Breaking Down Motor, Water In Oil... PICS!

[thepremier]

What's up everybody,

Today I decided to go ahead and start breaking down the motor on my 87 GN. It has been sitting in the garage in bad shape for a while, although the car will run, it is in no condition to be out on the road especially in this Arizona heat.

Anyhow, I have taken some pics as I was in the process of taking everything apart, and I just wanted to post them to get some feedback from those of you more knowledgable about these cars. There is definitely water mixed in with the oil, which is definitely not good at all!!

I am learning about these cars, and although this is a bad situation, I have actually learned more about my car than ever before just by breaking the motor down and actually analyzing and seeing everything. I usually try to take something positive out of every situation, so the positive to be taken out of this bad situation is that I broke the motor down by myself and became more familiar with my car. It has actually been a fun process.

Anyhow, go ahead and take a look at the pics, and please offer feedback on what you see. I would appreciate all helpful information by you guys who are more knowledgable!

Thanks

 

[theCATman]

Until you get the heads off & take some pictures, nobody is gonna be able to see why you were getting water in the oil.

The obvious is a headgasket failure. But why?? Who knows yet. Get the heads off & take some pics of them, the gaskets, & the cylinders.

The pics you have now show nothing.

 

[hesermon]

Like Catman says, you're not going to know much until you get the heads off. Hopefully it is only a blown head gasket which is not a big deal if it's not been driven with the water in the oil. Even if you can not see any damage to the heads visually, GET THEM CHECKED before the engine goes back together. It will cost a few bucks but have a reputable shop check them for cracks, leaks and flatness. Hopefully you'll get them back with no bad news and depending on mileage and what you want out of your engine, you can put it back together and have many miles of pure GN happiness. Good luck!

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Looks to me that the cooling system has had ZERO maintenence since the car was built.
B4 jumping to conclusions that the H/G is the culprit, I'd look really close at the water port seal areas on the intake gasket....[The gasket at the end where your hand is, looks like there's been coolant draining down on it, for quite some time.]
In any case, the engine needs big time HELP.

 

[TurboDave]

Or something really simple like residual water in the intake leaking into the motor when you pulled the intake. Happens.

 

[chevellejoe]

Number 5 intake runner doesn’t look so good. It appears that cylinder is the culprit, without taking the heads off. Anyway if the car has high mileage,once the heads are off, I would take them apart and check the valve guides. If everything looks good, I would just give them a good clean and re-lap the valves before I reinstall them. Or if you have the cash and would rather to have the heads professionally cleaned, new valve guides (they may just ream them), and the valve angles cut, goes for about $350.00 (at least that’s what my local parts store charges). Anyway good luck, and make sure everything is pre-cleaned prior to installation, even new parts. Its would probably be a good idea to invest in a small parts washer if you don’t have one.

 

[wildcard]

Call BP, they will know what to do...oh wait nevermind.

Good luck with that.

 

[hesermon]

Call BP, they will know what to do...oh wait nevermind.

Good luck with that.

No BP is more into Oil in water, not water in the oil.

 

[TurboV6Olds]

Don't know alot about these cars but I do know that I rebuilt a 87 GN motor completely with all the good stuff and blew a head gasket and got rust and water into the engine and it KILLED the bottom end. I am currently waiting to have repaired which is going to cost approx. 3k. I need new crank, pistons, and have to have the block bored .030 because of damage. I am putting ALL new stuff in the bottom end. Make sure to check everything very well.