Water In V6 Oil, BUT...

[Dio Genio <diogenio@xxxxxxxxx>]

I am the new owner of an 87 Milano w/77k miles. While
checking cam timing I saw a very small amount of light
tan goop on backside of the cam covers. I was told
this is from normal buildup of condensation over the
many years and miles. (The cam covers have probably
never been cleaned since day one.)

However, when I drained the oil (3k miles on it), the
first thing that came out of the sump appeared to be
coolant!  How much I cannot say, it might have been a
1/4 cup or less, but it definitely was not oil. 

The weird part is that the oil itself seemed fine.
Color and viscosity seemed normal for used oil. No
"milkshake" as many people have reported, no white
cheezy stuff on the dipstick, either. I also drained
my coolant out of the system and it too was 100%
fine...no traces of oil in it.

What can possibly be going on here? The previous owner
hardly drove the car during the last 3 or 4 years, and
I am now driving it much more often. Is it possible
that water can "collect" in places and then be carried
down to the sump when the car is run regularly again? 

Why was there no "milkshake" in my oil, yet coolant
was present...? Does this spell the dreaded head
gasket replacement? I understand the driver's side
head cannot be easily pulled... 

Any advice on what I should do next to find out what
is going on?

Thanks,

DENNIS 
San Diego

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.
http://search.yahoo.com
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided