Moisture does tend to accumulate in the oil cap especially if the car is driven mostly for short trips. Engine oil does not technically freeze but conventional oil at -30 is nearly a solid.
Best thing is put the car in a heated space for a day then investigate. The low oil indicator can happen when the oil is so thick the sensor doesn't work properly.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to zamler For This Useful Post:
Tow it to a mechanic, it needs to be put somewhere warm to thaw and go from there. Do not start it.
As said do not attempt to start that car! Have it towed to a garage. That needs to be drained. If she's lucky it is just a head gasket issue but if she ran the car with that much fluid in the crank case there may be damage to the rotating assembly.
The Following User Says Thank You to Erick Estrada For This Useful Post:
Location: Wondering when # became hashtag and not a number sign.
Exp:
Yeah DO NOT start that thing until thawed and looked at by a mechanic...unfortunately im guessing the damage is already done but trying to push that engine like that will fry it.
__________________
The Following User Says Thank You to transplant99 For This Useful Post:
That looks like diesel oil when it gets insanely cold. However I have never seen diesel oil freeze solid but I have seen it go that milky colour and get thick like molasses.
There could be a few things going on there. Like mentioned it could be moisture in the head due to a gasket, pcv valve or crack. It could also be someone putting something that isn’t oil into the car but there would have been some burn off or smells that would have made that rather obviously leading up to this. Oil can freeze, it just has to be seriously seriously cold, much colder then it could get sitting outside unless it’s outside on Mars, and even -225 Celsius might not do it.
The washer fluid theory is by far the best.
__________________
PSN: Diemenz
Last edited by Diemenz; 02-05-2019 at 01:52 PM.
The Following User Says Thank You to Diemenz For This Useful Post:
Washer fluid isn't really going to freeze solid either though, not mixed with oil. It's usually good to at least -30. Unless being run through the engine is enough to remove it's anti-freezing properties... And coolant won't freeze unless someone has been filling the cooling system with water, and it is mostly water now.
Sabotage? Angry ex?
The Following User Says Thank You to Fuzz For This Useful Post:
I agree with most of you. Once I saw that the oil was froze solid, I did not want to start the engine either. That was enough for me to declare the problem "well out of my league".
Something is getting into the engine where the oil is supposed to be. I cant imagine that it could be a little bit of condensate, probably a blown gasket somewhere. And like many have said, hopefully there isn't a lot of damage done.
It is being towed today to a shop, and hopefully we find out soon. I think It would take weeks at best to let it thaw by nature.
I appreciate all of the responses, I will update with the professional diagnosis when I hear about it.
The Following User Says Thank You to Rjcsjc62 For This Useful Post:
Maybe try a blow dryer in the area. It's possible that it's not as bad as it looks.
Funny suggestion... she did try to do this before calling me! it was so cold this morning, that after a few minutes the hair dryer quit too. She might need a new one on top of all of this!
Washer fluid isn't really going to freeze solid either though, not mixed with oil. It's usually good to at least -30. Unless being run through the engine is enough to remove it's anti-freezing properties... And coolant won't freeze unless someone has been filling the cooling system with water, and it is mostly water now.
Sabotage? Angry ex?
This is impossible, she is an angel.
The Following User Says Thank You to Rjcsjc62 For This Useful Post:
Holy crap that was new. I drove my car 3 blocks to safeways, stopped in grabbed a few groceries came out to start it, batteries fine, engine won't turn over. So I'm swearing away call my old man, he comes down pulls out the jumper cables, and I go, batteries fine rather crossly (4 days without a smoke and your car not starting makes you over the top crabby). Anyways, I'm thinking fuel pump starter issues, my old man grabs a little bottle out of his van and pours it in the gas tank and makes me buy him a coffee. I come out 20 minutes later and she starts like a charm. Somehow my car that had been running ok, had over a half tank of gas had a frozen fuel line, and my 86 year old dad is smarter then me (he told me he has to say it).
__________________
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to CaptainCrunch For This Useful Post:
Check the coolant - either by tester or simply visually. Theoretically if it separated and froze solid in the crankcase, it would be frozen at the top of the rad and in the reservoir. But that just doesn’t make sense, it would have frozen, cracked and leaked when hot, where the coolant would have frozen in the crankcase I would think.
