aj71

Hello everyone,I have a 350 and my oil seems to look like milk and very sluggy. Now I haven't started my engine in over 5 or more years since in was in storage. Should I just tear it all down and rebuild or try to flush the engine out maybe? Any advice would be appreciated.

Fun71

First, change the oil and see if the milkiness goes away.

oldcutlass

Really milky means a lot of moisture (water) in the oil. Open the oil pan drain and see if you have approximately 4qts of oil. If there is a lot more than that you have a problem. You will need a couple of very short oil changes and a long heat cycle to get the oil clear.

aj71

Hopefully changing it a few times will help? But I haven't started the engine in while, that left over water inside after the oil change would it damage the engine in some way? Sorry for the questions but I never had a problem with water in the oil.

rcorrigan5

It could be caused from an intake manifold gasket leak, where anti-freeze/water from your cooling system is getting into the oil passages, in which case the gasket will need to be replaced.

Randy C.

jaunty75

But he says the engine hasn't been started in five years, so how did the coolant get into the oil? That would require pressure.

It's more likely that it's just condensation of moisture from the long sit. Change the oil, get the engine running (what little water is left in there will not cause a problem, and it will evaporate away as soon as the engine reaches operating temperature), then change the oil again. You'll likely be just fine.

Water in the oil is the common symptom of an engine in a car that is driven only very short distances. Condensation of moisture into the oil is common and should be assumed, and it "burns off" every time the engine is run and gets to operating temperature, so it's not a problem for engines that are driven "normally," which means that longer-distance trips are part of the driving pattern. But when it never gets to operating temperature or doesn't for very long because it's routinely driven only short distances, water can accumulate. The solution is to change the oil and mix some longer-distance trips in with the short hops.

https://mobiloil.com/en/faq/ask-our-...into-motor-oil

Olds64

AJ, you might consider using an oil additive. Here's one I've used but there are plenty of options out there: