Blown headgasket??
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2023
Posts: 69
Likes: 7
From: Tx
Blown headgasket?? Alright to make this a long story short , brand new cammed motor milled heads, brand new headgasket torqued in the correct sequence and pound ft.
has run twice and once ran for 10 minutes on brand new castrol oil, oil out the container is actually pretty dark unlike some other brands.
do a oil change to put in some break in oil and the oil that comes out is pretty murky but it stays murky since water and oil dont mix it would come out seperate but same color throughout , coolant i run is orange/pink
i cut the filter open and small amounts of glitter which brand new motor okay not a big deal but the color of the oil is throwing me off
i taste the oil and its like regular oil , so i get a seperate cup and mix the castrol and some orange coolant, i mix them up for a while and it is a dark dark orange taste super sweet and when your pour it out it comes out oil then water.
im running e85/93 and this oil smells like straight e85 and has a green hint of color to it so im curious if its fuel thats mixed with the oil and not coolant? also this is my first time starting a new motor so maybe this is norming for a fresh engine
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zLb...ew?usp=sharing - 2nd cup with oil and coolant mixed
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VIp...ew?usp=sharing - oil from engine
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZaD...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11AQ...ew?usp=sharing
PS: after researching through ls1forums i found its metal dust and is normal for a fresh rebuilt, correct me if im mistaken
has run twice and once ran for 10 minutes on brand new castrol oil, oil out the container is actually pretty dark unlike some other brands.
do a oil change to put in some break in oil and the oil that comes out is pretty murky but it stays murky since water and oil dont mix it would come out seperate but same color throughout , coolant i run is orange/pink
i cut the filter open and small amounts of glitter which brand new motor okay not a big deal but the color of the oil is throwing me off
i taste the oil and its like regular oil , so i get a seperate cup and mix the castrol and some orange coolant, i mix them up for a while and it is a dark dark orange taste super sweet and when your pour it out it comes out oil then water.
im running e85/93 and this oil smells like straight e85 and has a green hint of color to it so im curious if its fuel thats mixed with the oil and not coolant? also this is my first time starting a new motor so maybe this is norming for a fresh engine
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zLb...ew?usp=sharing - 2nd cup with oil and coolant mixed
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VIp...ew?usp=sharing - oil from engine
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZaD...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11AQ...ew?usp=sharing
PS: after researching through ls1forums i found its metal dust and is normal for a fresh rebuilt, correct me if im mistaken
Last edited by BrackenG8; Dec 1, 2024 at 07:52 PM.
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jan 2023
Posts: 340
Likes: 47
From: Corpus Christi, TX
Are you losing coolant? Do you have a way to pressure test your coolant system? It does look a bit murky in the video but not cloudy/milky like I have seen in the past but it is hard to tell from digital images. It would be very hard for fuel to end up in the crankcase as the fuel system is sort of entirely separate all up until the the point of injection in the intake which shouldn't give it a direct path to be able to accumulate in the oil unless there is a flaw I don't know about besides blow by.
Last edited by Guy with a Chevy; Dec 2, 2024 at 08:31 PM.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2023
Posts: 69
Likes: 7
From: Tx
Are you losing coolant? Do you have a way to pressure test your coolant system? It does look a bit murky in the video but not cloudy/milky like I have seen in the past but it is hard to tell from digital images. It would be very hard for fuel to end up in the crankcase as the fuel system is sort of entirely separate all up until the the point of injection in the intake which shouldn't give it a direct path to be able to accumulate in the oil unless there is a flaw I don't know about.
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jan 2023
Posts: 340
Likes: 47
From: Corpus Christi, TX
i did try where you put a glove ziptie it on your rad cap and turn the motor over and if it fills up w air there is a blown headgasket, i looked at a identical post to mine and the oil looked the same very dark and also i remember using a engine lube that was black and the guy in the video mentioned your oil would be dark for a while, no coolant is lost no
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2023
Posts: 69
Likes: 7
From: Tx
If your not losing coolant or blowing smoke i wouldn't panic, that is just me. Didn't look like the oil had much use. Pay attention to the oil just in case but also put some more miles on it and see if it darkens or turns into a more definite milky/cloudy concoction. My oriellys 10-40 always has this weird light cloudiness but never a clouded non transparent one.
and seeing what color that assembly lube was
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16Rq...ew?usp=sharing
its 100% the lube, other lubes, and just bearing/piston ring material/ engine dust causing the murky color
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jan 2023
Posts: 340
Likes: 47
From: Corpus Christi, TX
What I find weird is that on the inside of the gray Valvoline containers if cut open you will find a light layer of black "dust" that has settled in the container like thanks for the new oil lol
Trending Topics
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2023
Posts: 69
Likes: 7
From: Tx
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
Topdon ONE vs. Artidiag 800 BT2: Which is the Diagnostic Tablet For You?
Pouria Savadkouei
Gas Monkey Built a 6-Wheel Ferrari Testarossa With a Corvette LT4 Engine
Verdad Gallardo
7 Most Reliable High-Performance Engines GM Has Ever Built
Verdad Gallardo
Amazing '71 Camaro Restomod Is Modern Muscle Car Under the Skin
Verdad Gallardo
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
If you were burning coolant you would also smell it and see white smoke in the exhaust. The first oil change is gonna look a bit scary as everything that was used to assemble the engine is gonna beak down and end up in the oil. If you're really concerned I would take a sample from the next oil change and send it in for analysis. If your oil is smelling like fuel pull your injectors off and send them in for flow test and cleaning. Is this engine tuned for the fuel your using??
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,660
Likes: 532
Back in the day when I was a line tech at a chev dealership.
If we were looking for a coolant leak into a cylinder we would do the following.
We would warm up the engine and the carefully remove the radiator cap and install the the radiator pressure tester while the engine is still warm. Pump it up to 15 PSI? and then let it sit overnight. In the morning we would pull the plugs looking for coolant.
Places like Oreilly's "loans" the pressure tester.
If we were looking for a coolant leak into a cylinder we would do the following.
We would warm up the engine and the carefully remove the radiator cap and install the the radiator pressure tester while the engine is still warm. Pump it up to 15 PSI? and then let it sit overnight. In the morning we would pull the plugs looking for coolant.
Places like Oreilly's "loans" the pressure tester.
Couple of things when you put new head gaskets on. First before you pull them off go around and see if your tq rating held and that you do not find a few moved. Are using factory bolts they need to be new they are a one time use? Are you using ARP studs if so make sure you use their assembly lube it gives a more consistent read of tq. Also after you torque heads let them sit for a day and retorque. I have a 70 ft pound head bolt tq with ARP lube. I set wrench a few pounds (say 67) under and go around and see if I can move them. The reason I do that is by the time I hear the buzzer I have gone past the 70 foot pounds. You might find a few have some more tq to go. They also sell the block repair tabs just in case it is not the head but a seeping block. Check the head first.