will do ya, and they had a couple of gorgeous blondes just drooling over the guys hair.:)

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

I remember the adds but they were back in the days when I had hair!!! BUt back tot he original question. IMO, there are 3 likely places that water could be coming from.
Cracked head
blown head gasket
cracked block.
Has the engine over heated at any stage? If so, I'm leaning towards a crack from # 2 or 3 exhaust valve seat across to the bore and heading south down it.
What do the spark plugs tell you? Photos might help us get a better handle on this.

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

I just experienced this problem. I removed the cylinder head and dropped the pan. There is a lot of contaminated oil trapped in the lower engine, dipper tray and in the corners of the block. I wiped this all out as best I could and cleaned the pan. Just in case, I got another cylinder head, had it milled true and checked the torque many times during the start up process. The literature states to check torque values cold. So, over several days I drove the car and the next morning I checked the torque values at 55 ft. lbs. until there were no further changes. So far so good.



I think it is good practice when you are going to leave the car for an extended period of time, drain the water just in case there is some slight seepage. Ed

Ed

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

Water in oil-----antifreeze in oil
Antifreeze in oil scares me------- in a modern I keep adding antifreeze telling myself you need to look into this, well on my Monday trip for work it died. Antifreeze in oil will wipeout the bearings and crankshaft, camshaft---------very $$$$$$$$

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

Am curious, would you not have the same issue when ignoring water in the oil?

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

Antiifreeze damages bearings as mentioned. Water does not ( over the short term).

John

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

Neither water or ethylene glycol are lubricants so keep that in mind when finding the dip stick reads way over full when it wasn't that way last time it was checked. I always treated a model A like a tractor. Check the fluid levels before operating it and catch little problems before they turn into big ones.

Water or water coolant mix is a lot heavier then the oil so it will separate quickly and go to the bottom of the pan. Water will mix with ethylene glycol but it won't mix with oil.

The OPs vehicle in question may have been run a bit too low on coolant for a bit too long. Cast iron likes to crack if it gets too hot. It's killed many an old Ford block for sure. Freezing is still the most common killer though.

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

This problem is easily solved which a thermostat. Your engine runs better as well when it’s 160 to 180 degrees.

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

The truck arrived in my shop this afternoon. I disassembled the truck, and tore down the top end of the engine.
1. There was evident moisture in the #3 cylinder intake. Also moisture in the #3 cylinder on the walls.
2. The gasket seemed to be sealed along the drivers side of the block, but not so much on the passenger side.
3. The three head bolts that surround the distributor placement hole were not torque tight. The other head bolts took some force to loosen.
4. The water seem to have gone down the distributor shaft hole, indicating the gasket was NOt sealed there.
5. I see no indication of cracks anywhere. Not the head nor the cylinders. Using a flat steel surface I could not get a feeler gauge anywhere under the head. It appears flat.

I need opinions on using the head gaskets with that red line sealer. I have seen problems with them before. Should I use copper instead?? It is a 5.1 compression Snyders Head, on the engine about 2 years. Low mileage driven by owner. NEVER checks his engine prior to driving, hence the water in the oil. There was still 2 gallons of coolant when I drained the block left in the engine.

Re: Water in oil/engine
 

Sounds like a case of not checking torque as often as should have been after a new head installation. If the block is flat too then I would clean it up and put on a new standard copper gasket and torque through several heat cycles and then a few times after that as it is driven.