mayo under the radiator cap

[soundguy]

hello fellow vmaxers. I have an issue with my 89 vmax (previously shown as the golden shower). I opened the radiator cap to see a filthy mess, looks like someone wacked off into it. unk:
but seriously it looks like a teaspoon of mayo with oil in it. i cleaned it out, and rode around the (large) block, checked it the next day, same shit.
when i purchased the bike it had no radiator or plumbing and did have a bit of shit in the tubes, i cleaned it out, but could this issue be related to the oil seal in the water pump? as i believe that a blown head gasket would be quite a bit more bad.
thoughts please, ive got no local vmax help here, and im suppose to be riding to the burt munroe rally in two months (3000k trip), so i need to be sure its all ok.
if its the pump seal, is that something a handy dandy vmax owner could do?:worthy:

 

[soundguy]

I pulled the side case off, looks like the seal and bearing have been compromised

 

[woodsman30]

Have you checked the oil to see if it has anythimg but oil in it?

 

[MaxMidnight]

Have you checked the oil to see if it has anythimg but oil in it?

I think that the emulsification would suggest that there is water getting in?

There is a hole in the bottom of the water pump housing that should allow coolant to bleed out if the seal has gone - make sure this is clear.

Another area where oil and coolant comes into close proximity is the 'pencil case' where the breather exits.

One last thought is if you do a lot of short journeys where the oil doesn't get up to operating temperature (needs 10 miles +) and you are seeing the result of condensation.

 

[SpecOps13]

This is an issue with my 89. Some oil is getting to the radiator cap and eventually to the coolant tank. It's a small amount and I skim it off at the coolant tank every once in a while. Sean Morley says this is alright and somewhat normal if it's a one way process and considering that my 89 has an oil pump mod done and therefore higher pressure. There is no water in the oil, ever.

Just some thoughts to consider if there is no water in the oil.

 

[buckridge]

i saw the same thing on a venture , if the engine is run and does not reach operating tempature ,moisture condensates on the inside of the engine cases , looks like melted vanilla ice cream in top of radiator and in coolant reserve bottle . change the coolant and run it till it reaches operating tempature for 30 minutes . check that the themostate is the factory recomended tempature , make sure crank case ventilation is working properly and not plugged or defeated . engine cannot dispell moisture if crankcase system is plugged or just vented to atmosphere. hope this helps

 

[Fire-medic]

As long as your oil sight glass doesn't show the same thing, I think you should be all-right if you follow these guys' suggestions.

I had a '77 Trans-Am 'back then,' and after a few years of use I had the oil cooler, integral to one of the radiator tanks, get a crack. Tranny fluid in the coolant, and vice-versa. The auto tranny filled w/pink water & oil. I had to drop the tranny pan, replace the filter & flush the unit, and drill/tap a NPT hole to throw a drain plug into the torque convertor housing as it had no drain. The alternative was to drop the tranny to remove and drain the torque convertor.

When I buttoned everything back-up, fresh fluid restored the proper function. I dodged a big repair bill on that one.

It was a 'Smokey & the Bandit' edition, lots of gold pinstriping, the old-English script on the thru-the-hood scoop, and a 400 Poncho, not the 403 Olds some T-A's got back then. I still have a set of T-tops I bought as spares. I see well-kept versions of this are now selling for $15K+. They only made about 600-something of the 'Smokey car,' my old girlfriend got it new, it was $10,000 in '77, which was a lot of $$ for a car back-then.

Just keep an eye on the oil in the coolant, if that's all it is then it sounds like an annoyance, but not critical. Now, if your oil sight glass ends-up occluded and opaque from a similar cause, then I'd say you have a blown gasket, and it's time to remove the engine for a tear-down to discover the source, which as you said is probably a head gasket. Then you'll be staring at this.

 

[Traumahawk]

I had a '77 Trans-Am 'back then,'


It was a 'Smokey & the Bandit' edition, lots of gold pinstriping, the old-English script on the thru-the-hood scoop, and a 400 Poncho, not the 403 Olds some T-A's got back then. I still have a set of T-tops I bought as spares. I see well-kept versions of this are now selling for $15K+. They only made about 600-something of the 'Smokey car,' my old girlfriend got it new, it was $10,000 in '77, which was a lot of $$ for a car back-then.

J

My first car was a 78 TA with the Pontiac 400 in it....that was a helluva car. Wish that I had it back.

