Water drops making you weary?
Water drops that collect in low spots in the engine’s crankcase ventilation system can freeze when the vehicle is turned off. The presence of water in your oil and on your dipstick does not automatically mean “blown head gasket.” The next time you start your vehicle, the ventilation system can’t work and air pressure that normally builds up inside the crankcase cannot be released.
The result is oil forced out past engine seals and gaskets. Enough oil can be forced out that engine damage can occur in less than 100 kilometres of highway driving due to a shortage of oil. Replacing the seals and gaskets may repair any current oil leak, but it will not cure your problem.
There are ways to prevent engine damage. One way is to change your engine oil more frequently during cold weather. Changing oil every 5,000 km may seem excessive, but it also removes any water drops.
MVS Forums user TAFinley has some advice
Early this Spring, I noticed that the temperature gauge on the car was not rising more than a few millimeters above the lower red line. Because I was doing a good bit of traveling, I didn’t have the time to do anything about it, so I drove about 1500 miles in this condition. The entire time, the check engine light did not come on and when I put my OBD-II code reader on it, all codes were 0000.
So, there are two possibilities: a temp sensor is defective or the car really is running cold. Thinking about it, I decided that if there was a defective temp sensor, there would have been codes from the OBD-II, so I concluded that the engine really was running cold and I simply replaced the thermostat.
I took the car for a short drive, and the temperature gauge rose halfway up as it normally does. Problem solved.
Then, I checked the oil. Horrors… I had water droplets and rust on the dipstick from about halfway up all the way to the top. Also, there was a bit of that “chocolate mousse” emulsion on the bottom of the dipstick. Conventional wisdom screams, “blown head gasket!” But usually, with a blown head gasket, the car will run hot rather than cold.
Also, the coolant level had not dropped and the water droplets were clear. Could it be that condensation had built up in the oil during the “cold running” period? I immediately changed the oil (it was black and nasty looking even though it only had 2500 miles on it), and I have checked it numerous times since. There has since been no sign of water droplets and the coolant level hasn’t dropped.
As an added precaution, I had my mechanic “sniff” the coolant reservoir for hydrocarbons when I took it in for its annual inspection; none were detected. Where I live, Pennsylvania, OBD-II equipped vehicles pass the emissions inspection if no codes are showing, so they don’t put any probe into the tailpipe.
Water Drops in Oil? Not Always Bad
Last Updated on August 19, 2020
