Water in tappet cover VT V6

[VL-VP-VT]

Hi guys,
this has probably been covered before, but a search of the forums did not give me the answers I needed.
I have a 98 VT V6. I noticed the other day that my car missfired a couple of time during light acceleration
it doesn't happen all the time only has happened a couple of times, (was thinking maybe a dirty injector)
but today I decided to do an oil change and noticed inside the right tappet cover was very milky. I cleaned as much out as possible, but eventually decided to remove the tappet cover, it was completely full of milky oil, But none on the rockers or valve springs. if I'd scraped it out probably would have been about 1/2 a cup. any way I drained the oil out of the sump ( it was NOT milky at all, and no signs of water on dipstick, and no oil seems to be in the radiator) I didn't remove the left hand tappet cover (as it was dark) replaced oil filter (no sign of water in old oil filter) and refilled with new engine oil.
I am thinking the valley cover gasket maybe allowing water into tappet cover, is this possible are there water galleries in valley cover that could allow water into tappet cover.
I am finding it hard to believe it's the head gasket, although that would explain a missfire. but running the engine with radiator cap off shows no signs of bubbles or exhaust fumes.
can any one tell me why the oil is only milky in the tappet cover and not entire engine.
I did noticed the tappet cover gaskets have been leaking a bit of oil, I am hoping the problem is only caused by a leaking tappet cover gasket, from last time I pressure cleaned the engine.
I guess a leaking valley cover gasket could also cause a missfire, so at worst hopefully this is all it is.
the car did overheat about 4 months ago, although the guage did not reach the red, it was a few bars off. but the temp warning light and chime came on, but went off a few seconds later. and guage returned to normal, radiator level was down about 1.5 - 2 litres.

[bricat]

It could be condensation that caused the oil to turn milky though I suspect it is something more. Does the car run enough to properly warm up and evaporate condensation, or are you doing a lot of short trips?

[VL-VP-VT]

yeah car seems to run fine, I was originally blaming the missfire to E10 unleaded as I very rarely use it unless I have to, it is usually only when I use E10 that the idle becomes rough, and missfires occasionally.
I have done 3 x 360 km trips in the last 3 weeks. and didn't miss a beat, although fuel consumption seems to be up slightly.
checked all the spark plugs today, they all look perfect, no signs of rust on them they all are a slight brownish color and every single one looks the same.
I have just finished cleaning the left hand tappet cover out, it was the same full of milky oil and alot of condensation, I scraped atleast 100 ml of milky oil out from inside the cover, and again absolutely no sign of milkiness on the rockers or on the head, so am hoping it is just condensation. I have taken some photo's of the the cover and head.

[VL-VP-VT]

I'm finding it a bit hard to blame the head gasket/s as it would be hard to believe that both head gaskets would go. and the fact that there is no sign of water in the oil anywhere else. we have had alot of rain in the last six months and hope it is just due to the high moisture content in the air. I am in an area that suffered flooding, and no the car didn't go under water.

[VL-VP-VT]

March 22, 2011 | Facebook

this is a link to my facebook photo's showing the rocker cover, rockers / head and sump oil

[bricat]

That certainly is a lot of sludge. Is this the first time you looked under there? How many K's. There is a hose at the back of engine drivers side that does come loose and needs tightening. Happened to my daughters car vx v6 and was getting some oil into the water causing a bit of sludge on radiator cap. From the look of the sludge on yours I would say it was driven by a little old lady who did not service it properly and now you have come along and cleaned out the pipes so to speak. I would change the plugs and leads if this has not been done. It is possible to buy a faulty plug or lead set too so if you have a mate with the same set up and his is running ok swap the parts over and see what happens. just a thought....

[VL-VP-VT]

I have owned this car for the last 6 years, it was well and truly over due for a service, it now has 215,000 ks on it.
not long changed the plugs on it, I am using bosch platinum plugs. there is no sludge in the radiator. and no sludge in the sump oil.
I have just changed the oil and filter, am going to put an engine sludge cleaner through it, and change the oil again in a week or two.
I am starting to think it is only condensation that has built up in the rocker covers and when oil flicks off the rockers it is reacting with the condensation.
the car hasn't missed a beat for the last 2 days, I am thinking the missfire is caused by using E10 unleaded (I only use it if desperate) and everytime I do the car runs like a pig.
I am going to keep an eye on the oil and water over the next couple of weeks to see if it happens again, if so I will take it to a mechanic and get them to check it out.
do you know if there is a breather for the oil on these engines, like a PCV valve that may be blocked and trapping moisture in the top of the engine ?
after driving it the last 2 days (only short distances) looks like a bit of condensation on inside of oil cap, and was wondering if there should be a breather thats lets this moisture escape.

[delcowizzid]

inlet manifold gaskets will make your rocker covers go all milky .if there was lots of slude in there i would probably avoid an engine flush you send all the sludge straight into the oil pickup in the sump

[VL-VP-VT]

I will see how it goes over the next week or two, without doing anything more to it.