Far fetched theory - old oil holding onto lots of moisture combined with a plugged/faulty evap purge valve allowed moisture to condense along fill cap/already a bit grimy baffle (or head component). The milky stuff is the watered oil mixture that rapidly froze.
I honestly can’t think of any other situation that doesn’t include someone willfully pouring a lot of water into the crankcase while the engine was stone cold.
Condensation always forms inside the crankcase in colder weather, if you drive say 2 miles per day you WILL have some water in the oil. If you do that for years and don't change your oil it will turn to sludge.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 81MC
Far fetched theory - old oil holding onto lots of moisture combined with a plugged/faulty evap purge valve allowed moisture to condense along fill cap/already a bit grimy baffle (or head component). The milky stuff is the watered oil mixture that rapidly froze.
I honestly can’t think of any other situation that doesn’t include someone willfully pouring a lot of water into the crankcase while the engine was stone cold.
I think you mean the PCV system?
Out of curiosity I checked the oil cap on my car there is some build up/residue via moisture accumulation.
Spoiler!
The Following User Says Thank You to zamler For This Useful Post:
Yeah DO NOT start that thing until thawed and looked at by a mechanic...unfortunately im guessing the damage is already done but trying to push that engine like that will fry it.
So for those that are not mechanically inclined what would exactly happen if the engine was started? Just curious...
Also, with new cars, are you supposed to be warming them up on a cold day before you drive off? Again, with not being mechanically inclined, I'm just assuming that on cold days the Johnson Rods and Flux Capacitors need to get lubricated in oil and warmed up and if not when the bits and bobs try to get moving they'll get stuck and bad things will happen. So what I do is end up sitting in the car for 10 minutes till the temperature gauge goes to the normal middle position.
Articles on the internet say 1-2 minutes is enough, but even in this -30 degree temperature for a car that's been sitting in the cold all day long?
So for those that are not mechanically inclined what would exactly happen if the engine was started? Just curious...
Also, with new cars, are you supposed to be warming them up on a cold day before you drive off? Again, with not being mechanically inclined, I'm just assuming that on cold days the Johnson Rods and Flux Capacitors need to get lubricated in oil and warmed up and if not when the bits and bobs try to get moving they'll get stuck and bad things will happen. So what I do is end up sitting in the car for 10 minutes till the temperature gauge goes to the normal middle position.
Articles on the internet say 1-2 minutes is enough, but even in this -30 degree temperature for a car that's been sitting in the cold all day long?
1-2 minutes is enough for the engine (though as always you want to avoid really pushing things until the engine is up to temperature), but when it's -30, you'll most likely need to run it a bit longer to get enough heat to keep your windshield from fogging up as soon as you start driving.
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to sworkhard For This Useful Post:
1-2 minutes is enough for the engine (though as always you want to avoid really pushing things until the engine is up to temperature), but when it's -30, you'll most likely need to run it a bit longer to get enough heat to keep your windshield from fogging up as soon as you start driving.
I was always told to make sure to wait until the temperature guage moves up a notch.
But driving a two cold car, means a really fogged up windshield. Its also hard on the car.
__________________
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
1-2 minutes is enough for the engine (though as always you want to avoid really pushing things until the engine is up to temperature), but when it's -30, you'll most likely need to run it a bit longer to get enough heat to keep your windshield from fogging up as soon as you start driving.
So the real concern is really just the fogging windshield? Granted it's a major concern because it's for safety and visibility but I just want to understand the cues I need to look for instead of waiting for one that's not required. No need to be worried about the engine components providing you're driving to match the conditions and not doing things such as launch control?
So for those that are not mechanically inclined what would exactly happen if the engine was started? Just curious...
Also, with new cars, are you supposed to be warming them up on a cold day before you drive off? Again, with not being mechanically inclined, I'm just assuming that on cold days the Johnson Rods and Flux Capacitors need to get lubricated in oil and warmed up and if not when the bits and bobs try to get moving they'll get stuck and bad things will happen. So what I do is end up sitting in the car for 10 minutes till the temperature gauge goes to the normal middle position.
Articles on the internet say 1-2 minutes is enough, but even in this -30 degree temperature for a car that's been sitting in the cold all day long?
Typically with an overfilled crankcase you end up with froth and bubbling which leads to poor oil distribution and oil starvation but this engine looks past overfilled as it appears the entire block is full up to the valve-train which is uncharted territory as there could be several types of failure including spun bearings, bent connecting rods, blown seals, etc.
