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tahoe healey

tahoe healey

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First long ride of the new yeartoday (140 miles). Engine reved a little high after a while which on my BJ8 means "give me oil". I adde about 1/2 gt. When I opened the filler cap on the valve cover there was some whiteish fluffy deposit on the under side of the cap. It seemed like water to the feel. I wipped it off and drove another 60 miles home. There was nothing under the cap then. Could this be the detergent in the oil(Castrol 20-50)? Or water in the system? The coolent looked fine and the car run pretty well.
 
Just condensation being boiled out of the oil after setting for a spell. Nothing to worry about.
When I was using one for a daily driver year round, I would always get that in the winter.
You may want to keep an eye on it, but I'm virtually certain you don't have a problem.
Jeff
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by tahoe healey:
Engine reved a little high after a while which on my BJ8 means "give me oil".<hr></blockquote>

TH,
I don't understand. Can you please explain?
D
 
Having once owned a car that "wept" just a little bit of water into the heads and eventually into the oil, I'd say be very careful and keep an eye on it. I'd check the torque on the head bolts, I eventually just replaced the head gasket. It did solve the problem.

I'd drain the oil and replace it then drive for a while and check it then. I agree it may have been condensation, but to make it foam up like you mentioned it would seem to be a lot of it.

Caution in all things, especially when it can cause you to burn up an engine, it's expensive and bothersum, I know first hand.
 
Jim, I drove a '63 Sprite year round for about four years, and most of it was short trip stuff. As soon as the weather got cold, I'd see the white goo on the underside of the oil cap. Once it warmed back up, it went away. Compression was good, no CO in the coolant, and leakdowns were all below 5%. Just a combination of the short drives and cold weather. The '63 had a road draft tube, rather than a PCV valve, which probably contributed as well.
I would definitely keep an eye on things, but my gut reaction is that there is no problem.
But, it's absolutely better to be safe. Cheaper, too!
Jeff
 
The foam has gone away (for now?). Head is nicely torqued. Thanks.
Dave, last summer this happened while driving. When the foot was of the accelerator the RPMs stayed a little high. Added oil and it went down to 800 rpms again. If it gets to be 3/4 qt down the reves go up at idle.
No CO in coolant. Haven't had time to re-check the compression. I did it wrong last time (I didn't remove all the plugs at one time and got low readings which didn't agree with the way the engine runs--good power and smooth, even running.)
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by tahoe healey:

Dave, last summer this happened while driving. When the foot was of the accelerator the RPMs stayed a little high. Added oil and it went down to 800 rpms again. If it gets to be 3/4 qt down the reves go up at idle.
<hr></blockquote>
Never heard of such a thing. Anyone have an idea why?
D
 
The only thing I can think of is that the engine actually has too much oil in it, allowing the crank to run in the oil. When the level drops, the crank loses the parasitic drag of the oil, and the revs come up.
Jeff
 
Wow - Maybe so. An engine has very little power at idle. Doesn't take much drag to slow it a bit. The idle on my car slows a bit just from the friction of the throwout (carbon type) bearing when I push the clutch in.
D
 
You could have an oil analysis done next time you change the oil. I maintain a small fleet of trucks for my business and have analysis done about every 20K miles. The company I use will send you free sample kits and testing is $20/test. They will give you a detailed report that will include percentage of antifreeze, gas, and metals present in the sample. They also match up the results with standards they have developed for the specific engine; however, they probably don't have enough data on Healey engines for that.

Since I have been testing I have found problems with 2 of my trucks and taken care of them before they become major problems. one was a leaky intake manifold gasket allowing coolant into the oil and the other was 2 cracked heads also alowing coolant into the oil.

This is a very good way to monitor the condition of an engine if done regularly. Once I get my baby on the road I will definately test oil from time to time.

The company I use is Blackstone Laboratories.

Here is a link: https://www.blackstone-labs.com/index.html

Best to all!
AH
patriot.gif
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Dad's54:
You could have an oil analysis done next time you change the oil...

...This is a very good way to monitor the condition of an engine if done regularly. Once I get my baby on the road I will definately test oil from time to time.

The company I use is Blackstone Laboratories.

Here is a link: https://www.blackstone-labs.com/index.html

Best to all!
AH
patriot.gif
<hr></blockquote>

I'll second that recommendation.

I've been having oil analysis' done on my engines for the past two decades.

The idea is to establish a trend for your particular engine; first test will be a baseline, second test to confirm and subsequent tests will show if there is a deviation from the baseline.

Both of the M Rdstrs get an analysis each time I change the oil (4500 mile interval). So will the Healey once she's ready for the road.

I recently tried Blackstone Labs just to "check" the sample results I was getting from Titan Labs. The results were very nearly identical so I will keep using Titan as I have been for the last twenty or so years. At $20- $30, it's cheap insurance.

[ 03-09-2004: Message edited by: Randy Forbes ]</p>
 
Back in my "Jet" days, we had an oil sample pulled after the last flight of every day.
The lab could tell you that you had an incipient # 5 bearing failure, or the oil pump was worn, for instance. It sure made a believer out of me!
"Triple A" just doesn't do roadside service when you're at 40,000 feet!
I've been having my race motor oil analyzed for quite awhile, and it has saved me far more money than I have spent on the analysis.
Jeff
 
I did another 150 miler yesterday. No more fluffy stuff so I'm thinking I'm okay. BUT...
I got that RPM increase again. Oil was fine this time. Played with the carbs and it settled down. Re-worked them today and found that they were way off. When I had some work done last fall the mechanic called me and said the carbs needed adjusting and he'd do it for $160.00 and we were a long way from home. So he messed them up. He is a locally famous British car mechanic. Always best to do things yourself.
 
Glad to see you aren't having any more of the condensation 'goo' showing up.
I can sure think of some nice drives in your area.
Down to Placerville, over to Nevada City / Grass Valley, up to Truckee, and then back around the west side of the lake.
Makes me homesick!
Jeff
 
Actually we visited a dozen or so wineries. (We only sip). The foothills are full of them with world famous wines. Wounderful shadded, winding roads. No need to go to Napa where they are expensive and the temps are high. We are experiencing an early spring. Top down, french bread, cork screw and the tones of the Healey.
 
My brother, who lives in Winters, married into an old California wine family. One of the family wineries is Boeger's, in Placerville.
They have a nice, shaded picnic area outside the tasting room, and it's also close to "Apple Hill", so you can have good wine, and decadent apple desserts!
Jeff

[ 03-16-2004: Message edited by: Bugeye58 ]</p>
 
Boeger is one of our favorites. Wine tasting in a 100 year old building and old vines. Beautiful grounds. Just my thing. We went more south this trip.
 
Tahoe, I'll tell Greg and Sue Boeger to keep an eye out for you!
Of all things, he is into restoring old Cat tractors! That's what goes on in the pole barn on the hill.
Jeff
 
Back to Tahoe Healey's problem. Sounds like you do have too much oil in the engine. Next time you change it, fill to the recommended quantity [15.3 US pints] which includes filling a new filter, start the engine and run it for 3-4 minutes. Let it stand for 5 minute and check the oil gauge markings, they could be off. With too much oil the crankshaft splashes the oil around like inside a blender which whips it all up putting air into it. This limits the oil's lubricating ability beside wasting energy.

Regards, Bob
 
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