foam in dipstick tube

Title says it all. Anyone seen this and is it indicative of a major engine prob - like coolant in oil?

 

Do you have a PCV hooked up? If you do not, and your water level is not going down condensation can cause that to happen. Also make sure your oil level is not going up. I see "foam" like this in aircraft engines with some regularity in damp climates. Remember that your engine will condense moisture as it heats and cools between run cycles if the water can not get out it will collect at the highest point. Mike

 

might be a blown head gasket.
i would check every cylinder and make sure there isnt ugliness on the plugs. if so, might indicate which head has a blown gasket or crack. if not, it might be something really wrong. or it might just be moisture as mike says.
lots of moisture in virginia..i lived there twice. it did ugly things to my jeep.
danielson, can you sand-a-floor? can you sand-a-fender? a roll bar? a hood? lol

 

Not lately. We have been fairly dry for this time of the year.

 

change your oil... and watch to see how much water drains out first. probably a head gasket(like already mentioned) but i had the problem on another jeep caused by condensation. water in the oil sucks..

Tommy

 

what are your driving habits?? Do you do alot of short trips with the engine not getting fully warmed for a half hour or more?? What temperature does it run? I'm betting it's condensation.

JB

 

looks like alot of contamination to be condensation. I go along with the recommendation of changing oil to see what you find.

 

Jeep sees a lot of short trips. And...
I don't know if I'm more embarrassed for not noticing it before, or more mad at whoever did it, but the pcv valve was disconnected where it Tees from the manifold to the bottom of the fuel pump. So everytime I've sprayed my engine down and taken the jeep through some water I've likely gotten moisture in through the pcv valve. Add that to the condensation and I think I've got the problem. I'm gonna do a compression check and keep an eye on the coolant level afterwards to see if head gasket wants out.

 

change the oil, fix the pcv and take an hours drive and you will have it cleaned out. If it has a 160 thermostat, replace it with a 180 or 190.

JB

 

my sentiments exactly. i think you found your problem..=)
and i also 2nd the 180deg thermostadt. i was reading in a ford factory manual once and it showed a graph. actually, the warmer you engine runs, the more maliable (softer/moldable) the metal becomes and the wear drops dramatically. the best temp/wear figures was about 185 deg or so IIRC. thats all i run. itll burn off all the condensation in your oil.
lets all hope its condensation. =)

 

I ditched the oil bath in favor of a k&n on the carb, so I dont really have a place to route the vent line currently. Maybe when I get a snorkle...