milkshake or condensation
 

Had the misfortune of doing a great milkshake job on my new rebuild in may on its maiden voyage. Not positive but think it was leaking through the water jacket on the head that seals to the intake as it is pitted and I used no rtv. So I finally got the motor back together with plenty of RTV this time and took it out for its first outing on Lake Tahoe, which is a very cold lake. Motor ran great no issues. I kept checking the dipstick for any problems and it showed clear for about 10 minutes. I checked it again about 15 minutes in and it showed a little cloudy so I freaked out and got the boat back on the trailer. During the 20 minutes or so out we ran the boat mostly in the 4500-5k range and the oil temp never got above 160 and the water temp never got over 105. I had no thermostat in it, I do have a 160 installed now. My oil cooler does a have thermostat. I came home and pulled the motor back out and drained the oil. There is a few pics of the oil I drained and also what I just saw taking off the valve covers. So is it condensation from the motor or oil never getting hot enough or do I have another leak? The oil I drained looks perfect.https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...dea787f7b2.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...0ef8cfedb0.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...7c3cf3ac1f.jpg

IMO that's more than condensation for 15 minutes run time.

agreed....did the oil level rise at all or just turn milky??

I can't remember the history here but I know you had issues with this motor before right?? did everything get magnafluxed prior to assembly?? block and heads?? is it possible to have a cracked head or intake or something?? I would think that has to be a leak to turn that milky in such a short amount of time

Thanks for the responses. The history is the block did get two new sleeves for this rebuild. After it milkshaked I had the block pressure tested but did not have the heads done or magnafluxed. The block pressure tested fine. I have to take it completely apart to clean correctly at this point. The motor has all good internals might just need to start with a new block and aluminum heads. Sucks I am getting so good at installing and removing engines LOL. Had this one out in 30 minuteshttps://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...16610c0779.jpg

Another reason why Merc blue motors have pcv's and not just vents. ie: motors that have condensation issues. Works real well.

Use a good thread sealer on your headbolts too.

exactly , I had a mysterious oil leak that would puddle a small amount in front of the distributor on the intake after a 24 hr period, pulled the rear 4 intake bolts, sealed them and it never happened again....oil , water will push by the threads under pressure

Have a bowtie block so it should have all blind holes.

What gaskets are you using? I have had trouble with the FelPro High Performance gaskets in the past. Especially the intake gaskets. They are made of paper / cardboard. I like using a stock type intake gasket that has metal in it.

not always,some of them have holed drilled into the water jackets.

imo,that is not condenstion,that is water in the oil.

I agree with Mike Tkach ^^

But it looks awfully clear in the bucket and on his hand...............

I agree. My oil looked similar when previous engine block cracked in lifter valley.

Here is the milkshake and the one I just drained. The milkshake had about 5-10 more minutes of runtime https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...129858e344.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...b25df0c329.jpg

The second one looks better but what really concerned me(for what its worth) is the amount of milkshake on the heads and rockers....it looked really milky up top there...do you still have the second oil?? maybe just the different camera angle makes it look better??

Is this the first milkshake problem?? as in these 2 oil drains are the only ones you had with milky oil??

Also in the pic of the rockers...it looks foamy....in my experience it only gets foamy like that from a water leak...not condensation but idk could be wrong....I would suggest pressing up your water system as someone suggested earlier...it will tell you right away if theres a leak

What oil is this ?? the second one ( just drained ) looks like baby poo.....not good

Don't forget to check the cooler

If the head bolts go in to the water jackets, what sealer did you use?

It's been suggested to use " leak lock" in the blue jar, I got mine at the local HVAC supply.

​​​​​​You can search for leak lock here on the forum.

We have been camping for the 4th so I just tore the motor down and from what I can see there is no leakage from the head gasket, intake to head is also leak free. I really think that the block has a crack someplace from having the sleeves put in. I did not have this issue before. I can get a deal on Merlin IV blocks so I am probably just going to build a 540.
I did look and all of my head bolt holes are blind and all intake bolts do not look like any leakage.

The milkshake oil (first time) was Lucas 20w50 break in oil. Second oil is Brad Penn 20w50 semi-synthetic (what I normally run).

I plan on having my oil cooler pressure tested as well.

Thanks for responses.

When I put the motor back together I installed the cam in straight up instead of 2 degrees advanced and I see no signs of reversion. Both rebuilds had less than an hour of run time. The first time I drained between 8 and 9 gallons of oil and water out of the pan/block so I doubt reversion would push that much water into the engine. I had a crane 651 on order but didn't arrive before I put the motor together. Might try the Crane 651 when I rebuild it again.

This is what I drained the first time plus it blew who knows how much out of the breather/overflow tank into the bilge area as the motor was full of water/oil and still ran decent.https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...62a2b8d0d2.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...cf014f6bad.jpg

you don't get condensation in a day. you put it together with clean new oil and it turned milky in a half hour? water is getting in. i cut a board and drilled it for blocking the water ports on the heads. then block and heads can be pressure tested with no intake on there. bought a crossover and blocked one side off so one side can be pressure tested at a time.

That's a cracked block or head. Ask me how I know...
I ran a couple poker runs with about an extra gallon of water in the engines. Didn't hurt anything just made a mess. I pulled engine and block was cracked. I did have moisture in that engine for years, always assuming it was condensation. It finally went.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...30d25e737c.jpg

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...00600bdef4.jpg

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...eb32d49cbf.jpg

Going to pull the trigger today on some aluminum heads and a new block. Not my plan for mid summer but want to enjoy some summer on Tahoe this year. Planning on a Crane 651 cam unless someone has something better to suggest for a 540?

What aluminum heads are you looking at getting?

What if you just get a used runner to drop in there for the time being? An underpowered pig is lots faster and funner than a rowboat. And then time pressure is off for doing this 540 right. Plus, block should be fitted to the pistons, not bought standard and thrown together.

I am ordering new pistons as I don't have any 4.500 size. I am ordering the Merlin IV block with a 4.95 bore so the machinist can fit the new pistons. Not sure on heads yet, I have a set of BB2 xtra CNC with jesel shaft rockers I was saving for my jet boat engine project but they may have to go on this. Was looking at a set of the bare ProMaxx so I could just move all of my current head components too as they are still pretty new. Anyone ever use the Sniper heads from PBM?

I have been looking for a drop in or a short block but not too many choices close to me right now.

Who's your machinist? I know a top notch guy in Sparks that did a 389 tri-power Pontiac for me years ago but I can't recall his name right now. Good guy and did top notch work.

Just found it.............Augie Steinert..........Superior Machine

I went and spoke to him last month to check my block and heads and he said he doesn't work on boat motors or performance stuff and truthfully was a total *******. I have heard good things about his work though. I ended up going to another machine shop in Reno and the guy who owns this shop is older and he actually employed and trained Auggie. He also has a great attitude LOL. I also use another guy locally that worked at EPD heads during their ProStock heyday and he is really good on head work.

ok, rookies pressure tester pics are basically what i did but i used wood instead. you can use a water pump but a crossover is better. i made a T hose with a tire valve and a pressure gauge on it that fit the small hose fitting on the crossover. pressure testing with intake off lets you get in there with soap and look for bubbles. i held the wood under the intake and drilled the holes thru the intake to get angle right. stacked a few pennies under the low side of the washers under the bolts to get the bolts to clamp down good. man i wish i could post pics...