:
: Hi,
:
: I just bought an '79 Aspen with 225.
: The car is fine but one problem: the oil
: dipstick is covered by white goo, like
: water and oil together. I thought it is
: blown head gasket and already purchased
: a gasket set, started to dig up the head...
: drained oil, BUT the oil looks good.
:
: The climate gets cold (~20F) here at this
: season, so i wonder if the goo is only
: result of excessive blow-by.
:
: I would appreciate any comments and experience
: driving 225 in cold weather. Thanks, JK

: The white/gray goo on the dipstick is almost
: always a sign of water in the oil. During
: operation, the water and oil gets emulsified
: (a fancy word for "all mixed
: together"), turning it into what you've
: described.
:
: It's possible that the water and oil separated
: out if the car sat for a while. When
: drained, the water would drain first to be
: later covered by the oil. All you'd see
: would be the oil, but I think this
: possibility is remote. Get the thing up to
: operating temp, then check it again. The
: stuff on the dipstick is the same thing in
: the oil pan. Goop is goop.
:
: Mike

: I would try just changing the oil first and see
: if it gets white and gooey again. Some older
: oils foam up and look like what you
: describe, or if it has sat a long time,
: water may have condensed inside the block
: and gotten mixed with the oil.
:
: Lou