Questionable oil color

[ricksi]

I have a new 5.7l vortec engine with 18 hours on it. I changed the oil at 10 hours and thought that the color of the drained oil was odd. I put another 8 hours on it and noticed a little grit on the dip stick. I also noticed some moisture in the PCV lines. So I drained the oil and it had a milky brownish color to it. It looked very different from oil I've drained from the previous engine, or a car engine. I refilled it today with fresh oil and ran the engine for a while with muffs. I looked into filler on the valve cover and again the oil had a strange look to it. Rather than looking close to the oil I just put in, it had a tannish opaque look to it.
Other than condensation, I can't imagine water is getting into it because I've got a new full freshwater cooling system on it. I have been carefully monitoring the coolant level and it hasn?t changed at all. Also the oil level has stayed constant. Should I be concerned?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Questionable oil color

Ayuh,... Have ya Run it, Hard at all,...

Up to speed, 'n on plane for awhile,..??

If Not,... I'm thinkin' condensation....
If ya don't get the Oil Temp right up there, the water don't steam off...

 

[ricksi]

Re: Questionable oil color

I have been diligently breaking it in. This past weekend was the first time I opened it up and did so for just a couple of minutes. I thought of something else too. I have a SeaKamp cooling system and my understanding is that the thermostat supplied was either 160 or 180 degrees. However, unless my temp gauge is not accurate, it's showing around 140, which was what I got with my raw water cooled engine. If enough water mixes with the oil, to the point in which it can damage the engine, will the color of the oil look milky brown like mine, or will it look more watery and obvious? Also, if my situation is condensation, am I hurting the engine running it this way?

 

[mkast]

Re: Questionable oil color

How much oil was drained out?
If the oil drained, was above the amount you started with, it's a leak.
If it wasn't, it's condensation.
You need more temperature in the cooling system.