Water in oil

[joe1975]

Hey guys long time since I visited. I need some ideas. I have a engine which has been setting around the shop and I started it occasionally with a hose stuck in it. Time before last I cranked it it kicked back and broke the nose on the starter. The timing had moved. So I start it again and I noticed water in the oil. I pulled the heads and see no evidence of a blown gasket. Could it have made enough condensation by just running it for short intervals? What else could I look for causing the milky oil? Thanks in advance for any replys

 

[LLC5]

Hey guys long time since I visited. I need some ideas. I have a engine which has been setting around the shop and I started it occasionally with a hose stuck in it. Time before last I cranked it it kicked back and broke the nose on the starter. The timing had moved. So I start it again and I noticed water in the oil. I pulled the heads and see no evidence of a blown gasket. Could it have made enough condensation by just running it for short intervals? What else could I look for causing the milky oil? Thanks in advance for any replys

It could be condensation just from sitting and not running it, but if there is a lot of water in the engine then you need to be looking for a crack in the heads or the block if you are sure that the head gaskets were good.

 

[joe1975]

Heads are off and, I see no evidence of leakage. One valve has a little rusty appearance.

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

Could it have made enough condensation by just running it for short intervals

Yes.

That's one reason engines in storage should not be started and run.

 

[Scottsredvette]

For what it's worth,,,, about 45 years ago, I raced SCCA novice class for a summer season (H production, 69 MG Midget, 1275 cc) and the mechanic that helped prep my car and motor told me that a car wasn't completely warmed up until both the coolant and oil were up to temp. Midgets didn't have an oil temp gauge so he told me to watch the time it took for the coolant to reach operating temp then double that time for the oil to reach the same temp. He was a firm believer in getting everything warmed up to burn off all condensation as moisture and short trips were a big problem in those motors. When tuning or syncing the carbs, he'd run my motor for at least 20 minutes and this was in the summer.
So, to make a long story longer, personally, I'd follow Vetteheads advice and not start it while in storage. My car goes on the battery tender the middle of November and doesn't start back up till the end of March.

 

[joe1975]

The gasket, pistons,and plugs show no evidence of water.

 

[Wayback]

Ya got water running thru the intake manifold,could of got some seepage there past the gaskets.