i was having a prob with water(or antifreeze) in my #2 cyl. it fouled the plug so i changed the plugs and wires. its been running fine since then, even though when i pull the plug wire it still has some drips on it. just giving some prior history to see if its got anything to do with my present observation. i dont know how long the oils been in my truck since i bought it used. i pulled the dipstick and it looked like semi fresh oil but i decided to change it anyway. when i drained the pan the oil was black and literaly thin as water. i always have changed my oil and i have NEVER seen oil that thin, even after some beaters with 5k between changes. any ideas on why that might be? if there was antifreeze in the oil would it be obvious? and why would the dipstick show what appears to be fresh oil when there is anything but in the pan? any comments would be appreciated.

 

What year, engine, etc. ?

The only time I've ever had really thin oil come out of the pan was because a mechanical fuel pump (old days technology) was leaking into the engine and diluting the oil. The oil was very dirty, overfilled on the dipstick, and smelled like gas.

Did the thin oil smell like gas? Was it over filled? Any chance that you had the key on the ignition position without the engine running? Are you low on antifreeze? Do you see any traces of oil in the radiator or antifreeze?

The oil on the dipstick probably looked fresh becuase the the little bit that's on there is only a small sample to judge the clarity when compared to all the oil when it drains into the pan. Or possibly the black crud settled to the bottom of the pan and you saw the cleaner oil on top when you pulled the dipstick? Did you save the oil that came out of the engine? Was there any obvious traces of coolant in the drained oil? You might want to send it out to be analized (Spelling?) )

Good luck.

 

lots have found a coolant leak in the heater hose clamp above #2 dripping on plug and wire. fix leak and replace plug and wire. if you cave coil on plug ussually have to replace the coil.

 

If you had coolent going to the oil it would look like coffee with cream in it and you'd see foaming and water beads on your dip stick. Now don't let the fact that sometimes you'll see a milky substance under the oil fill cap worry you...that is pretty much normal(to a point)...if you warmed the engine before draining it will run out like water that is normal...just kep an eye on your coolent level...that will tell you if you have a problem...also smelling anti freeze is a alert also

 

That milky stuff under the oil cap is normal. If you are using 5W20 the oil might have sheared to a straight 10 weight!

 

the oil didnt have any signs of milkiness, but i have noticed my coolent has dropped about an inch or so since filling it to the top fiil line about a week ago. i checked that hose above the #2cyl and cant see any signs of a leak. i havent noticed any steam from my exhaust or any obvious signs of a coolent leak. i do actually have the oil that i changed, where would i send that to be analyzed?