I have an 84 f250 351w. The past couple of months I have noticed yellow foam in the oil breather on the right side of the engine. I have to put a quart of oil in about every 700 miles. There is a small oil drip that runs down the oil pan and on to my driveway. Also, when i start the motor it blows white smoke. Is this stuff normal or should I be concerned?

 

White smoke could be a lot of things, really. It could be condensation burning out of the tailpipe on a dew covered morning, or it could be water burning off inside the motor due to a blown head gasket (which would also explain the milky color of your oil inside your oil breather).

However, I assume your truck runs fine and it doesn't blow white smoke ALL the time? Only when you just start it up until it's warm?

For now, don't look at your issues as all lumped together.

1: Let's get that oil leak fixed first. Sounds to me like a new oil pan gasket is in order. It'd be a good idea to verify where it's coming from before ordering gaskets though. The leak could be bad enough it's letting water in (in increments).

2. The milky yellow color in your oil... This could be due to condensation in the motor (yes, it does occur) on short trips. It takes a long trip in which the oil gets hot to burn off the condensation in the motor. Remember, the motor "warms up" to operating temperature (anywhere from 175 to 195 degrees, generally), though the oil doesn't heat up for a little while afterwards. I wouldn't worry about the water in the oil situation unless you take long trips (30 to 45 minutes instead of 5 to 20, 25 minutes).

3. The smoke in the exhaust... again, if this is only when you start up the motor, it's just condensation. If it does it after it warms up, then this is indicative of coolant burning off from a blown head-gasket. It's important to note that BLUE smoke is running rich and there's gasoline not being burned off, white smoke is usually water or antifreeze, and black smoke is usually oil.

Let us know what she does specifically and we can give you a more valid opinion.

 

Thank you for the thorough reply I really appreciate it. I'm still young and learning so any advice really helps. I'm going to try to tackle this issue next week and I'll keep you updated on my progress. Thanks again.

 

you have these backwards bud, blue is oil and black is fuel

 

You tend to mix things up when you're awake late.

But in any event, yes, you're right.

 

Are you sure you have a good, 195 degree thermostat in the engine? If not, it will run colder & not burn off moisture & traces of fuel & acids in the oil - long term this causes engine wear.

The PCV system works to draw off & burn all these contaminants & moisture, preventing engine damage - but can't do so if the oil isn't getting hot enough to vaporise them.
I would also pull the pcv valve out of the rocker cover & check that it has vacuum. You could also check that the ball in the valve is free ( if you shake the valve, with the engine turned off, the ball should rattle).