1993 Quad Four white jelly in oil pan

[satintrousers]

can anybody tell me how to get the white gel out from the oil pan so iI can get a read on the dip stick, I can not afford to replace the engine right now????

[GTP Dad]

It appears that there is water getting into your oil and causing the white foam/gel to form. To get rid of the foam/gel will require you to find the leak that is causing the water in the oil. You can get rid of it temporarily by changing the oil but it will come back. If you have a quad 4 then I suspect you have a bad head gasket. If you don't correct the problem then you will certainly need to replace the engine in the very near future.

[Knifeblade]

Yo, GTP, one other good likely is poor oil-change maintenance, allowing sludge to form and begin to build. although sludge is darker in pan, it can show lighter on stick, or at oil-fill cap.

[Hoags]

satin, I have to ask a question, Are you using any oil additives or using the High milage oil when you change it? The reason I ask is that I had this gel in my Montana, and one of the other GA owners on the forum had the white gel, Both of us used the high milage oils in our cars. If you are that makes 3 and I'm seeing a trend.
Thanks

Welcome to the Forum

[Knifeblade]

Yeah, good point, Hoags. I seeing the trend occurring in this forum too, re the white sludge, but outside of the "special" oils as potential prob., it still is likely a sludge hassle from poor oil-change maintenance.

[Hoags]

I don't know... I changed the oil regularly in the Montana, Every 3,000 to 3,500 mi. I'm going to keep watching to see if this goes further.

[Madcat455]

When I did my stint at an oil change shop... about 4yrs there 92-96... just about every "quad 4" engine that came in had problems with that white gunk on the dipstick. It has to do with Moisture getting inside of the tube (mainly from condensation forming from constant heat cycling). Its not actually in your oil pan (but can be if there is an coolant leak somewhere).

First.... change your oil... if you notice the creamy colored stuff comming out the bottom then your F'd.

If the oil draining looks normal, then you can just clean out the tube... Gun cleaning rods with a 20 or 12 ga. bronze tip will do the trick. Make sure you run a couple of quarts through (letting them drain out) to remove anything that falls into the pan.

After that... Make sure you change your oil every 2500-3000K.... but during the winter your not gonna be able to stop the white stuff.. but you can cut down on it by changing more frequently.

Step one will answer your concern about the engine though.

Good Luck.

[muzzy1maniac]

You could look into a product called Auto-RX to give your engine a real good cleaning. If there is condensation in the dipstick you may want to buy a new dipstick - maybe the seal has failed. I still can't believe how many people want to change their oil every 3k miles. Talk about programing from the oil companies! Buy our product - buy our product

Read your manuals - most manufacturers recomend 5-7.5k between oil changes unless you drive REAL hard. I personally use synthetic and run 10 - 12k between changes with a new filter and top-off about halfway through.

[AntiF]

My 92 Olds Achieva S with the Quad had the same problem. Also liked to chew up coils.