PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

I also had a big scare in the spring of 2021; A good friend and I were looking into the oil consumption issue and he found alarming amounts of oil in the coolant reservoir...

I was immediately thinking blown or failing head gasket, and freaked out; After having it looked at by two difference mechanics who I trust and talking to another friend who knows his shit, we determined that this is what likely happened...

My longtime regular mechanic got COVID, and had to quarantine; My truck was due for an oil change and I didn't have time to do it myself so I brought it to the dealer. What I think happened is the dealer tech topped off the coolant using the same funnel he used to fill the oil, with predictable results...



My mechanic recovered from COVID and I had him do a "heavy duty flush" of the coolant; This is my coolant now...



It's been months since the coolant flush/change, and it still looks fresh; As for the dirtiness of the reservoir, that's on the outside, and this is a 12-year old truck with almost 140K miles on it!

Another obvious sign that the head gasket was fine was that while there was oil in the coolant, there were no signs whatsoever of coolant in the oil!

 

As you can see it "steams" a bit when I first start the engine...



I'm pretty sure this is something that anything that's not a hybrid or a ULEV does on startup, and it certainly doesn't worry me on a 12-year truck with almost 140K miles!

 

Add a little until it’s between the dots. Looks ok to me. Every vehicle “consumes” a little bit of oil, perfectly normal.

 

When you have to check the gas and fill the oil, then it’s time to reevaluate.

 

Yeah, but for it to be that low? Or did I do a SNAFU but not idling the engine before checking the oil?

 

Never had to do that, but before I switched to a heavier weight I kept a quart in the truck whenever I took a long road trip just to be safe...

 

check it when cold is best accuracy. How many miles between the last time you added oil and where on the dipstick was the mark left at then?

 

Runs great!

 

No lights on...

 

Couple additional comments: I can’t see any smoke in those pictures. Whatever you’re seeing seems minor.

Is there a burnt oil smell from the engine? If you haven’t yet, open the hood and stick your face in there and sniff around. Do a comprehensive examination of the motor from above and below once it’s cooled off, looking for any kind of oil residue.

 

I'm gonna go with a few hundred...

 

Get that corrosion on the positive post taken care of.

 

No smell of burning oil whatsoever; I've been stuck behind enough shitboxes to know that smell all too well!

 

Can I just replace the post?

 

do the ping pong test to check for excessive blow by, that will tell you a quick and dirty compression check.

 

a small wire brush will take care of it, no need to replace it.

 

I'd definitely keep an eye on the above mentioned head gasket possibility. The head gasket can fail without oil leaking to the ground...it manifests itself by leaking into the combustion chamber, eventually producing smoke and engine failure. If that's what's happening, it's a ticking time bomb. Costly repair...

Just think of it as an opportunity to upgrade your motor...

 

My wife’s prior vehicle developed a small seep at the oil pan gasket. The burnt oil smell was very light and not noticeable unless I stuck my head way in or went underneath. Not at all saying that’s the problem, or that you have a leak or seep at all. Just that you really should go looking for one to rule it out. Including looking at the plugs like I said. And maybe you’re just looking at a high mileage engine that consumes a lot of oil without there being a serious issue.

 

Since I'm getting a new frame for free, I would not mind paying for a new engine at 250K-300K miles!