Oil question 2003 360

Is the oil milky when cold ..if it is ..it may be the heat exchanger

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Sounds like Shell oil to me. There is another thread here asking the which oil question.

 

Tell us a little more to help ..it is always a challenge not seeing the car

How long have you had the car

When did this start ..

Did you add oil before this started or have an oil change done before this started

Did you check Antifreeze ..does it look normal

These a few questions that can help the folks on here help you

Do you know what brand of oil is in there ?

160 seems low to see any forming imho

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Change the oil and filter and use red line and go from there

 

If you choose to go that route ..have oil sent out to a place like Blackstone to see if there was any issues

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Using Blackstone is very good advice. They give a very useful breakdown of what is going on in your engine. I used them for my last car and will definitely use them for this one.

 

Yes....had my car for 6 yrs....done my oil myself everytime....foaming concerns me. Never seen that pic before...change to redline 5w40 and see if you might be overfilled from last time. I have never seen that kind of foam...

 

I've never seen my oil get up the oil tube quite that much, even if I rev it like nuts and drive it until the needle hits north pole! Usually when it hits 10 o'clock, I check the temps, and this helps it be in the right mark. As long as I drive more or less gently by the time it hits that temp notch, I can get a reading without it being too frothy.

Other discussions here in this section of the forum have mentioned that the right type of oil 'should' froth, as some don't. The reasoning is that it helps it spread out easier.

Don't forget, the oil is measured from a spot where oil has to be 'sucked' into the basin for measurement (which is why you see nothing with the engine cold), and the oil must be at a certain temperature due to it expanding a fair bit. If it expands too much, it's tougher to read, especially if you floor the pedal and make the engine quite agitated (based on my experience... as it constitutes to the oil getting frothier and harder to read... i.e. don't wait too long to take a reading).

Perhaps the oil you're using is just a frothier type compared to what's usual? Do you know what marque it might be?

 

I didn't think the engine oil used engine coolant to cool it. I thought that was only the trans oil? I thought the engine oil was air cooled through it's radiator.

 

You are absolutely right...there was another thread about gear oil and my mind was still on there ..but the concept of antifreeze getting in the oil can still applies ..just from the head gasket etc

I would check thru an oil analysis if any antifreeze is in there

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What would fail on a heat exchanger to cause foaming or milky oil?

 

As mentioned by redtaxi I was thinking gear oil not motor oil when I put that response in ....in the gearbox, the oil goes thru a heat exchanger that has tubes that carries antifreeze. As the antifreeze passes thru it cools the oil around it. If one of the tubes corrode then antifreeze is forced into the gear oil ..hence giving a milky shake look to oil

There is another thread on that issue someone had here recently

The motor oil does not have this type of heat exchanger ..so I was wrong when I mentioned that but the concept of Antifreeze getting into oil can still be there from blown head gaskets , cylinder liner etc ...so if your oil looks like a milkshake it could be that ...if when cold it look like normal oil it probably isn't. I would send the oil out regardless to see what the analysis says. Some of the other questions that myself and others asked may point to other areas..like overfilling, a brand know for foaming etc

Look back at my questions and if you can answer them..it will help all of us help you better

I apologise for my brain lapse - thinking about the gear box when you were talking about motor oil



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The foaming tells me the car was over filled with oil. The 360 takes about 9.5 liters..sometimes less, someimes more. I drain, change the filter and fill with 8.5 liters and top-up from there once warm.

 

Good advise.

 

I have this exact problem with my 360. The foaming oil gets so high up that it gets drawn back in to the air intakes and the car blows smoke. One garage says it has been overfilled, the garage that did the service says it hasn't. They put Shell 10w/60 in which is technically the wrong oil and I have asked them to change it back, but they still think air is being drawn in somewhere to make it foam and bubble this much. They did change the cam cover gaskets recently so that might be relevant.

Any other thoughts?

 

You might be over thinking this. Why not draw out a half quart of oil and see what happens. Draw oil out until you get the proper level. I overfilled once and had the same thing happen on restart after a 20 minute drive. It was proper wt Motul but same extreme foaming and blue smoke. Smoke cleared and drove it home. No problems since.

 

I use shell's 5w40 and it bubbles on the stick, it never reaches the top like in your picture. It was extremely bubbly on the stick when the oil level was maybe 1" above the max line. But as Ital suggested, drain out the oil and fill as needed for proper level. Or you can do an oil change.

 

A turkey baster can be used to draw/suck oil out the oil level/aerator cannister.

 

If you go drive the car, then stop and check the oil *immediately*, it's going to do this. You have to wait a minute or two. The exact same thing happened to me. I freaked out, called my mechanic and got schooled.

 

So, oil out and replaced with 5w40 to min level on dipstick and It is still foaming up when left to idle and bubbling over in to the air intakes! This is not sounding good as I was hoping it was simply overfilled, but it looks more serious than that. I can't find any other reports of things causing this degree of aeration. Any body else come across another cause?
Thanks.

 

That is because min level on dipstick when filling is still too much oil.
After an oil change with new oil, there is no level showing on the dipstick.
After 10mins of running it goes to mid between the two marks.


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