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    #1

    Foamy oil?

    Changed the oil and now when I idle it it goes all foamy? I figured it was overfull, but it's not showing that on the dipstick and even after I drained out two oil filters full of oil it's still going foamy. I don't recall that happening before.



    What can cause this? I assume it's not safe to race in this condition...

    It's 10w40 Mobil 1 High Mileage full syn.
    sigpic
    -Sean : 91 Calypso 325i : Castro Motorsports SoCal Spec E30 #33
    Tags: None
    #2
    Make sure you check it on a level surface ad make sure there are no leaks in the system causing an introduction of air.

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      #3
      You can test for the presence of coolant in the oil with a kit, but it is somewhat expensive or you can go to ACE and buy a section of clear Tygon tubing. Place about 5 mL of your foamed oil into this tubing. Swing it around as fast as you can for a few minutes. If the oil separates into two different solutions then you have coolant leaked into you engine (HG replacement). If the oil clears up and stay a single solution then you have air mixed in with your oil. In this case, if you filled the correct amount of oil, you probably have a small leak in the HG. I am hoping that it is an overfill; otherwise, it looks like you might have to replace the HG along with re-surfacing the head.

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        #4
        Oh, one other thing...make sure your oil filter/o-ring sits tight.

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          #5
          Fuck. Yup, this is what the coolant showed. Perfect, just a few days before a race weekend too.

          sigpic
          -Sean : 91 Calypso 325i : Castro Motorsports SoCal Spec E30 #33

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            #6
            Is the oil "white foamy" or just bubbly?
            I ask because if the oil doesn't warm up long enough (like after an oil change/idle) then there may be bubbles in the oil. This has scared me before.

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              #7
              Originally posted by E30Gus View Post
              Is the oil "white foamy" or just bubbly?
              I ask because if the oil doesn't warm up long enough (like after an oil change/idle) then there may be bubbles in the oil. This has scared me before.
              I posted two pictures. Looks like bubbles, and goop in the coolant.
              sigpic
              -Sean : 91 Calypso 325i : Castro Motorsports SoCal Spec E30 #33

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                #8
                Yes I see the two pictures and I can't tell by the first pic if its white foam or just bubbles...there is a difference.

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                  #9
                  Goop in the coolant isn't that enormous of a thing on E30s. If the headgasket fails and coolant and oil mix, you end up with something like this:


                  If it doesn't look like that, then odds are the headgasket isn't blown. I'd guess you overfilled it a little bit. How many quarts did you put in?

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