Triumph Repair: Milky Oil, head gasket repair, triumph spitfire 1500

Question
QUESTION: I know that milky oil usually means a head gasket, none of the other tests and signs indicate a head gasket problem.

Last month I bought a 76 Triumph Spitfire 1500 from a man who bought it from a guy who said it had a head gasket problem.  It sat for a month as I fixed the clutch cylinders before starting it (it was sitting mostly for years).  No white smoke.  I did the compression tests you advised in other posts; all fine.  No bubbles or oil in the radiator or overflow.  I did find white froth on the dipstick and cap, and when I changed the oil it was cafe au lait.

Before I attempt a head gasket repair, could it be simple condensation?  I've also heard that too much oil creates churning and froth of oil.  Next step?

ANSWER: Tom,

If you'd done an oil change yesterday then went for a ride and found milky oil today... yeah, I'd suspect headgasket.

Since the car has been sitting for a while and you don't know how mechanically competent the PO or even the PO before the PO were... it might just be condensation.  I had a PO wash the car down thoroughly before I picked it up.  I drained 2 gallons of water from the engine, plus a little milky oil.

Drain the junk.  Put in fresh oil and a new filter.   Maybe run the engine to circulate the new oil (wash out the old junk) then drain/refill again.   Run the car for a while and see if it goes milky then you've still got a problem.  If it stays looking like oil, you're good to go.


Jim

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: It was the headgasket; a milky mess.  What machine work is needed, and how to I know?  I'm in a barn doing this work, not surrounded my machine shops.  Also, I am not looking for a sleek machine in the end, so basic operations are fine.

The exhaust manifold cracked coming off, and I am unable to tear the rest from the head (and finding a replacement part is difficult).  Is there any easy way to loosen it?

Answer
Tom,

A head gasket failure is usually caused by 1 of 3 things:  Failure of the gasket itself (not typical but possible), warpage of either the head or block, or insufficient clamping by the head studs.

On a car 35 years old, there's been time for people to monkey around a bit.  Maybe there's been a head rebuild or complete engine rebuild in the past.  

Of the dozen Spitfire heads I've had checked professionally, all have been flat.  Same with the blocks.  You might have had a bad head gasket, but I'm sceptical.

As the cars have gotten older the problem I've seen is the head studs start to stretch more than expected.  

ARP does a replacement head stud for the Spitfire.  The usual suspects should be able to supply them.  If not, a company like Jegs or Summit racing should be able to supply them although it might take a direct call to confirm the part number.

Since you've got the head off it's not a bad idea to have a local machine shop check it out for trueness.


Cheers,

Jim