Slightly Milky Oil on tip of dipstick??? HELP!

[jack mccarthy]

Wow. Unbelievable prices to replace a $70 head gasket. I'm glad I did one once before; I didn't think it would take more than a whole day for the Tundra.

[Puffnstuff]

First off get the code scanned and fine out for sure what the nature of the problem is. Can you smell coolant in the exhaust coming from the truck? Have you had your engine oil analysed to see if coolant is mixed in with it? Don't start throwing money at it unless you are positive about what the problem is.

[J-man]

Does your tundra have an external tranny cooler? Or does it have the tranny lines going to the radiator? If its going to the radiator, that means you have a tranny cooler within the radiator (just like 4runners/tacomas) and sounds like the stereotypical milkshake tranny problem where the line coming into/out of the radiator has broken thus allowing oil to mix in the coolant and coolant to mix into the tranny. If thats the case, then if you caught it early, you may be able to salvage the tranny by flushing several times. The motor...well do a leak down/compression test first, check the plugs.
If your truck does have an external tranny cooler (in front of the radiator/condensor), then most likely its ur head gasket & thus needs to be replaced as its blown, or depending on motor condition...swap it out.

[dirtrider735]

Hey everyone, thank you for all the help today. I brought it to a mechanic and he ran some tests. He told me nothing was wrong and that condensation had caused cylindar 3 to misfire (which caused the check engine light to come on). The condensation on the dip stick was causing the white milky substance and apparantly there was nothing mixed into the radiator fluid. I'm not sure what I saw in the radiator fluid now, but i do remember it looking slightly brownish when i opened the cap and ran the engine on its own. I am now however concerned about the transmission and wondering if installed the the new radiator correctly that I put in on my own last summer. The mechanic says that if the check engine light comes back on again, that i need a whole new set of spark plugs.

I've never been to a mechanic where I left with a handshake and not an empty wallet. I paid them nothing for them to look this over for me. So I don't know why he would lie about nothing being wrong when he easily could have gotten atleast a couple hundred bucks from me.

[dirtrider735]

Hey everyone, thank you for all the help today. I brought it to a mechanic and he ran some tests. He told me nothing was wrong and that condensation had caused cylindar 3 to misfire (which caused the check engine light to come on). The condensation on the dip stick was causing the white milky substance and apparantly there was nothing mixed into the radiator fluid. I'm not sure what I saw in the radiator fluid now, but i do remember it looking slightly brownish when i opened the cap and ran the engine on its own. I am now however concerned about the transmission and wondering if installed the the new radiator correctly that I put in on my own last summer. The mechanic says that if the check engine light comes back on again, that i need a whole new set of spark plugs.

I've never been to a mechanic where I left with a handshake and not an empty wallet. I paid them nothing for them to look this over for me. So I don't know why he would lie about nothing being wrong when he easily could have gotten atleast a couple hundred bucks from me.

[INDYMAC]

I'm not sure you are out of the woods yet. Drain and fill your engine oil, but take a sample and send it into a lab for oil analysis. Polaris, Blackstone, Wix, Dyson are just a few. Changing your spark plugs now is a good idea too. I would also drain and fill the radiator coolant a few times, paying attention to what it looks like in the container. Are you using Toyota Red?

[dirtrider735]

My car started and worked perfectly this morning (its also significantly warmer out) and I drove it aroud an extra couple of miles. Yes, I am using Toyota RED coolant. All of it is new as of this past summer, including the radiator. The liquid in the cap looked mostly like the original clear dark red color that I originally put in. I will say though, the radiator fluid under the cap did still look ever so slightly tainted with a touch of MAYBE brown oil when hit with a bit of light. If I look straight on into the radiator cap, the fluid looks fine, but if you sort of bend the angle you are looking at the oil in the cap, it looks just a hair off... Who knows, maybe I am imagining things. The reservoir is legit though.

Another poster did raise a concern that maybe my transmission fluid is leaking into the radiator, but the thing is brand new. I am due for a transmission oil change and I was planning on doing that next month (well my mechanic will). How can I tell if there is transmission fluid in the radiator? The Transmission fluid is not like a strawberry milkshake, it is however browner than the original red color, which indicates its time for a change.

Finally, Is it hard to change spark plugs on my own? Mechanic said it was about $350 to do that.

Tom

[smokincobra]

Just a side note. It is good to let a motor fully warm up. Condensation in the oil is not good for the motor. From what I understand it causes acid.

[doubleds65]

My car started and worked perfectly this morning (its also significantly warmer out) and I drove it aroud an extra couple of miles. Yes, I am using Toyota RED coolant. All of it is new as of this past summer, including the radiator. The liquid in the cap looked mostly like the original clear dark red color that I originally put in. I will say though, the radiator fluid under the cap did still look ever so slightly tainted with a touch of MAYBE brown oil when hit with a bit of light. If I look straight on into the radiator cap, the fluid looks fine, but if you sort of bend the angle you are looking at the oil in the cap, it looks just a hair off... Who knows, maybe I am imagining things. The reservoir is legit though.

Another poster did raise a concern that maybe my transmission fluid is leaking into the radiator, but the thing is brand new. I am due for a transmission oil change and I was planning on doing that next month (well my mechanic will). How can I tell if there is transmission fluid in the radiator? The Transmission fluid is not like a strawberry milkshake, it is however browner than the original red color, which indicates its time for a change.

Finally, Is it hard to change spark plugs on my own? Mechanic said it was about $350 to do that.

Tom

Spark plugs are very easy to change, if u can change the radiator yourself doing the sparkplugs r a walk in the park. Plugs come gapped already, just be easy when u pull the coil packs out. Takes about 1-1&1/2 hrs. N take out 1 at a time. I definitely would not pay $350 for it especially when plugs cost only $50-60. Also get a sparkplug socket tell em when u buy the plugs u nd one they get u it

Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using AutoGuide.Com Free App

[INDYMAC]

You can send a coolant sample in for analysis, or an ATF sample, or both along with your engine oil sample.

Here is a DIY for spark plugs. A few things to remember...tape the socket to your extension so it comes out when you install the new plug, NGK's don't need anti-seize, and keep debries from getting/falling into the cylinder. This is an easy engine to learn how to do this maintenance, just takes some time. Pick a nice day so you can enjoy it.

Spark Plug Replacement Tutorial

[kerryman71]

Well, that's certainly good to hear. I remember finding the sludge under the oil fill cap once and immediately thinking the worst. Luckily it was just the fact that for a period of time I wasn't putting many miles on the truck. Of course you had other indicators that weren't pointing in a good direction to go along with it. I've since switched to synthetic oil (not for that reason) and haven't had the problem since, even if I don't drive much for a while.

As for changing the plugs, I always say it's easier than changing the engine oil. Buy eight OEM plugs, Denso. They're about a couple bucks each. There's plenty of info on this site about changing them.

As was mentioned, an oil/fluid analysis would be a good idea. I've always used Blackstone Labs and have had good luck with them. They'll be able to tell you whether or not there are things that don't belong in the oil/fluid, amongst other things. You can find all the information you'd need from their website.

John

[dirtrider735]

Thank you for all the tips and help everyone. Much appreciated.

[tempetom]

I guess a head gasket can show itself in different ways. When I blew a head gasket on my Blazer some years back, I had white smoke out the exhaust. That was pre Cat though.

I go to a guy in Mesa who always fixes my problems and charges $45 an hour labor. At least that was the price a year ago. The place specializes in Hondas, but will and can fix anything. It's called:

Honn-Auto Repair
431 S. Stapley Dr Suite 27
Mesa
The guy I talk to is Luis
(480) 649-7009

The shop is half a block south of Broadway and SE of Stapley in a strip of shops.

[doubleds65]

I miss AZ

Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using AutoGuide.Com Free App

[number6]

check compression while the plugs are out