I was getting an intermittent oil pressure warning light which was more persistent at higher rpms. I was not able to locate a pressure gauge as is recommended in the fsm, so I drained the oil and did not notice anything remarkable as I watched the oil flow out, but when I pulled the pan, was dismayed to see a very small amount of water in the pan. my first reaction obviously was <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" /> "blown head gasket!?!?" but when I rolled the oil around in the bucket, did not see too much in the way of water in there. the amount of water in the pan was maybe 1 ml and i'm guessing that the total amount in the system was maybe 4-5 ml (almost a teaspoon) so my question is: if there was water in the oil at any point, how long could it be kicking around in the sytem? because there is evidence that that water may have been in there a while. (rust stain in the oil pump housing, slight amount of rust in the pan etc.) second, could a small amount of water deteriorate viscosity enough to result in a low pressure warning light? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

well anyway I'm going to chalk it up to water condensation inside the engine. It is my spare and it did sit from this time last year up until I installed it a month ago. Furthermore, when I bought the engine, I did do compression checks in a damp situation in a garage but during a storm which could account for some of the moisture that got in there. I have run this motor at idle for at least a couple of hours trying to get the weber right, so I think if it was a HG then I would've seen a lot worse in the oil pan.

seepage from the timing chain cover?

thats what I was thinkin it could be, I found out that if the timing belt gets too loose it slaps against someplace which can eventually cause a leak. I looked in there and didnt see anything strange, but i didnt take the timing cover off, just the valve cover. I may have to put it back together ao I can move it and worry about it later tomorrows the last day I have to move out of my place.

if you had any significant amount of water in your oil, it'd most likely be frothy.

around this time of year on the east coast, I sometimes see the white stuff under the cap. freaks me out, but when nothing goes wrong, I realize it was just moisture, most likely from the temperature swing over night, going from warm afternoons/evenings to very cool overnight. I only have breathers on top of my valve cover and not any sort of EGR or PCV, so stuff that would normally burn out in std. combustion, seems to stick around a little in my truck. it goes away.

if your oil was oil, and not milky looking, you're prob. fine. keep an eye on it. pretty sure if you had any sort of significant internal water leak, once the system pressurized, you'd be seeing a lot more than just a teaspoon.

word. I put it all back together and still overheating with the oil light coming on the same as before and no power at mid to high rpms. i'm thinkin maybe timing too far advanced and idle mixture too low plus something with the oiling system ... I will have to figure this out later.

That's the first mention of overheating, IIRC. An overheated engine can get low oil pressure, just from the extra heat in the oil.

How hot is the engine getting? Is coolant boiling out or is the gauge just getting near the high end of the scale?

Dave

sorry for the lengthy pause in discussion i was moving and starting a new job... blah blah <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

anyway coolant not boiling out, just running really hot, however the oil light flickers faintly from the second I start it but when rpms are up, the light comes on strong.