Picked up my 89 runner a few weeks ago. Previous owner said it starts but was running rough. I started to get into it a few days ago. Changed the fuel filter drained all the old crappy gas and put in a new battery. Fired right up. Running for about 1 min then started smoking real bad. I had a friend of mine with me who is a mechanic so we checked the oil level again. The dip stick was covered about 3/4 of the was up with chocolate milk colored oil or something. OK now i hope you are sitting down! I pulled the drain plug and that crap just kept coming!! I filled a 5gal bucket 3/4 of the way. Something like 3 1/2 gal was in the motor!!!! So now I have put new oil and filter with some sea foam to flush. Now for the question. How do I run it with out killing me or my neighbors or worse having the fire department come to my house? I think it will stop smoking after the sea foam does its job. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Runner Running but smoking! Please look for more details!!!
- Thread starter zammy
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purevenom1
New member
Was it oil that was drained out or was it oil and water? If its water you are going to be wasting your time in doing the seafoam. Prob a bad head gasket. Did it smell sweet when it was smoking? Did you look at the plugs to see if they are fouled out?
the_dingman
New member
Milky oil indicates that you have water in your oil. The most likely explanation is that coolant is leaking from a blown head gasket.
Chances are you need a new engine. Or at least need to replace most of your current one.
Sorry for the bad news.
Chances are you need a new engine. Or at least need to replace most of your current one.
Sorry for the bad news.
Digman and purevenom thanks for the replies. If the motor was wasted wouldn't it not start or just die? It had to be water and oil that came out. I am not sure when it was run the last time the guy that had it was kind of a moron. Would it be leaking any fluids as a sign of a blown head gasket or does it just blow and go right into the motor? My friend and I were ready to do the head gasket anyway so I guess we will start tearing it apart and see what we find. Got my fingers crossed that I just have to do the gasket and and have the heads done. Keep ya posted. Thanks again for the help!
purevenom1
New member
Not really. It would still run but run like hell and smoke like a train. Head gasket blew between the combustion chamber and oil ports. Prob have to get the haed checked and prob shaved to make it true again since it could have warped from overheating. Is it 4cl or V6.
the_dingman
New member
Often times a blown head gasket will require additional work over just replacing the gasket.
In this case, you may have been lucky and just had coolant leaking into the oil, not into the combustion chambers. This could reduce the need for machining, however water mixed in the oil causes a loss of lubrication, and usually ruins bearings. Depending on how long it was run like that, you may need to replace all the bearings in the engine, or risk one giving out very soon.
