White frothy oil, what does it mean?

Many older vehicles do not have oil pressure gauges. My '76 and '86 LTDs didn't. Oil pump went out on the '76 and only warning was a light on now and then. Ranger has gauge but sending unit is bad at startup in cold weather. Warning light comes on until pressure registers.

Martin

A head gasket problem can result in both problems that you have described(frothy oil and running rough). I'd bring the Jeep to the shop and have them do a pressure check on the cooling system and check for hydrocarbons in the coolant. The check engine light may be coming on due to misfires caused by coolant in one or more cylinders.

What kind of readings are you getting from your temperature gauge? Are the temps running higher than usual? This can also be a sign of a leaking head gasket.

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I always thought that a motor oil/water emulsion looked more like yellow mustard than a white froth, but it does sound like water in the oil. Bad news all right...

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Engine temp was normal, though coolant level was a bit low. Chris

Just on the cap and top of the dipstick? The rest looks OK? That wasn't how the first post read. As said condensation is likely all it is. With our damp cold changable weather its likely there was some in the gas tank too making it run rough. Is there any oil in the rad or coolant resevoir? I'd get the oil changed and add some gasline antifreeze to the gas. No harm asking a reputable shop thier opinion and getting it looked at.

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The 'check engine' lite came on because of the roughness/missfire.
I think it would be ok to drive if the coolant and oil levels are ok and temp stays normal.

I say it's a plug wire or coil pack or possibly a vaccum leak (manifold gaskets)
that goes away after the engine warms up.


If it is a misfire code it needs attention fairly soon because it is a prelude to converter damage.

Yes that is correct the "Check Engine Soon" Light is way more then just a check for emissions. ALL engine controls go through the computer module, and if SOMETHING is a miss, the Light Will come on, either as a flicker, off then back on then back off then on again. OR in the worst case scenario just Blinks on and off. Their on many many checks that the engine light senors do check on.
On some vehicles it even comes on when the oil is low, or even NEEDS an oil change, so don't sell that "Check Engine Soon" light short.
Mine on a 1994 Buick was coming on and then off and then back on, and after sometime I found out it was a Bad Wire From the Computer Control Module to the Exhaust Gas Recirculating Value. (EGR) value. Which caused a Rough Idle, miss firring on low RPM etc.
And that is on a '94 vehicle and the newer the vehicle is, more and more things are checked by the "Engine Light" in this case it is a '03 pretty dern new, and I also agree with water in the oil which is not a good sign at all.
Could be a number if ways to get water in the oil, from a bad head gasket, to a cracked head, to a bad intake manifold gasket, or cracked or loose intake manifold.

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All the above sound like possible causes. Check the intake maniflod gasket,I worked on a Chevy Corsica once and every one tried to tell me it was a blown head gasket and after taking the engine apart down to the pistons(after pulling the heads) found out it was only the intake, :-( If you have oil in the oil pan you have a seriuos problem. By the way,the oil in the Chevy looked like and came out of the oil pan like butter scotch pudding, the car ran fine and didn't miss at all even when it started getting hot which I forund hard to believe. I have worked on cars since I was around fifteen and stopped in the late 80's because they started building them so you couldn't work on them without specialized tools and electronic tools I couldn't afford to buy.

I have been losing coolant, can smell it in the exhaust and suddenly the coolant loss accelerated significantly. Looked in the engine where you add oil and there is plenty of white goo in there.
This is a classic blown head gasket, correct. Not an intake manifold?
197,000 mile pontiac montana transport. Wuz a good van.
Can I sell it to a mechanic who is unafraid to drop an engine in it and if so for how much? It has little rust but has other this and thats correct for it's age. $400? Still runs but afraid to run it.
DW

Actually the check engine light will come on if a cylinder is misfiring, such as might happen if a sparkplug were to be fouled out or if the head gasket were blown.

drdook,
If the montanna transport has Dexcool as the antifreeze I would think the problem is a bad intake gasket.

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On some vehicles the check engine light acts differently for different situations. It might just come on and stay on to indicate an emissions problem and flash on and off for a more serious situation. Check your owner/s manual.

You say that you are just a few km's past due for an oil change. I would drain the oil and see what I had. You might also start the vehicle when cold and pop the radiator cap off and see if you can see any air bubbles coming to the top which could indicate a head gasket failure.

I would pull the plugs and see if one or two cylinders are fouled more then the others also. A compression check is easy to do and might give a clue.

There's not enough info in your post to get anything but guesses.

A little froth on the cap is normal, especially in an older vehicle due for an oil change.

My buddy loves Jeeps and gets 200k plus from his.

Drdook, I also suggest checking the intake manifold gasket. GM had a few years of the 3.4L v6 engine that had chronic problems with that. Check that before writing off the engine.

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