Steam/Water coming out of Breather

[jeremywatco]

Fun stuff.... finally got my new 302 running great. Pulled back in after a hard run and noticed water droplets coming out of the valve cover breather... i thought Uh OH! Checked oil, normal level, normal color. Any chance its just normal condensation from combustion? No white exhaust or anything. When I put the intake on I used RTV black around the water passageways and let it sit for 2 days before starting.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Probably. Sounds like you spent some time getting it running right before driving. That was probably loading up the crankcase with water and wasn't until you took it on a hard run that you finally got the oil warm enough to drive that water out. Remember that oil temp is not water temp. You may have got the water warm several times working on it, but to get the oil warmed up you generally have to really drive it.

Keep an eye on coolant. By now you probably worked out all the air in the cooling system. If you find an appetite for coolant, that would be worth looking into. If the coolant stays happy, oil looks good. Water is a sign of a properly running engine.

 

[jeremywatco]

Oh I unfortunately had it idling for hours in my shop troubleshooting

 

[Broncobowsher]

I take it those hours of idling were before you took it for a hard drive?
Now you know why you should not just start and engine and let it idle in the driveway. You should actually drive it. Too many people have classic cars and will pull the car out of the garage mid winter and let it idle in the driveway, to circulate the fluids they say. Then shove it back in the garage with a crankcase full of water vapor that cools off into water. Actually driving it, that is what is good. Very few people watch oil temp. That is what you want to get warmed up, not the water temp. Get that oil hot, drive the water out of it.
Back when I had my Kubota I tried my best to not do small tasks with it. When I ran it, I did my best to run it for a couple hours, and actually work it. It ran great. The people who would run it for 5 minutes to do a single little task, they were the ones that after a few years were fighting issues. I had more hours, longer harder hours. But I ran those hours fully warmed up.

 

[jeremywatco]

I take it those hours of idling were before you took it for a hard drive?
Now you know why you should not just start and engine and let it idle in the driveway. You should actually drive it. Too many people have classic cars and will pull the car out of the garage mid winter and let it idle in the driveway, to circulate the fluids they say. Then shove it back in the garage with a crankcase full of water vapor that cools off into water. Actually driving it, that is what is good. Very few people watch oil temp. That is what you want to get warmed up, not the water temp. Get that oil hot, drive the water out of it.
Back when I had my Kubota I tried my best to not do small tasks with it. When I ran it, I did my best to run it for a couple hours, and actually work it. It ran great. The people who would run it for 5 minutes to do a single little task, they were the ones that after a few years were fighting issues. I had more hours, longer harder hours. But I ran those hours fully warmed up.

I was battling off idle/vacuum/carb issues so I couldnt actually drive it anywhere.. and if i did drive it, it would be a quick drive maybe 1/2 mile down the street... so probably not enough to get the oil hot enough. I'll monitor.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Still going with you fixed the condensation in the water issue you didn't know you had by taking it for a drive. Which means you just need to drive it more.

 

[jeremywatco]

Well drove it a ton more…. And now have chocolate milk oil. Argh. I guess I’ll start with intake gasket as that’s what was replaced last. Hopefully not head gasket.

 

[SLOWnEASY]

Well at least you have a starting point.

 

[jeremywatco]

Yeah. Can’t see how that would be leaking. Did a nice bead of RTV black and had it sit for over a day. But who knows

 

[jeremywatco]

Answered my own question about how it happened.... the intake manifold gasket for a '73 302 while extremly similar is NOT the same as an '80's series 302. The cooling ports on the 1980's variety are larger and thus the ribbed mating surface of the gasket didnt make contact on one side of the cooling port....

lesson learned? dry fit gaskets and pay attention before install.

 

[SLOWnEASY]

Well at least you found it without having to pull the heads.

 

[jeremywatco]

Fingers crossed... needed to wait 24hours for RTV to dry.. will fire up this afternoon... going to take a few oil changes to flush out the coolant

 

[jeremywatco]

OK.. so original milky oil out.. fresh cheap oil and filter in.... ran it on a drive for about 30min. Drained oil and still pretty milky, i mean not as bad as before but still milky...Assuming I still have a leak then somewhere? I mean I get that there will be some residual somewhere after the first change but probably not enough to make it milky again right? Or put fresh oil in it and run it again?

*UPDATE* Left the oil drain plug out... after everything drained.. put coolant pressure tester on radiator.. pumped up.. sure enough... drip drip drip of coolant out the oil pan... ARGH.

Going to pickup one of those head gasket testers that checks for CO2 in the cooling system, i'd be super skeptical that the intake is leaking again... i went super slow and took extra care this time around..... this crate motor has been wonderful

*Final Update* Head Gasket checker from Autozone showing combustion in the cooling system.... as a matter of fact when the thermostat opens it basically blew the tester out of the radiator there was so much pressure.

 

[DirtDonk]

Good on you for doing the full testing regimen. That pretty much tells the tale. Unfortunately…

 

[jeremywatco]

Yeah.. issue is now where to go from here.... hoping it just a head gasket but who knows.... going to reach out to ATK tomorrow regarding warranty and see if they will cover whatever it is.

 

[DirtDonk]

They may want to disassemble it themselves for verification.
What kind of mischief can the intake manifold gaskets cause along these lines?

 

[jeremywatco]

let’s hope not. You thinking it’s still intake manifold gasket? I’m thinking since it’s building pressure in the cooling system and there is combustion gasses it’s the head.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Put a radiator pressure tester on it and leave it pressurized overnight. Check the oil level before/after. If the oil goes up, there will be water in the bottom of the pan.

 

[EPB72]

let’s hope not. You thinking it’s still intake manifold gasket? I’m thinking since it’s building pressure in the cooling system and there is combustion gasses it’s the head.

do you get a cloud of smoke from the tail pipe suspect would be right after start up cold especially if you presuure tested for a while before hand .. or a coolant smell from exhaust , {pretty destinct smell|..you would also probably have a noticable misfire while coolant is being burnt if in combuston chamber,........You could also pull the spark plugs and see if coolant is in any of the cylinders during pressure test,

 

[SLOWnEASY]

I don't know, something makes me think in the past I put a radiator tester on a car with a known good cooling system and started the engine and and the pressure skyrocketed when the thermostat opened.
How does the Autozone tester work? If it is a chemical detection that changes colors if exhaust is present? If so then you have a blown head gasket. It sucks, but I think if it was me I'd be pulling the heads and I hate doing heavy line work.