Well as some may know I was all excited about new tires and rims and the 1964 dynamic 88 running smooth. Well that feeling came crashing down yesterday.
I was sitting at a traffic light...the car had been running for 30 minutes. The light turned green and I pushed pedal, it left the line as normal but when it shifted into
2nd gear it chugged, almost a misfire....it kept doing it in third. When I maintain a constant speed it stopped chugging.
But the chugging continues. So i checked wire connections, distributor cap and rotor , hoses, electrical all seemed normal.
Then I checked fluids..and CRAP The oil dipstick showed above full..I'm thinking head gasket leak. I checked radiator and I do not smell oil or see discolored fluid.
I do have a leak at my timing chain cover gasket..I need a new gasket.
Curious could that be my issue?
I have changed oil and filter and will run it later. Don't want to see.....bottom line
if it is the head gasket I will put it on blocks and skip this year. Money is tight and I just spent my wish list funds on the tires and rims.
I guess that is the life of an old car owner.

 

sorry to hear that, hope it winds up being relatively minor.

 

Well, I can think of only two things that would add volume to the crankcase:
1) Coolant leak from head gasket, timing cover, or intake manifold gasket.
2) Fuel pump diaphragm blown and fuel leaking into crankcase.

It should be fairly easy to determine what other fluid is in there that shouldn't be there, then it's just a matter of locating the entry point.

edit: deleted incorrect info

 

How much over full? Coolant in oil makes it look like chocolate milk if it is running. Let old oil stand and it will separate eventually. Fuel you can smell and oil will be thin. Don't know how trans cooler can leak into engine oil.
Are you sure oil was not overfull prior to running poorly?

 

Fuel pump and associated area was done 2 years ago and looks fine.
I am seeing a leak at the timing chain cover radiator fluid and some oil..enough to make a 3in x 3in puddle. I checked oil before initial start up and it was slightly above full. If I were to guess as to how over full ( using the dipstick markings and their unit of measure) about a quart over.
The oil was not milky more almost like 5 weight oil. I drained some radiator fluid and let it sit and no separation of fluid.
Would an emission test answer any questions

 

Um...

How exactly does trans fluid get into the crankcase?

Think this one through...

 

Yeah Joe that is wrong. That would be through a second order leakage pathway. I was posting this during a short break at work and my thought wandered from a coolant leak to the crankcase to a leak into the coolant system.

So nevermind #2 above And there are only two things I can think of that would cause the crankcase volume to increase. This reduces the troubleshooting Significantly.

 

I would remove the fuel pump and take a peek.

That much overfilled w/o milky can't really be coolant. How many other liquids are around the crankcase?

Look first at the last thing "fixed" - always.
Last thing fixed.... fuel pump.
They say today's alcoholic gas affects rubber... as in fuel pumps.
If it were to leak fuel it would go right into the cranckcase.

Fuel pumps are dirt cheap and that would get you driving again. I have OEM used ones if you find Chinese ones are not worthy.

 

Have car on jacks and prepping for pulling the fuel pump...
I remember when the Oldsmobile Silloette head gasket went the oil did have that milky look.
And car ran very hot.
The difficult work is the timing chain cover gasket...I think I need to tilt engine to access.
Thats going to be a learning experience

 

UPDATE:
I tried to relay my results earlier but it never showed.
here is what I did.
1. Replaced gaskets on fuel pump..needed.
2.Pulled carb and cleaned..replaced float.
3. replaced timing chain cover gasket ( that was a bit*$)
4 had a terrible time getting it timed..had a friend adjust carb and we changed points , ignition coil and we got it to specs.
I will be changing oil tomorrow and so will keep a close eye on level and condition of oil.
I appreciate all the advice and direction. It led me to look at areas I wasn't thinking of and eventually found other performance related issues, thanks for all the help.
I will update after I get a 100 miles on the oil change what it looks like and the level
Bottom line... car runs very smooth and very quick off the line.

 

Good deal!

I was looking at the '64 Jetstar 88 today, thought someone here needed a radiator core. Looks similar to the '65 Cutlass one.

So, if you have a '64 88.... 394 engine?

 

heard of an engine sucking trans fluid through the modulator valve

 

Did you check the timing set when you had the cover off? This could account for the rough running if it is bad.