I've got a couple new issues, looking for some input...

[Sine Deviance]

I've got several new issues, looking for some input...

Okay... specs of the Joop are in my sig

First... I checked my dipstick the other day and noticed that there were some small bubbles in the oil. I just changed the oil about 500 miles ago, if that. It was cold when I checked it. This means there is water in the oil, right? If that is the case, do you think it is just condensation or do I have a real coolant leak? For reference it has been pretty cold outside here, in the 40s and 30s.

Second... When I crank up the Jeep in the morning I'm getting some smoke coming out of the tailpipe when I pull out of the driveway. The smoke seems to go away as soon as I am pulled out of the driveway, so basically about 20 seconds after I first crank it up. The smoke appears to be white in color, suggesting water. But since it only smokes right after being cranked up, would this suggest condensation in the fuel/exhaust? Or is a slight coolant leak into the cylinders more likely?

Third... My valves seem to be rattling under acceleration until the engine gets up to temp. It sounds like valve tick but it's really just a ticking sound. At 2000-3000 RPM it will probably tick a few times a second. Again, it's only noticeable when I'm accelerating or otherwise putting load on the engine. Is this just cold oil taking it's time to pump up to the valvetrain, or something else?

Fourth... I have noticed that the Jeep doesn't seem to be as "solid" as it used to be when I'm driving down the road. Nothing too noticeable, just a feeling I have. It seems like there are alot more rattles than there were when I first bought it and over the summer. I know that metal expands when warm. Now that winter is here, and there is no warmth outside to make the metal expand, would that cause rattling to be more noticeable?

Fifth... Once again, it's been pretty cold here lately. 40s, 30s, and this morning it was 22 F. However, the Jeep seems to be taking ages to warm up to temp. Town is about five miles away. I can drive all the way to town and the engine won't be fully up to temp yet. Isn't the coolant system supposed to have some kind of bypass that makes it warm up faster in the mornings? Or could this be some problem that needs fixing?

Thanks for any opinions

 

[sweetcaroline]

I don't know alot about this stuff: but have you checked your radiator fluid? If your head gasket is leaking there might be oil in the radiator fluid, as well as radiator fluid in the oil. Other than that I don't know anything.
My TJ started ticking once when it was relatively new. It turned out to be the cam positioning sensor. It sticks out on the passenger side of the engine. Once it was pointed out to me, it was obvious that it was making the noise. I thought for sure that my motor was going bad.
Anyway, you most likey know all of this already.

 

[glenn beck]

white smoke on a cold start wouldnt worry me to much as the engine is running rich. grey smoke might be a indicator of a worn valve guide seal where oil has got into the piston chamber. if it clears after 20 seconds then it carnt be to bad.
to help the heater i would install a winter thermostate as this will allow more heat to enter the jeep rather than the cooling system. if the cooling fan runs off the motor and has no clutch (runs when jeep is cold) then the engine will never get hot in 5 miles.
clean engine oil with tiny bubbles could be air bubbles. if the oil is clean then i would look in the oil under the oil fill cap to see if theres any foam or greyish oil.

things i would keep a eye on.

water/antifreeze level going down (overfilling will result in exspansion pushing the liquid out of the overflow so you carnt count that)
oil showing signs of greyish tint or any foam.

the one i would take serious is the ticking at 2000 rpm a ticking that is a few times a second is odd could be a lifter or adjustment or something more.

when you changed the oil did you use a rock oil of the right weight or did you install a thinner oil or synthetic. old engine running fully synthetic for the first time can show up all types of problems. the cleaning agents remove alot of gunk especially in the valve train resulting in rattling. we never put sythertic oil in fords with high mileage back in the early 90's as it always made the hydraulic lifters rattle like hell.

 

[tdavid14]

The warming-up thing would be the thermostat. Make sure you have one and its the right temp.

 

[xt master]

A little card board in front of the radiator will help with the warm up also.As far as oil I like to use a 10-30 or even a 5-30 in the winter.I run a 10-40 in the summer.I wish it was in the 30's and 40's.It has been ranging from 0 to 25 all week.

 

[Sine Deviance]

white smoke on a cold start wouldnt worry me to much as the engine is running rich. grey smoke might be a indicator of a worn valve guide seal where oil has got into the piston chamber. if it clears after 20 seconds then it carnt be to bad.
to help the heater i would install a winter thermostate as this will allow more heat to enter the jeep rather than the cooling system. if the cooling fan runs off the motor and has no clutch (runs when jeep is cold) then the engine will never get hot in 5 miles.
clean engine oil with tiny bubbles could be air bubbles. if the oil is clean then i would look in the oil under the oil fill cap to see if theres any foam or greyish oil.

Well... I guess you could say the smoke is a greyish color. It looks more white to me, personally. The Jeep does appear to burn a little oil because I do have to put a little oil into it every few weeks to keep it level. At first I thought the oil was going out of the PCV and into the intake but maybe it's leaking through the valve guides. I'll look into how much it would cost for the parts to fix that. I should be able to do the work myself no problem, so long as I don't have to go pull the entire head and mess with timing and such.

I will look into winter thermostats, but you should check further down this reply first.

I don't see any foam or greyish hue in the oil so I guess I'm okay there...

the one i would take serious is the ticking at 2000 rpm a ticking that is a few times a second is odd could be a lifter or adjustment or something more.

when you changed the oil did you use a rock oil of the right weight or did you install a thinner oil or synthetic. old engine running fully synthetic for the first time can show up all types of problems. the cleaning agents remove alot of gunk especially in the valve train resulting in rattling. we never put sythertic oil in fords with high mileage back in the early 90's as it always made the hydraulic lifters rattle like hell.

I use conventional 5w30. I was actually considering going to a high-mileage synthetic on the next oil change. You think that not's a good idea?

The warming-up thing would be the thermostat. Make sure you have one and its the right temp.

Okay, like I said above I will check into winter thermostats. However... the thermostat I already have seems to work fine. Judging by the gauge, it is opening and closing when it should. The only thing that is odd about it is that when the engine gets up to temp it usually hangs around 210F. I know that most thermostats come in 180F or 195F temps. I can also see the thermostat working on the guage because the temp will go up to 220 or so and then it will go back to 210, showing that the thermostat is opening. I'll probably end up replacing it anyways since they're cheap.

A little card board in front of the radiator will help with the warm up also.As far as oil I like to use a 10-30 or even a 5-30 in the winter.I run a 10-40 in the summer.I wish it was in the 30's and 40's.It has been ranging from 0 to 25 all week.

Yeah, I'm running 5w30. It's been in the 40s and 30s consistently in the mornings here. Every now and then we get low 20s.