Hello I really need help. A couple weeks ago i changed intake gaskets on my 96 jimmy 4.3. changed the milky oil and drove it 2 days ran fine. So i put a motor flush in and changed oil to make sure all the milky oil was out. It ran fine,but after a week i heard it start a slight ticking. Sounded like a lifter. Checked my oil and it was black. The ticking was now loud. I read through a couple threads and thought it might be cheap oil. So i changed the oil once again. No ticking and ran fine for 9 days. started it this morning and its ticking louder than ever and running rough with white smoke out the exhaust. I wondering if it could be a head gasket or if i blew my motor? i would greatly appreciate any help i can get. I just dont understand how it would stop ticking with fresh oil and then within a week it starts again and the oil be black? Thank you for your time.

 

The milky oil certainly indicates the possibility of a blown gasket. How's your coolant level? And when's the last time you checked your oil? And how certain are you about the intake gasket being installed correctly?

 

The oil isnt milky now it is full and black. Im not proof positive the intake gaskets are on correctly because sometimes things are not what they seem. But i took my time and cleaned all surfaces good and torqued them in sequence according to my haines manual. My coolant is full and no sign of oil mixed. Like I said in my earlier post it was running fine but slowly started ticking and oil is going very dark very fast and i dont understand why. Now it runs rough and has white smoke. Im just wondering if it could be maybe a head gasket? Im very stumped on this.

 

Usually, white smoke indicates water grtting into the combustion chamber. However, not all the time. When F.I. started becoming common, I found one car that had the fuel mileage tank. Too much fuel into the intake can cause white smoke too, but it really takes a lot. The oil got filthy really quick and the level actually went up some. The problem turned out to be a sticking injector. It was dumping WAY too much fuel into the cylinder. Only a bit burned and the rest either got past the rings into the oil or blew white smoke. That could explain the ticking as the oil is diluted with gasoline.

 

Ol'grouch that makes sense. My buddy said he smelled gas when we first started driving it. Could you possibly tell me how i can find out which injector might be stuck? I was wondering how oil could get so thin and dirty so fast.

 

I'm trying to remember if this puppy has throttle body or multi injectors. I'm thinking it may have several injectors. Get a wooden dowel rod. Place it on each injector and place your thumb over the end of the rod. Now, use your thumb knuckle to press that little flap of skin on your ear opening closed. Listen to each injector one at a time and listen to the one that sounds different. It should be a fast clicking. You'll notice if one is different. I have a regular stethoscope but the rod will work as well. Your thumb is to keep the rod from ramming into your inner ear. If that doesn't work, try unplugging one injector at a time and see what happens. If it's only partially stuck open, the gasoline smell may clear up when that injector is unhooked. I'll bet you hear a difference on one injector.

 

engine flush can stir up all kinds of crap in a engine BTW