I bought my '83 eagle relatively cheap and I have been holding my breath everytime I open the hood as a result. It has been running pretty good so far but has had some trouble starting the last couple mornings. Today however, I checked the oil and found the long-dreaded sludge on the dipstick. So far there is no oil in the coolant and the car is running ok. Could this be anything but a cracked head? I am going to change the oil today to see what I am really dealing with here. Any suggestions would be much appreciated as I have been using this car as a daily commuter and a replacement engine is out of the question.
What does that mean sludge. Is it milky. Sounds like poor pms to me
It kind of looks like a light gray mud.
Just keep your eye on the oil.
It will go black quickly and that is fine.
if it is going grey again, I would say it is saturated with metal particles and that is no good.
Picture
What he said let it sit and seperate.
A good oil change, maybe a quart of Marvel Mystery oil in the pan. It could just be condensation, especially if you're getting the cold damp nights in the spring.
Get a can of Seafoam, pour it in. Run it for around 50 miles one day, and 50 miles the next. Drop the oil. Change w/new
Its hard to say...My oil got like that a while back....but when I tasted it, it wasnt sweet....which would have indicated the presence of anifreeze...I changed the oil once with a cheap oil and a descent filter, drove about 4 hours on the interstate and changed the oil and filter right away. I then replaced the oil with good stuff and another descent filter....drove for a week and just changed the filter....It seems to have been fine ever since....the car had sat for about a year before i ran it so its likely all that junk that settled over time in the oil pan and got stirred up...it takes a few oil/filter changes to clear up.
Oh yeah...like JayRamb said....seafoam!! its some good stuff.
If there is a possibility of coolant in your oil it could be from a leaky water pump gasket and timing cover gasket. There are places the coolant can pool on and seep through if the gasket is bad.
Alright, I believe I have good news. I was told that the oil was recently changed in the car when I bought it, but no dice. I think you guys are right and what I was seeing was probably just old moisture from it sitting for a long time. When I drained it the pan, there was a brown tint to it, but nothing that seemed like a significant amount of water or antifreeze. The filter on it also appeared to be ancient. So the combination of new oil/ new filter has seemed to alleviate a lot of the white smoke and hard running problems it was having.
There does appear to be a small oil leak from both the valve cover gasket and the head gasket, so I'm sure replacing those is inevitable, but for now the eagle will live to drive another day :)
If you still have the plastic valve cover, it will leak.
Quote from: Jurjen on May 26, 2011, 01:05:57 PM
If you still have the plastic valve cover, it will leak.
If plastic, you should by aluminum one. I got mine at an eggcellent price. www.collinbrosjeep.com
That link did not work for me but I found this:
http://collinsbros.stores.yahoo.net/valcovgromoi.html (http://collinsbros.stores.yahoo.net/valcovgromoi.html)
Seems like a good price to me too. Is this the one you got JayRamb (# 83501398K-AL42)? Good quality I take it?
Quote from: wagoneerhauler on May 26, 2011, 05:40:51 PM
That link did not work for me but I found this:
http://collinsbros.stores.yahoo.net/valcovgromoi.html (http://collinsbros.stores.yahoo.net/valcovgromoi.html)
Seems like a good price to me too. Is this the one you got JayRamb (# 83501398K-AL42)? Good quality I take it?
Great quality! I had my friend/mechanic install and he thought it was of great quality! an't go wrong w/$75!
They do have to redrill holes in the top of the head to install an aftermarket v/c....just make sure they dont drill into a water jacket....Im sure someone here has seen that happen.
Quote from: shanebo on May 27, 2011, 01:29:00 AM
They do have to redrill holes in the top of the head to install an aftermarket v/c....just make sure they dont drill into a water jacket....Im sure someone here has seen that happen.
That's why I took it to a mechanic who knew and knows AMC engines.
I dont have near enough faith in my drilling skills to even attempt drilling into my cylinder head. I too must call on my trusty mechanic for things like that ;D
when I did my Concord we did drill too far. If that happens a quality sealant will keep it from leaking. I have put over 10000 miles on the car and no coolant in the oil.
I was nervous about having to drill my head. But, you can figure out exactly how far to drill. Put the screw through the cover with the gasket on, the length of the rest of screw sticking out is how far you drill. I just drilled a little at a time and would check the depth, then drill a little more.