Ca member non ca question maybe the engine guru's?

[ganma_ca]

Ok so please don't be too pissed off to those of you who are offended by basic engine questions. I am looking for some answers from the likes of the engine Guru's..... Ok so I think I had a blown headgasket, sorta, like no smoke from the exhaust but a milky white substance on the oil cap, which would be typical of oil/coolant mix. Car holds boost solid, but also notice slight "pinging" even after adding some supposed "octane booster" Like when I listen at the exhaust tip I can ever so often hear a ping or even a slight misfire possibly. I need to drain the oil and coolant and see if any are mixed? Or do a compression test? I'm just like wtf it makes no sense. The engine has a multi layer metal headgasket and I won't rule failure out, but dang it's not a composite one and a lot harder to destroy. So guys any ideas??? I had a few but they are kinda unfounded. I thought hey this car was always garaged. I live in Colorado and the nights see temps as low as 10* or even less and I'm wondering possibly if some shrinkage happened with all this metal and allowed some coolant into the oil, but then with summer being here and the metal being expanded head gasket leak/blown problem solved?????? Idk

Anyways all you awesome engine builders/tuners out there hit me with some ideas:) (esp you Dee)
Thanks guys

[mbmbmb23]

Pull the dipstick and see if it looks like chocolate milk.

[meminto]

What i would do, would be to leave the car sitting overnight / 24 hours on a flat surface..

Then pull the dipstick and check to see if the milky substance exists on the dipstick..

Then start troubleshooting from there... That way you don't spend heaps of effort and some dollars on something that might not be the root cause..

The most common time an MHG has faulted out is a result of incorrect surface prep, although harder to destroy, this is an achilles heel for the gasket..

Usually if its a bad head gasket leak you will see whiteish exhaust fumes belching out the back on acceleration..

[sjbsuperman1425]

if the "milky" substance is on the inside of the cap, it could just be moisture depending on what kind of climate you live in. I used to get that with my Pontiac Grand Am in the mornings and it would go away after a warmup or when it started getting warmer.

try the 24hr dipstick check, and if that is inconclusive, go for a drive or get it to NOT, then recheck the oil to see if this goes away with the oil being heated.

[ganma_ca]

Yeah nothing abnormal on the dipstick, and no smoke, but yes still milky residue under the oil cap after letting it sit. After driving however it disappears. So maybe I'm just worried about what could be a condensation build up on the inside of the cap?
Freaks me out! Well I'll keep an update to see if anything else happens.....Thanks for some ideas guys

[float_6969]

condensation on the oil cap. No biggie. Don't be worried about it.

[boost_boy]

Ok so please don't be too pissed off to those of you who are offended by basic engine questions. I am looking for some answers from the likes of the engine Guru's..... Ok so I think I had a blown headgasket, sorta, like no smoke from the exhaust but a milky white substance on the oil cap, which would be typical of oil/coolant mix. Car holds boost solid, but also notice slight "pinging" even after adding some supposed "octane booster" Like when I listen at the exhaust tip I can ever so often hear a ping or even a slight misfire possibly. I need to drain the oil and coolant and see if any are mixed? Or do a compression test? I'm just like wtf it makes no sense. The engine has a multi layer metal headgasket and I won't rule failure out, but dang it's not a composite one and a lot harder to destroy. So guys any ideas??? I had a few but they are kinda unfounded. I thought hey this car was always garaged. I live in Colorado and the nights see temps as low as 10* or even less and I'm wondering possibly if some shrinkage happened with all this metal and allowed some coolant into the oil, but then with summer being here and the metal being expanded head gasket leak/blown problem solved?????? Idk

Anyways all you awesome engine builders/tuners out there hit me with some ideas:) (esp you Dee)
Thanks guys

Sounds like you may have an issue, if you keep seeing the milky residue. The problem with the metal H/G is the fact that your pistons and your head is now the fuse and the will let go before your metal H/G does. First of all, what were you doing that cause the concer? Next, I would check the plugs as they can give you a sign of issues. Also, you have to be careful with metal gaskets because torquing them is a bit tricky and requires you torque them twice and leave it be for a little while and then re-torque. Check the compression and we'll take it from there. If one cylinder is considerably lower than the others, be prepared to face a melted piston or a piston with damaged ring lands.

[ganma_ca]

Well I was going to do an oil change an before I started anything I took the cap off and noticed a little milky whiteness on it. Strangely enough I decided today to look at another one of my friends cars who has a similar setup and sure enough same thing on his oil cap, but that really doesn't mean anything yet. (it just kinda gave me a little hope) If the plug tips are white it means there's a coolant leak right? (I can't remember it's been awhile) I am almost ready to just tear down the top end have the hea milled throw a new headgasket back on and some arp headstuds and call it good. Dee you may be right maybe the head needs to be retorqued. Not sure if it ever happened because me and a friend were looking at it and noticed where the the head/block/headgasket meet there is a lot of oil residue seeping out over time, so maybe all it needs is a retorque? I'll have to throw the compression tester on it tomorrow and see what my numbers are. Weirdly enough I took it for s short drive today and all the compression seems fine, no misfiring or anything. But after taking the cap off again I notice the milky stuff again. Maybe I will do the compression test and if that tests good, retorque the head do an oil change and see what happens. If that doesn't work, then off to the machine shop I guess

We'll see I'll leave another update after I get the compression tester on it..... Thanks guys