milky sludge on oil cap after head gasket change

[johnno010684]

as the title says i have replaced head gaskets all intake manifold gaskets, bolts when i changed the lifters cam etc. i installed a catch can with clear hoses and after a 100 or so k's i changed the oil and filter after cam change. now there is milky stuff in the clear catch can lines! a tiny bit of stuff on dipstick fair bit of froth on oil cap. doesnt seem to be using any oil or coolant, could this just be because there might be a little bit of water left in the oil system when i had the motor apart? i am gonna be major pissed off if its a head gasket because those pricks arent cheap and new head bolts oh yeah i also made sure i tightened head bolts in the right order and up to torque settings.

[Brett_jjj]

It could be just left over coolant thats been spilt down into the sump of the engine,it goes white and milky when it evaporates out of the oil once the engine's run up to operating temp.Id give it an oil change and a new oil filter and then see how it goes.

[johnno010684]

will do thanks, just curious to see if i missed anything. oh and theres condensation in the clear catch can lines aswell. how easy is it to stuff up head gaskets when putting new ones on? i cant remember what brand bolts i used, got them from holden torqued them down then drew a line went 90 degrees another 90 or whatever the specs were.

[johnno010684]

these bolts also had a bit of red stuff on the thread already, i was told they already had loctite on them

[Brett_jjj]

I always clean down the head and block gasket faces with thinners,then fit the new gasket and tension down the head to specs.Unless the head/block deck is warped,or there was dirt etc between the gasket faces,or if the head wasnt tensioned down to specs,which we know it definitely was,then theres no reason it should be leaking.You might have to whip the heads off again to check out whats happening.Did you check for warpage on the head faces and the block decks before reassembling the engine?
Also some engines can have their head gaskets accidently fitted backwards or to the wrong cylinder banks,which can cause all sorts of problems.Is it V6 or V8?

[johnno010684]

ls1 mate and gaskets were marked very well so got them right, cleaned down head and block faces with rag and thinners got them very clean! bro who works for holden said they dont even get them that clean when they replace gaskets! bit of a worry really. i did spill some coolant into the cylinders when i took the heads off but i wiped it out straight away so i didnt think too much if any would of got passed the rings. i thought there had to be a fair bit of water in the oil to make it milky? anyway of testing with the water cap off?

[Brett_jjj]

A lot of the time if the head gasket is leaking or completely blown,if you remove the radiator cap and start the engine,(engine cold),you will see bubbles in the coolant,or you will have coolant actually bubbling up out the top of the radiator..

[johnno010684]

does that still apply as the cap is on a reservoir on the ls1's?

[Brett_jjj]

Mate someone here who owns an LS1 could answer that better than me as I dont own one, so im not sure of how their cooling system is setup etc,but Id say it would still apply,the gasses that get pushed into the cooling system from the cylinders, has to be vented out of the cooling system somewhere,so Id say it would just come out through the expansion bottle.Just remove the expansion tank cap and check if it bubbles.Just make sure the engine is completely cold when this is done.You could also get the cooling system pressure tested.Obviously you would have to take it to a mechanics or radiator specialist etc to get this done,or maybe pay a mobile mechanic to come do it.

[johnno010684]

you dont have to use gasket sealant when putting new head gaskets on do you?

[johnno010684]

ill test that tonight before footy training, i have some more oil but ill just need to get a filter so an oil change might be on the cards, 4th change in 1500kms!

[cander24]

you dont have to use gasket sealant when putting new head gaskets on do you?

Not for stock type head gaskets.

[johnno010684]

do i have to change filter again as ive put 3 new ones in in less than 1500kms?

[cander24]

I know it seems overkill, but personally I would. You want to drain as much of the milky/contaminated oil as possible. The extra $10 for a filter is worth it in my opinion

[johnno010684]

Left cap off and not one bubble until it got to full temp, oil is draining as we speak

[showbags]

Does your catch can have a vapor separator in it? If not your most likely getting condensation back into the engine causing the milky residue.

[johnno010684]

nah mate she's pretty basic and doesnt work Oil Catch Can/Tank VL VR VS VT VX VY VZ VE HSV Calais (eBay item 380342216358 end time 23-Jun-11 16:11:51 AEST) : Cars, Bikes, Boats
anyone dont buy this one!!!!

[matqld]

yo bro i was once told when i do head gaskets on ls1 to run just water the first least 500-1000k's to let the head gaskets bead in prop as some new type coolant eats in before it seals properly, not sure how true it is BUT i have done it a few times now with never a gasket leak, OH and the head gaskets mls and head bolts torque to yeild, TEXAS SPEED IN STATES BRO dont feed these ripoffs here, there only 50$ for bolts and 50$ for gaskets and stuff all for shipping, am serious these motors were desighn n made in states, parts are dirt cheap OH and that price is for genuine gm jus like holden give you for $1000 LOL hahaha do it bro look at TEXAS SpEED website ;p:P:P:P;p

[johnno010684]

ive got water still in it now, didnt want to run coolant in it until water has gone through and picked up any small parts of carbon or anything that may have fallen into water galleys. i got a vrs kit from holden at trade price $218 and bolts were $56 a side trade price.

[showbags]

I was going to suggest stuffing your catch can full of steel wool to separate the vapor, but it might be a bit of a challenge trying to stuff it through those tiny holes.

[johnno010684]

I was going to suggest stuffing your catch can full of steel wool to separate the vapor, but it might be a bit of a challenge trying to stuff it through those tiny holes.

haha your right! i have sent them a message stating the catch can does not work and should be listed as a shiny tin canister!