 

[one2dmax]

Yep, off track lol. I loved my 79 10th anniversary car (400 4spd) and have also had an 80 Indy Pace Car and 81 Turdbo Ta too. Got some T/A parts laying around here still.

 

[m-cman]

This is so weird. I special ordered a 79 in black with tan interior and the hood decal. Also got the TA400 version with the Pontiac engine. To get it, had to order the 4-speed and ws6 package which included 4 wheel disk brakes (required options with the engine). That was last year Pontiac 400 engine was available. Had two friends that got the Olds 403 version that same year because they wanted the auto trans.

Was a POS though. Ordered all options and had continual electrical problems. Fuses blowing, intermittent running like the electronic ign was missing, etc. Sold in 9 months with 9K miles to a Doctor for his son. The car quit running on the way home. Electronic ign failed completely. He was unhappy but there was no way to foresee that. GM had terrible quality control in the 70's and 80's.

 

[Traumahawk]

Yep, off track lol. I loved my 79 10th anniversary car (400 4spd) and have also had an 80 Indy Pace Car and 81 Turdbo Ta too. Got some T/A parts laying around here still.

I also had the 80 turbo pace car...I didnt like the 301 turbo...and dropped in a Pontiac 428. Every time I would get on it, it would crack the windshield...unk:

LOL...and sorry for the hijack..lol

 

[Fire-medic]

More 'off-track' Pontiac comments. I had two '77's, both had the Pontiac 400. I know the "Smokey" car had the WS-6 package, but I don't recall about the other one. Both were very reliable for me. The "Smokey" car I put over 100,000 miles on it and aside from ordinary replaceables like brakes, the master cyl, H2O pump, & tune-up stuff, I don't recall any extraordinary issues. I did throw a rebuild kit into the Rochester Quadrajet and replace a starter, and just before I sold it the a-c was due for re-doing, but I had good luck mechanically-speaking. The non-Smokey car was in 5 accidents in <2 years, and not a one was my fault. The body shop I was taking it to put a "reserved parking for..." sign in the parking lot for me, I was in there so-frequently.:rofl_200:

 

[Rusty McNeil]

Wow, Lots of former TA owners in here.

I had a 70 1/2 TA, Ram Air IV, White with the blue stripe and built before they got the silly gigantic bird.

I had no business with a car like that at 16 years old. Didn't take long to total it.

 

[shaneqt]

Hi soundguy. Hope you and your machine get too the Burt. Will see you there.

 

[soundguy]

Hi soundguy. Hope you and your machine get too the Burt. Will see you there.

unk:
all good, i will had\ve the pump back this week with new seal and bearing, im hoping that fixes it, but i am wondering if there is another issue as the tempurature takes a very long time to get up to the middle position.

 

[soundguy]

Hi soundguy. Hope you and your machine get too the Burt. Will see you there.

:clapping: go the burt, im looking forward to it. we are staying just out of town, not at the site, didnt want to carry a tent...

 

[soundguy]

i saw the same thing on a venture , if the engine is run and does not reach operating tempature ,moisture condensates on the inside of the engine cases , looks like melted vanilla ice cream in top of radiator and in coolant reserve bottle . change the coolant and run it till it reaches operating tempature for 30 minutes . check that the themostate is the factory recomended tempature , make sure crank case ventilation is working properly and not plugged or defeated . engine cannot dispell moisture if crankcase system is plugged or just vented to atmosphere. hope this helps

i thought the issue with a wrong thermostat would be too hot, mines doesnt get "hot" (more than half) , only once, that was when the mechanic had it idleing alot while setting the carb balance. the fan cut in etc, but normal running temp is just under the middle mark...... is it running too cool?

many thanks for your comments:git::git:

 

[soundguy]

Hi soundguy. Hope you and your machine get too the Burt. Will see you there.

are you meeting up with any other maxxers?
it would be great to get a photo session on the main st!!

 

[soundguy]

i just checked my max, the drain plug was in drain position, would this cause it to run cooler?

 

[Rusty McNeil]

i just checked my max, the drain plug was in drain position, would this cause it to run cooler?

No I don't think so. Its to let a little more water out of the system when you drain it from the plug under the pump. I've run mine extensively in both positions and couldn't honestly tell any difference in operating temps or time to get there.

I would enjoy the temp your running at and not worry too much. Normal for mine is always around the 4:00-4:30 position. I'd be freaking out if it got to half or 3:00 only because I know that's not normal for my bike.

Half or 3:00 is about 200-210 near as I can tell from some experimentation with an electronic thermometer. I think mine probably runs around 185-190